Liberté, Egalité, Sororité
By Chandler O'Leary / Jessica Spring
Tacoma, Washington: Anagram Press / Springtide Press, 2018. Edition of 173.

10 x 18" single sheet. Broadside. Printed with an antique Vandercook Universal One press onto archival 100% rag paper. Printed from hand-lettered original typography and hand-drawn illustrations. Illustrated by Chandler O'Leary and printed by Jessica Spring. Numbered. Signed by both artists.

Chandler O'Leary & Jessica Spring: "Original letterpress broadside featuring a quote by writer and philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. ... This piece was created in support of women who testify en masse to uncover and combat abuse, inequality, and the erosion of our civil rights.

"Our 28th broadside, 'Liberté, Egalité, Sororité', is layered with meaning. To symbolize the sheer number of women it takes to come forward before our testimonies are taken seriously, every name from the Manifeste des 343 shines through Simone de Beauvoir’s translucent quote. These names are cut off by the edges of the paper, signifying the disbelief women face when testifying. In the center of the design is a trio of red tulips, referencing Margaret Atwood’s book 'The Handmaid’s Tale', which teems with floral metaphors of femininity, death and control.

"To help fight the erosion of reproductive rights and protect Roe, we are donating a portion of our proceeds to Center for Reproductive Rights, via an Action Grant from the Dead Feminists Fund. The Center for Reproductive Rights uses the power of law to advance reproductive rights as fundamental human rights around the world."

Colophon: "In 1971 de Beauvoir wrote and signed the Manifeste des 343, published in the French weekly magazine Le Nouvel Observateur. This petition of prominent women who underwent illegal abortions called for free access to contraception and the legalization of abortion. Despite attacks by the media who dubbed the signers 343 salopes (sluts) — the document inspired 331 American doctors to publish a similar manifesto ahead of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. In 1975 France followed suit with the passage of the ‘Veil Law’ which legalized abortion."
(SOLD)