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Secondary sourceArtifactc. 1885

Queens of Literature

c. 1885

A parlor card game from around 1885 that included Harriet Beecher Stowe among its featured women writers, showing her fame as a household name.

Stowe's inclusion among literary 'queens' in this parlor game shows how famous she had become as an author.

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Front cover of the Queens of Literature card game box. Gold ornate lettering reads QUEENS OF LITERATURE on a colorful orange, teal and gold background with flowers. A central oval-framed engraved portrait of a woman in profile, with the signature Celia Thaxter beneath it.
Cover of the card game Queens of Literature, c. 1885.

About this source

What it is

This is the box cover of a parlor card game called Queens of Literature, made around 1885. The cover shown here features an engraved portrait of writer Celia Thaxter, one of several women authors included in the game.

Why it matters

Card games like this were popular parlor entertainment in the late 19th century. Including Harriet Beecher Stowe among the 'queens of literature' shows that by the 1880s she was considered one of the most famous and respected women writers in America, known well beyond her famous novel.

Look closer

  • Why might a card game company choose to feature women writers as its theme?
  • What does it suggest about Stowe's reputation that she was grouped with other literary 'queens'?
  • What does the decorative, ornate design of the box tell you about how literature was marketed to the public?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Harriet Beecher Stowe on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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