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Primary sourcePhotograph1900

Susan B. Anthony Sitting and Reading a Book

1900

A gelatin silver print photograph from around 1900 showing an elderly Susan B. Anthony seated and reading.

This photograph shows Anthony herself in old age, captured as a reader near the end of her life.

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Black-and-white photograph of an elderly woman with light hair in a bun, wearing glasses, a dark high-necked blouse with lace trim, seated in profile and reading an open book. Mounted on gray card with handwritten caption and a label reading Anthony, Susan Brownell, 1820-1906.
Susan B. Anthony sitting and reading a book, 1900. Library of Congress.

About this source

What it is

This is a gelatin silver print photograph from around 1900. It shows Susan B. Anthony, then an elderly woman, seated in profile wearing glasses and a dark high-necked blouse, reading an open book. The mount carries a handwritten caption identifying her by name and dates.

Why it matters

This photograph presents Anthony not as a public speaker or organizer but as a reader, reflecting her lifelong engagement with writing and ideas. By 1900, near the end of her life, Anthony remained a central figure of the suffrage movement, and images like this helped shape how she was remembered.

Look closer

  • What does this quiet, private moment suggest about Anthony beyond her public activism?
  • Why might this image have been chosen for preservation in a library's collection?
  • What does the photograph not show about the rest of her daily life or work?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Susan B. Anthony on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Scan of a printed and handwritten petition titled 'A Petition for Universal Suffrage,' addressed to the Senate and House of Representatives. Below the text is a two-column list of handwritten signatures under 'Names' and 'Residence,' including Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, with places such as New York, Rochester, and Brooklyn.Document

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Petition for Universal Suffrage, circa 1865

Susan B. Anthony and others · circa 1865

Scan of the front page of the first issue of The Revolution, dated New York, Wednesday, January 8, 1868. Masthead reads 'The Revolution' with the motto 'Principle, not policy; justice, not favors.' Three columns of small print include editorials on Kansas woman suffrage and a statement of editors Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Parker Pillsbury and Susan B. Anthony. A round Library of Congress stamp appears at upper right.Newspaper article

Primary source

The Revolution

Elizabeth Cady Stanton · 1868

Dark, nearly black book cover with faint embossed decorative ornament in the center and a white library barcode label on the upper left reading 3 1761 04261 4271 printed vertically.Book

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History of Woman Suffrage

Elizabeth Cady Stanton · 1881-1922

Black-and-white studio portrait of two elderly women. A seated woman with curly white hair, wearing a light lace-edged shawl and patterned dress, looks down at papers. A standing woman with white hair in a bun and wire-rimmed glasses, wearing a dark dress with ruffled bodice, holds the papers and looks down at them. Plain grey backdrop.Photograph

Primary source

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony

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