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Long unknown to Gilman scholars, Art Gems is now recognized as the pioneering feminist's first book, discussed by Gilman's biographer Cynthia Davis: "The roughly 100 page illustrated volume covers forty-nine artists, each work accompanied by commentary written by the book's author, "Mrs. Charles Walter Stetson," a formality Charlotte may have adopted to capitalize on her husband's better renown in the art world. " (Davis, Charlotte Gilman: A Biography, p.104ff). Prior to her marriage to Stetson in 1884, Gilman had studied at the Rhode Island School of Design, and subsequently supported herself as a painter and a designer of trade cards. At a glance, the volume appears little more than a Victorian American parlor book, with little relation to Gilman's later feminist, socialist and utopian ideologies. But careful examination reveals that, whether she wrote about race, suffrage, or art, Gilman was a sensitive social critic. Her commentary on the images in Art Gems is frequently sarcastic, occasionally biting, especially as regards the representation of women in the artworks she has included. As one critic has noted, discussing Gilman s interpretative captions: "[Gilman s] phrasing suggests that she is imposing . her personal disappointment with the pervasive view that "no one would believe" an attractive woman can care deeply about books.We cannot ignore the social purpose and sarcasm behind Gilman s interpretation or the significance of her frustration with the social construction of domestic femininity: ideological characterizations of the woman were fluid yet persistent" (Catherine J. Golden, Images of the Woman Reader in Victorian British and American Fiction (University Press of Florida, 2003). Folio, olive green cloth, with titling and decorative elements stamped in red and dark green to spine and covers; illustrated with 50 engravings. Mild discoloration and light staining to boards. Very good sound copy with some edge-wear and a few spots to covers. Notably uncommon in the first edition particularly in a well-preserved state; OCLC locates 19 copies. Seller Inventory # 274232
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