Superb ALS, one lightly-lined page, 5.5 x 8.5, National Woman Suffrage Association letterhead, June 17, 1884. A spirited, stirring message addressed “Dear Friends,” evidently the membership of the NWSA. In full: “It is just eleven years this Bunker-Hill day, since Mr. Justice Hunt declared the verdict of ‘Guilty’ against me and pronounced the sentence of $100 fine and the costs of prosecution—not a dollar of which have I paid, or shall I ever pay. My crime was that of voting as a citizen of the United States!!” In November 1872, decades before the Nineteenth Amendment extended the vote to women, Anthony and fourteen other women registered to vote in Rochester, New York and cast their ballots in the presidential election. The women were arrested and brought to trial, where Anthony was pronounced guilty and fined $100.00 plus court costs. Her famous response, “I will never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty—Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God,” became a powerful rallying cry for the nascent suffrage movement. The judge released her, stating that “the Court will not order you to stand committed until the fine is paid,” and Anthony—who indeed never paid the fine—continued her tireless efforts and went on to become the most fabled personality in the history of American feminism. Autobiographical letters by Anthony, not to mention those with direct, specific reference to the most famous incident in her public life, are of the greatest scarcity and desirability. In very good, visually appealing condition, with generally uniform overall toning, small, expertly restored chips and tears (one chip affecting a single word), and writing a shade light but completely clear. COA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
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