30 For 30: Cards and Letters
To celebrate Women’s History Month, we’re featuring items from the PWP Archives* each day on this blog. In looking back, we see not only where we started, but how far photography, women, and the world have come since 1975.
In the 1970s, women interested in photography not only faced hostility from men established in the field, but lacked role models and peers. As word of an organization for them spread, PWP received letters from women all over the country eager for information on a group that promised encouragement and support. But in that pre-Internet day, they had to work a little bit to get it. They couldn’t do a quick online search and click a link, they had to write an actual letter, stamp, and mail it off, then wait for a reply. But the drive and hunger were there. Though photography had long been dominated by men, the act of seeing is deeply human, and these women were determined to take part.
Early letter to PWP
Early letter to PWP
Early letter to PWP
– Catherine Kirkpatrick
*The PWP Archives were acquired by the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, & Rare Book Library of Emory University