Page 1 - B&P Spring 2020
P. 1
Volume 27, Number 1, Spring 2020
Books&People
IN THIS ISSUE Margaret Armstrong:
The Last Ten Years Genius Developed in Women
PAGE 4
Barbara Bieck, Special Collections Librarian
Party Photos
PAGE 6 “Men have been willing to see any amount of literary or artistic genius developed in
women - when these ladies have consented to attribute their work to a husband or
The Book BeaOupteifnusl brother, and say nothing about it.†—Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1823-1911)
PAGE 7 These words by women’s rights advocate Thomas Wentworth Higginson, editor of
Emily Dickinson’s poetry, ring true about the difficulty women in the arts faced around
the turn of the twentieth century. Like Dickinson, the majority of women struggled to
gain a foothold in fields dominated by men. Hamilton Fish Armstrong, a Library trustee
in the 1940s, chose the above quote in his autobiography to introduce the work of his two
sisters, Margaret and Helen Armstrong. An intrepid woman, Margaret Armstrong not
only gained a foothold in the field of binding design and launched her career as an artist,
but also outpaced the male designers by leaps and bounds. Now one of the most celebrated
and recognized women in binding design history, Armstrong made a significant and
lasting mark on the profession.
Left: Margaret Armstrong on the grounds
of Danskammer, the family house
in Newburgh, NY, n.d.
Right: Margaret Armstrong, c. 1890,
From the Armstrong Family Collection