WOMEN MAKING HISTORY

Allen and Cohen tell the story of a grassroots operation to expand the knowledge of women’s history through the circulation of accessible art.

In 1972, journalist Nancy Poore and artist Jocelyn Cohen met in Los Angeles, where they formed a romantic relationship. Poore and Cohen shared a desire to tell the stories of women throughout history via art that could be easily accessed by everyone—and to make a living by doing so. They began an artistic and business partnership in 1973 when they founded the Helaine Victoria Press, a lesbian, feminist small press that published postcards (as well as other ephemera) relating women’s narratives taken from history. Allen and Cohen lead readers through the story of the press from its inception until its folding in 1990, contextualizing the activities of Poore and Cohen within the movement of second-wave feminism while giving an overview of the art of letterpress printing. This history includes 100 images that allow readers not only to follow the journey of Helaine Victoria Press but also, and more importantly, to examine the feminist postcards they circulated. The images also emphasize the diversity of the women represented, a priority of the press’ founders. At times, the intense detail in which each postcard series is considered can be overwhelming to the reader. Still, the anecdotes about connecting with descendants of the women depicted in the postcards—particularly in the case of Alfreda Duster, the daughter of Ida B. Wells-Barnett—demonstrate the impact of the project and the wide-ranging contributions of others. One might not think of postcards as an obvious educational tool, but this work makes it clear that “the cards were, in short, history recovered in the service of generating feminist memory.”

A fascinating history of a unique, consciousness-raising feminist organization.