Record price for suffragette memorabilia

Memorabilia owned by the family of a late suffragette from Llansantffraid has sold for a record price at auction.

The archive offered on Friday at the sale held in Farleigh Court Golf Club, Selsdon in Surrey, related to Kate Evans, who was born in Llansantffraid in 1866. It had been estimated at £8000-10,000 but went for £48,640.

“We were honoured to be offering such an important and comprehencive collection once belonging to Women’s Rights activist Katie Williams-Evans during the Centenary Year Of Women over 30 getting the vote in Britain,” said Auctioneer Catherine Southon.

“The interest in this lot was phenomenal with bidders on the phone from all over the world.”

Sioned Hughes, keeper of history and archaeology, Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales - said: “This is an iconic collection for the history of the whole Suffragette movement in (what was at the time) Britain and Ireland.

“While we had suffragist collections in Wales, and an example of anti-Suffragette sentiment in Wales, until now we had very little in our collections relating to the Welsh Suffragettes themselves. This collection will be a valuable asset to Wales’ political and national history collections.”

This centenary year of women over 30 getting the vote in Britain has inspired a string of Suffragette lots coming to auction, all with fascinating individual stories that boost the value.

At least seven phone bidders had been in the running for the Evans archive on sale day.

Growing up, Evans was interested in politics and spent a considerable time in Paris. While there she met with people interested in the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) and in her early 30s she joined the union and was an active member. She became a Suffragette to the dismay of her parents, who thought the behaviour of these women was quite shocking.

On March 4, 1912, she was arrested and imprisoned for 54 days in Holloway prison.

Included in the Southon lot was this silver ‘hunger strike’ medal and an archive of letters, books and ephemera relating to Evans. The medal is engraved Hunger Strike to the obverse and Kate Evans to the reverse, complete with the distinctive three coloured ribbons representing purple (dignity), green (hope) and white (purity), and two silver bars - one engraved March 4th 1912.