Images(3)

Plaque

Object number2020.21.4

Manufacturer James H. Matthews and Company

Date1944

MediumBronze; Paint

Credit LineGift of The Twentieth Century Club

DescriptionRectangular bronze plaque. Raised decorative border with double exposed bronze border that frame ribbed bands on sides and starburst in each corner. Inset background is textured and painted dark brown. Center has raised exposed bronze text with organizational information including name, dates of existence, and founders' and members' names. Four protruding sides with sunken reverse; reverse has one cylindrical member in each corner and a shorter raised disk at center. Two holes on top edge and two holes on bottom edge.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth: 30.25 × 20.188 × 1.25 in. (76.8 × 51.3 × 3.2 cm)
InscriptionsCenter has raised exposed bronze text "THE / TWENTIETH CENTURY CLUB / 1894 - 1944 / FOUNDERS / MISS JULIA MORGAN HARDING MRS. WILLIAM R. THOMPSON / MISS KATE CASSATT McKNIGHT MISS ANNE S. PHILLIPS / CHARTER MEMBERS / MISS SARAH H. KILLIKELLY MRS. JAMES R. MELLON / MRS. DAVID KIRK MISS ANNIE M. HEGEMAN / MISS MARY LOUISE JACKSON MRS. THOMAS TURNBULL, JR. / MRS. CHARLES W. BASSETT MRS. WILLIAM SCOTT / MRS. WILLIAM J. MOORHEAD MRS. GEORGE S. GRISCOM / MRS. EDWARD T. WARE MISS MARY W. ROBINSON / MISS LILIAN A. MERCUR MRS. WILLIAM M. KENNEDY / MRS. CHARLES A. PAINTER MRS. GEORGE W. GUTHRIE / MRS. JOHN A. HARPER MRS. GEORGE B. GORDON / FIRST PRESIDENT / MRS. GEORGE C. BURGWIN / HONORARY PRESIDENTS / MRS. WILLIAM THAW, JR. MRS. WILLIAM N. FREW / HONORARY MEMBERS / MRS. WILLIAM ANDERSON MRS. H. ALLEN MACHESNEY / MISS BEULAH E. KENNARD".

Reverse has handwritten numbers in white at top center; numbers are inverted "5553"; difficult to read.
MarksProper right side has engraved text in bottom corner "JAS. H. / MATTHEWS / & CO".
Historical NotesPlaque from the Twentieth Century Club's Oakland building. The plaque was mounted on the wall to the right of the elevator on the ground floor (bottommost floor). The Twentieth Century Club was founded in 1894 with the aim to “create an organization for women’s work, though and activity, advancing her interested, promoting art, science and literature.” Women’s clubs were part of a greater social movement in the late 1800s that grew out of the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform society and public policy. This was a progressive era movement with links to suffrage and temperance, although not all members of women’s clubs adhered to either movement. The Pittsburgh club first met at the Thompson mansion at 408 Penn Avenue. They sponsored lectures and classes on language, literature, travel, history and science and were a member of the State Federation of Women’s Clubs. In 1910, they opened a club at their present location in Oakland, and in 1930 the clubhouse was redesigned by Benno Janssen. Many of these clubs saw a decline in the 1960s.

Related person Mrs. William R. Thompson

Related person Kate Cassatt McKnight

Related person Anne S. Phillips

Related person Sarah H. Killikelly

Related person Mrs. James R. Mellon

Related person Mrs. David Kirk

Related person Annie M. Hegeman

Related person Mary Louise Jackson

Related person Mrs. Thomas Turnbull Jr.

Related person Mrs. Charles W. Bassett

Related person Mrs. William Scott

Related person Mrs. William J. Moorhead