Rayne, Mrs. M. L. What Can A Woman Do: or, Her Position in the Business and Literary World. St. Louis, Mo.: F. B. Dickerson & Co., 1885. [12396]
Burgundy cloth decorated in black & bright gilt, slight fading to spine, 9 x 6 3/4 inches, binding is clean & tight, all page edges gilt. Cream floral end papers, frontispiece portrait of the author, title page decorated. 528 clean pp., each bordered in black, many illustrations. Very good. Hardcover.
A near-fine copy.
This charming book examines the kinds of professions open to American women in the 1880’s as well as containing inspirational material to encourage them. It covers literature, journalism, law, medicine, music, clerking, photography, engraving, telegraphy, nursing, gardening, poultry raising, bee keeping, dressmaking, &c., &c.
Martha Louise Rayne (1836-1911), b. Halifax, Nova Scotia; d. Oak Park, Illinois. She was a journalist and writer, writing pieces for the popular press in the American Midwest. A prodigious author, she wrote books on etiquette, poetry, novels, travel, and social life. She founded a school of journalism in Detroit, was a member of the National Woman's Press Association, and was a guide for many young women entering the work force.
