Mary Biggs’s scientific contributions

Women have been active in American printing since the establishment of the first colonial press. Most historians who acknowledge this cite the contributions of printers' daughters, wives, and widows. This study focuses instead on women employed as typesetters in printing offices where they had no family connections. Special attention is given to the arguments raised against the employment of women, the threat their labor represented to male typesetters, and their relations with the typographical union. Sources consulted while preparing this paper include publications of the national union and several local subordinate unions, internal records of the Chicago local, government reports, books, and newspaper and magazine articles.