Susan B. Anthony's desk returns home

The Susan B. Anthony desk

With the ceremonial exchange of an Anthony dollar, Susan B. Anthony House officials "bought" the University's Susan B. Anthony desk during the annual birthday luncheon held on February 15 to honor the women's rights crusader. The desk is the first item brought back in the current campaign for total restoration of the house with its original period furniture.

"We're very grateful to the University for helping to bring back the furnishings of Susan B. Anthony's home," said Lorie Barnum, executive director of the Anthony House.

"Susan B. Anthony's desk has immense value both to the University of Rochester and to the Susan B. Anthony House," stated Provost Charles Phelps. "Anthony worked for two years to get women admitted to the University and pledged her own insurance policy for the final $2,000 needed for the underwriting fund. Her desk is a significant symbol of her role in the University's history. Now, more people will be able to appreciate it and see it in its home setting."

The Eastlake black walnut drop-front desk has been kept in the provost's house for 29 years. According to oral histories, it was donated to the University by Anthony's family and originally was housed in the bursar's office on the Prince Street campus. In the 1940s it was located in Cutler Union, the women's student union on University Avenue that is now part of the Memorial Art Gallery. At that time, women were still attending classes on the Prince Street campus while men were at the River Campus.

After the women joined the men on the River Campus, the desk remained in Cutler Union until 1971 when the facility became part of the gallery. That year it was moved to what was then the president's house, where it remained in a second-floor bedroom until now. A brass plaque on the back identifies it as "Susan B. Anthony's Desk."

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