An Original Handwritten and Signed Letter by English Utopian Socialist Writer Edward Carpenter to a Member of the Pioneer Club. Dated 1905. A letter declining a request to open a debate at the Pioneer Club. The Pioneer Club was a progressive women's club founded in Regent Street, London, in 1892 by the social worker and temperance activist Emily Massingberd. "It was strongly associated with the 'higher thought' and such associated issues of the 'New Morality' of the late nineteenth century as theosophy, anti-vivisection, anti-vaccination and above all feminism. Edward Carpenter 1844 – 1929 was an English utopian socialist, poet, philosopher, anthologist, an early activist for gay rights and prison reform whilst advocating vegetarianism and taking a stance against vivisection. As a philosopher, he was particularly known for his publication of Civilisation: Its Cause and Cure. Here, he described civilisation as a form of disease through which human societies pass. An early advocate of sexual liberation, he had an influence on both D. H. Lawrence and Sri Aurobindo, and inspired E. M. Forster's novel Maurice. Size is 180mm x 110mm. Condition is good. Light folding crease.