The collection consists of carte de visite studio
portraits of entertainers, actors, and actresses who performed on the American
stage in the mid- to late 1800s. Many of these actors and actresses were little
known outside of the major theater centers of New York City, Philadelphia, and
Boston. Such was the popularity of the theater, though, that even good
"utility" performers could justify having these photographs made. Carte de
visite photographs, which were mounted on 2 ½- by 4-inch card stock (about the
size of a calling card), could be produced cheaply, and sold to collectors and
fans.
A Parisian photographer, André Disdéri, developed the carte de visite
format in 1854. He patented a process of taking several photographs on one
glass plate negative, thus greatly reducing production costs. The carte de
visite did not catch on until May 1859, when Napoleon III, on his way to Italy
with his army, stopped at Disdéri's studio in Paris to have his portrait taken.
From this welcome publicity Disdéri's fame began, and two years later he was
said to be earning nearly £50,000 a year from one studio alone. During the
1860s the popularity of these cards became immense, with the public exchanging
them and collecting them in albums. The card trade flourished as performers
realized the publicity value of the collectible carte de visite. During the
1870s through the1880s when the trend reached its peak, millions were sold in
the United States.
The Actors and Actresses: Well into the mid-nineteenth century,
American theaters continued to be strongly influenced by London theater. Many
actors and actresses of this period were born in and got their professional
start in England. Play selections tended to follow the English classical
tradition, with the works of Shakespeare and his contemporaries remaining
popular. However, the success of American-born playwrights and actors began to
have an influence, and soon contemporary plays were performed regularly as
well.
Prior to the 1850s, a theater bill might include five or six hours of
various entertainments, such as farces, a mainpiece, an afterpiece, musical
entertainment, and ballet. Music was an important component of early American
theater, and plays were often adapted to included musical numbers. In the
1850s, the number of entertainments on a theater bill began to be reduced,
first to two or three, and later, to one main feature only. From the
mid-nineteenth century, a more naturalistic acting style came into vogue, and
actors were expected to present a more coherent expression of character.
Subject matter of new plays was often drawn from contemporary social life, such
as marriage and domestic issues, as well as issues of social class and social
problems. Another favorite form in nineteenth-century theater was the
burlesque, also called travesty, with the works of Shakespeare providing a
favorite target for satire. Many actors were known primarily for their comedic
and burlesque acting talents.
In the eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, the acting
profession was considered sinful and actors were subject to social ostracism.
However, by the mid-nineteenth century, actors could be considered quite
socially respectable. The life of performers during this period was very hard,
requiring great physical stamina. In addition to a grueling performance
schedule, actors needed to withstand stagecoach and early riverboat travel, as
well as makeshift lodgings. Actors would often rehearse as many as three plays
during a day before preparing for the night's performance. By the Civil War,
the season was varied and demanding, sometimes consisting of 40 to 130 plays,
changing nightly. Utility actors in a company might be expected to know over a
hundred parts. The famous actress Charlotte Cushman, for example, offered two
hundred different lead roles. Actors were usually expected to learn a new part
within two days, sometimes overnight.
Women's roles in theater were rather ambiguous, especially in the
nineteenth century. The traditions of the time required women to be delicate,
fragile, and dependent, while the rigors of the acting profession necessitated
resiliency, independence, and a strong will. According to historian Mary M.
Turner, in Forgotten Leading Ladies of the American
Theatre (McFarland, 1990), females experienced the same rough treatment
faced by their male peers: "Because the theatre has been remarkably
free-thinking, women in the profession have always been relatively equal to
their male colleagues. Bad managers have absconded with their salaries equally;
audiences booed them equally; they starved equally between engagements; and
their contributions to the traditions of the theatre have been equally
forgotten."
The Photographers: Several photographers and photography studios
achieved a certain status of their own in the theater industry. Among the most
famous was Napoleon Sarony, who established a studio on Broadway in 1866 and,
for the next 30 years, photographed virtually every actor and actress working
on the New York stage. Other well known photographers and studios of this era
were Charles D. Fredricks & Co. and Jeremiah Gurney of New York; W.L.
(Washington Lafayette) Germon of Philadelphia; and Mathew Brady of the E. &
H.T. Anthony Studio in New York.
The collection consists of 605 carte de visite studio portraits of
entertainers, actors, and actresses who performed on the American stage in the
mid- to late 1800s. Of note are portraits of the Booth family, the most famous
acting dynasty in the nineteenth-century American theater scene. The collection
contains photographs by a number of important photographers, among them
Napoleon Sarony, Mathew B. Brady, Charles D. Fredricks & Co., Jeremiah
Gurney & Son, and W.L. (Washington Lafayette) Germon.
The collection is arranged alphabetically by name, with a series of
group portraits filed at the end of the sequence.
Collection is open to the public.
Processed by Kathy Stice, 2003.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| |
| Box |
Item
|
Date
|
| | Performers: Adams-Blitz | |
| 1 | 1 | | Edwin Adams
[actor, 1834-1877]
 | 1862 |
| 2 | | Edwin Adams as Claude Milnotti in The Lady of Lyons
| 1863 |
| Photographer: Washington Lafayette Germon,
Philadelphia |
| 3 | | Edwin Adams as Willmore Rover in The Rover
| 1863 |
| Photographer: Washington Lafayette Germon,
Philadelphia |
| 4 | | Edwin Adams as
Adrian de Feligny in The Heretic
| 1864 |
| Photographer: Washington Lafayette Germon,
Philadelphia |
| 5 | | Edwin Adams as
Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden
| |
| 6 | | Edwin Adams,
John Drew, and Frank Drew
| |
| Photographer: Washington Lafayette Germon,
Philadelphia |
| 7 | | Frank Eugene
Aiken [actor, theater manager, 1839-1910]
| 1864 |
| 8 | | Mrs. J.H.
(Lizzie) Allen [actress, b. ca. 1840]
| |
| 9 | | Mary Anderson
[actress, 1859-1940]
| 1877 |
| Photographer: José María Mora, New
York |
| 10 | | Mary Anderson as Evadne in Evadne
| 1878 |
| Photographer: José María Mora, New
York |
| 11 | | Mary Anderson as
Parthenia
| ca. 1878 |
| Photographer: José María Mora, New
York |
| 12 | | Mary
Anderson
| 1878 |
| Photographer: H. Rocher, Chicago |
| 13 | | Mary Anderson as
Galatea in Philaster
| ca. 1833 |
| Photographer: José María Mora, New
York |
| 14 | | Mary Anderson as
the daughter of Roland
| |
| 15 | | Mary
Anderson
| |
| 16 | | Professor John
Henry Anderson [magician, actor, before 1820-after 1870]
| 1863 |
| 17 | | George H.
Andrews [actor, 1798-1866]
| |
| Photographer: O.A. Roorbach, New
York |
| 18 | | John Lewis Baker
[comedian, 1783-1862]
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 19 | | Josephine
Baker
| 1876 |
| Photographer: José María Mora, New
York |
| 20 | | Thomas Baker
[musician, ca. 1825-after 1870]
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 21 | | Daniel E.
Bandmann [actor, manager, 1840-1905]
| 1863 |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 22 | | Daniel E.
Bandmann as Shylock in Merchant of
Venice
| 1863 |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 23 | | Daniel E.
Bandmann as Narcisse in Britannicus
| 1863 |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 24 | | F.C. Bangs
[actor, 1833-1908]
| ca. 1860 |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 25 | | F.C. Bangs as
Leicester in Kenilworth
| 1873 |
| Photographer: José María Mora, New
York |
| 26 | | Joseph H.
Barrett [actor, 1831-after 1870]
| ca. 1865 |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 27 | | Mrs. Viola
(Crocker) Barrett [actress, before 1840-1869]
| 1863 |
| Photographer: Washington Lafayette Germon,
Philadelphia |
| 28 | | Joseph H.
Barrett and Mrs. Viola Barrett
| |
| Photographer: Washington Lafayette Germon,
Philadelphia |
| 29-30 | | Lawrence P.
(Brannigan) Barrett [actor, 1838-1891] as Cassius in Julius Caesar
| 1872 |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 31 | | Lawrence P.
Barrett
| 1874 |
| Photographer: Napoleon Sarony, New
York |
| 32-33 | | Lawrence P.
Barrett as Cassius in Julius Caesar
| 1876 |
| Photographer: José María Mora, New
York |
| 34 | | Lawrence
Barrett
| |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 35 | | [Mary (Mayer)
Barrett?] [actress, ca. 1840-1893]
| ca. 1863 |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 36 | | Mary
Barrett
| 1864 |
| 37 | | Charles Barron
[actor, 1840-1918]
| |
| Photographer: Warren, Boston |
| 38 | | Mrs. Julia
Bennett Barrow [actress, theater manager, 1824-1903]
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 39 | | Samuel
Barth
| 1863 |
| Photographer: Washington Lafayette Germon,
Philadelphia |
| 40 | | Kate Bateman
[actress, child star, theater manager, 1842-1917]
| 1862 |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 41 | | Kate
Bateman
| ca. 1862 |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 42 | | Kate Bateman as
Leah in Leah, the Forsaken
| 1863 |
| 43 | | Kate Bateman in
the last act of Leah, the Forsaken
| 1863 |
| 44 | | Kate Bateman as
Leah in Leah, the Forsaken
| 1863 |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 45 | | Kate Bateman as
Lady Gay Spanker in London Assurance
| |
| 46 | | Kate Bateman as
Mary Warner in Mary Warner
| |
| Photographer: Napoleon Sarony, New
York |
| 47 | | Harry Beckett in
Forty Thieves [actor, comedian, 1839-ca.
1880]
| 1870 |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 48 | | Harry
Beckett
| |
| 49a | | Harry Beckett as
Harry Duff in The Shaughraun
| |
| Photographer: Napoleon Sarony, New
York |
| 49b | | [Harry
Beckett?]
| ca. 1865 |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 50-51 | | George Becks as
Didier in Fanchon, the Cricket
| 1864 |
| Photographer: James L. Warner, New
York |
| 52 | | George Becks as
Oswald in Lear
| 1865 |
| Photographer: James L. Warner, New
York |
| 53 | | Paul Bedford
[actor, ca. 1792-1871] and John Laurence Toole [actor, theater manager,
1830-1906]
| |
| Photographer: H.N. King, Bath,
England |
| 54 | | George
Belmore
| 1875 |
| Photographer: Napoleon Sarony, New
York |
| Two copies. |
| 55 | | Sarah Bernhardt
[actress, 1844-1923]
| |
| 56 | | Billy Birch
[minstrel, 1831-1897]
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| Birch, famous for blackface performances, was co-founder of the
San Francisco Minstrels troupe in California during the state's gold rush. |
| 57-59 | | William R. Blake
[actor, stage manager, playwright, 1805-1863]
| ca. 1860 |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 60 | | Mrs. Caroline
(Placide) Blake [actress, 1798-1881]
| ca. 1862 |
| Photographer: J.H. Bigelow, New
York |
| 61 | | W. Humphrey
Bland [actor, 1812-1869]
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 63 | | [Signor Antonio
Blitz?] [magician, 1810-1877]
| |
| Photographer: Washington Lafayette Germon,
Philadelphia |
|
| |
| Box |
Item
|
Date
|
| | Performers: Booth Family | |
| The Booth family was strongly identified with the
nineteenth-century American theater scene; there was no greater name among
American actors at that time. Junius Brutus Booth, Sr., immigrated to the
United States from England in 1821 and established the Booth name upon the
American stage. He left his legacy to be carried by sons Edwin, John Wilkes,
and Junius Brutus, Jr. |
| 1 | 63-65 | | Edwin Booth
[actor, theater manager, 1833-1893] as Iago in Othello
| 1870 |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 66-68 | | Edwin Booth as
Richelieu in Richelieu
| 1870 |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 69-70 | | Edwin
Booth
| 1870 |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 71 | | Edwin Booth as
Hamlet in Hamlet
| 1872 |
| Photographer: Napoleon Sarony, New
York |
| 72 | | Edwin Booth as
Iago in Othello
| 1872 |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 73 | | Edwin Booth as
Iago in Othello
| 1875 |
| Photographer: Napoleon Sarony, New
York |
| 74-75 | | Edwin
Booth
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 76-77 | | Edwin
Booth
| |
| 78 | | Edwin Booth as
Hamlet in Hamlet (drawing)
| 1865 |
| 79 | | Edwin Booth
[drawing]
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 80 | | Bust of Edwin
Booth as Hamlet in Hamlet
| |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 81 | | Junius Brutus
Booth, Sr. [actor, 1796-1852]
| |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 82 | | Junius Brutus
Booth, Sr.
| |
| Photographer: James Earle McClees,
Philadelphia |
| 83 | | Drawing of
Junius Brutus Booth, Sr.
| |
| Photographer: Napoleon Sarony, New York
|
| 84 | | Drawing of
Junius Brutus Booth, Sr., as Richard III in Richard
III
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 85 | | Junius Brutus
Booth, Jr. [actor, 1821-1883]
| |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 86 | | Junius Brutus
Booth, Jr.
| |
| Photographer: Washington Lafayette Germon,
Philadelphia |
|
| |
| Box |
Item
|
Date
|
| | Performers: Boucicault-Cushman | |
| 1 | 87 | | Dion Boucicault
[playwright, actor, 1820-1890] in The
Shaugraun
| |
| Photographer: José María Mora, New
York |
| Boucicault was instrumental in the passage of the Copyright Law
of 1856. |
| 88 | | Dion
Boucicault
| |
| Copy of a daguerreotype taken prior to 1860. |
| 89 | | George Vining
Bowers [comedian, 1835-1878]
| |
| Photographer: Washington Lafayette Germon,
Philadelphia |
| 90 | | Mrs. Elizabeth
(Crocker) Bowers [actress, theater manager, 1830-1895]
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 91 | | Mrs. Elizabeth
Bowers as Lady Audley in Lady Audley's
Secret
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 92 | | [John Bradley?]
[actor, 1829-after 1870]
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 93 | | [John Vipon
Bridgeman?] [musician, dramatist, writer, 1820-1889]
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 94 | | Signor
Pasqualino Brignoli [tenor, 1824-1884]
| 1862 |
| Photographer: Mathew Brady, New
York |
| 95 | | María
Piccolomina and Signor Pasqualino Brignoli in the opera Polinto [María Piccolomina, soprano,
1834-1899]
| |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 96-97 | | John Brougham
[actor, playwright, theater manager, 1810-1880]
| |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 98 | | Fanny Brown
[actress, 1837-after 1870]
| ca. 1865 |
| Photographer: James Earle McClees,
Philadelphia |
| 99 | | Fanny
Brown
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 100 | | Fanny Brown in
costume, with American flag
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 101 | | Frank
Brown
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 102 | | Mrs. Sedley
Brown [actress, d. after 1870]
| 1863 |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 103 | | Mrs. Sedley
Brown in Child of the Regiment
| 1864 |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 104 | | Mrs. Sedley
Brown
| |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 105 | | George F. Browne
[actor, theater manager, 1819-1885]
| |
| 106 | | Dan Bryant as
Roy O'More [minstrel, actor, 1833-1875]
| ca. 1865 |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 107-108 | | Dan Bryant as
Handy Andy in Handy Andy
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 109 | | Dan
Bryant
| |
| 110 | | Dan
Bryant
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| Collage of seven photos, three in blackface. |
| 111 | | McKean Buchanan
[actor, 1823-1872]
| 1869 |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 112 | | John Baldwin
Buckstone [actor, playwright, 1802-1879]
| |
| 113 | | James H.
Budworth in blackface [minstrel, 1831-after 1870]
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 114 | | Ione Burke
[actress, d. after 1875]
| 1863 |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 115 | | Ione Burke in
The Shaughraun
| 1875 |
| Photographer: Napoleon Sarony, New
York |
| 116-117a | | Ione
Burke
| |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 117b | | [Ione
Burke?]
| 1867 |
| Photographer: Black & Case,
Boston |
| 118 | | James G. Burnett
[comedian, 1819-1870]
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 119 | | James G.
Burnett
| |
| 120 | | John F.
Burroughs [actor, 1809-1878]
| 1864 |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 121 | | William F.
Burroughs as Francois in Richelieu [actor, ca.
1840-1898]
| 1864 |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 122 | | William E.
Burton [actor, theater manager, 1804-1860]
| |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 2 | 123 | | William E.
Burton as Toodle in The Toodles
| |
| 124 | | James Carden
[actor, 1837-after 1870]
| 1864 |
| Photographer: Washington Lafayette Germon,
Philadelphia |
| 125 | | James F.
Cathcart [actor, 1828-1902]
| 1865 |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 126 | | Frank S.
Chanfrau [actor, 1824-1884]
| |
| 127 | | Henrietta
(Baker) Chanfrau [aka Jeanette Davis] [actress, 1837-1909]
| 1863 |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 128-129 | | Henrietta
(Baker) Chanfrau as Kathleen Mavou[illeg.]
| 1863 |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 130 | | Henrietta
(Baker) Chanfrau
| ca. 1870 |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 131 | | Henrietta
(Baker) Chanfrau
| 1873 |
| Photographer: Howell, New York |
| 132 | | Henrietta
(Baker) Chanfrau
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 133 | | Henrietta
(Baker) Chanfrau as Ophelia in Hamlet
| |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 134 | | Henrietta
(Baker) Chanfrau
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 135 | | George Chaplin
[actor, b. 1837]
| |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 136 | | Annie M. Clarke
[actress, 1845-1902]
| |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 137 | | Annie M.
Clarke
| |
| Photographer: Warren, Boston |
| 138 | | Corson W. Clarke
[actor, 1814-1867]
| |
| 139 | | John S. Clarke
[comic actor, 1833-1899]
| |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 140 | | John S. Clarke
as De Boot [illeg.]
| |
| Photographer: Charles D. Fredricks & Co.,
New York |
| 141 | | John S. Clarke
as Toodle in The Toodles
| |
| Photographer: D. Appleton & Co., New
York |
| 142 | | Johanna M.
Claussen [actress, 1842-after 1870]
| |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
York |
| 143 | | Kate (Cone)
Claxton [actress, ca. 1848-1924]
| 1874 |
| Photographer: Napoleon Sarony, New
York |
| 144 | | Kate (Cone)
Claxton in costume
| |
| Photographer: José María Mora, New
York |
| 145 | | Ada Clifton
[actress, d. after 1870] as Pocahontas in Pocahontas
| |
| 146 | | Ada
Clifton
| |
| Photographer: Jeremiah Gurney & Son, New
|
