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Nineteenth Century Actor Photograph Collection

Collector:
Templin, Roger P.  Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Cultural History  Search this
Names:
Ackerstrom, Ulie  Search this
Barrymore, Maurice, 1849-1905  Search this
Booth, Rachel  Search this
Burroughs, Marie  Search this
Cayvan, Georgia, 1858?-1906  Search this
Coe, Isabelle  Search this
Davenport, Harry, 1866-1949  Search this
Drew, John, 1853-1927  Search this
Fox, Della  Search this
Glaser, Lulu, 1874-1958  Search this
Hopper, Edna Wallace, 1872-1959  Search this
Jefferson, Joseph, 1829-1905  Search this
Plunkett, Charles  Search this
Ratcliffe, Edward J., 1863-1948  Search this
Rehan, Ada, 1857-1916  Search this
Robson, May, 1858-1942  Search this
Russell, Lillian, 1861-1922  Search this
Sothern, E. H. (Edward Hugh), 1859-1933  Search this
Terriss, William  Search this
Wilson, Francis, 1854-1935  Search this
Extent:
1 Cubic foot (3 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Cigarette cards
Photographs
Cabinet photographs
Date:
1868-1897
Summary:
Photographs of numerous and popular actors of the 19th century.
Scope and Contents:
Cigar/cigarette cards and cabinet photographs portraying actors (male and female) from the late 19th century. The photographs are predominantly American actors but some English and French performers are also included. Some of the more prominent persons represented are Lulu Glaser, Francis Wilson, and Georgia Cayvan, plus others listed below.
Arrangement:
Divided into 3 series: Series 1: Cigar/Cigarette Cards, undated; Series 2: Cabinet Photographs, 1878-1897,and Miscellaneous, 1868-1892.
Biographical / Historical:
The cult of celebrity is not a 20th century phenomenon. In the latter part of the 19th century innovations in the use of photography as advertising spurned a new avenue of celebrity likeness-based souvenirs. Portraits of personalities from the stage who were previously portrayed in engravings and traditional portraiture were now available to an interested public in a more realistic and affordable form – the cigar/cigarette card included as an incentive in the purchase of a smoking product and cabinet photographs sold as souvenirs by theatrical promoters. These photographs depicted celebrities as well as scenes from plays in which they performed. They were avidly collected by a public interested in the personalities of minstrelsy, vaudeville and the legitimate theatre.

This collection was created, or acquired, by Daisy Templin (1874?-1956) of Alton, Illinois. Templin was an avid collector of Victoriana and filled the home (1605 Washington Avenue) of she and her brother, Roger P. Templin (1872?-?), with furniture, ceramics, bric-a-brac and all types of predominately Victorian ephemera. She wrote that ". . . whatever interested me I bought." Her brother was a former wholesale grocery salesman in St. Louis, MO. By the time of her death, Templin had contemplated donating much of her collection to the Smithsonian Institution. Her collection was willed to her brother who donated a sizable portion of the collection (over 1,000 items) to the museum in 1958. The home she and her brother shared was demolished to make way for a shopping center in 1961.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Roger P. Templin in memory of his sister Daisy Templin in October 1958.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection is open for research.
Occupation:
Actors  Search this
Topic:
Theater  Search this
Portraits -- 19th century  Search this
Actresses  Search this
Genre/Form:
Cigarette cards
Photographs -- 1850-1900
Cabinet photographs
Citation:
Nineteenth Century Actors Photo Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0779
See more items in:
Nineteenth Century Actor Photograph Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep840d7dab2-663c-4f4a-958f-9025213a8efb
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0779
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  • Ackerstrom, Ulie
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