Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Nineteenth Century Actor Photograph Collection, 1868-1897

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0779
Creators:
Templin, Roger P.
Dates:
1868-1897
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1 Cubic foot
3 boxes
Repository:
Photographs of numerous and popular actors of the 19th century.

Scope and Contents

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

Arrangement
Divided into 3 series: Series 1: Cigar/Cigarette Cards, undated; Series 2: Cabinet Photographs, 1878-1897,and Miscellaneous, 1868-1892.

Biographical / Historical

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.

Administration

Author
Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated by Roger P. Templin in memory of his sister Daisy Templin in October 1958.
Custodial History
Collection transferred from the Division of Cultural History (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) to the Archives Center, in April 2001. The collection was originally titled 19th Century Actress Photo Collection (Accession # 219034 Catalog # 59.789)
Processing Information
Collection processed by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., 2009.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Nineteenth Century Actors Photo Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Cigarette cards Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs -- 1850-1900 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cabinet photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Theater Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Portraits -- 19th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Actors Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Actresses Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ratcliffe, Edward J., 1863-1948 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rehan, Ada, 1857-1916 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jefferson, Joseph, 1829-1905 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Plunkett, Charles Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Glaser, Lulu, 1874-1958 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hopper, Edna Wallace, 1872-1959 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Drew, John, 1853-1927 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Fox, Della Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Terriss, William Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wilson, Francis, 1854-1935 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sothern, E. H. (Edward Hugh), 1859-1933 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Robson, May, 1858-1942 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Russell, Lillian, 1861-1922 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Davenport, Harry, 1866-1949 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Coe, Isabelle Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cayvan, Georgia, 1858?-1906 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Burroughs, Marie Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Booth, Rachel Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Barrymore, Maurice, 1849-1905 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Cultural History Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ackerstrom, Ulie Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu