The Fields and Cushman
This exhibit sheds light on the friendship and business relationship between Annie and James Field and Charlotte Cushman.
On this page, you can find
1) a timeline including all of the related Cushmania items
2) a geolocation map including all of the relevant Cushmania items for which geographical data (location of sender) are available
3) a gallery including all of the related Cushmania items
4) four galleries that group the above-mentioned items according to the following topics: same-sex intimacy, social life, Cushman's financial concerns and business matters, Cushman's letters in which she asks for help on behalf of Ned/Stebbins/Mr Carr
This exhibit consists largely of letters from the "James Thomas Fields Papers" at Huntington. I am grateful to German-American Fulbright Commission whose generous funding allowed us to obtain digitized copies of these letters. Additional material comes from the Library of Congress, HathiTrust and other sources.
The exhibit sheds light on Cushman's transatlantic correspondence over the span of two decades, beginning in 1860, as she writes from Italy, England, and various places the US to publisher power-couple James Thomas and Annie Fields. The letters collected her contain some of the most overt interweaving of business concerns and interference with public perception on the one hand, and exchange of quotidian and intimate information on the other. They highlight how Cushman tried to influence events (and the perception of events) in the US from abroad by proxy. Yet they also give us an idea, of how Cushman and Stebbins interacted with the Fields as a couple that is at least tacitly treated as such. For more on how business and intimacy intersect in these letters, see my #BAAS2021-paper.
Charlotte Cushman writes to James Thomas Fields (Dec 31, 1864) Anne Brewster and asks for his help in a financial matter
Charlotte Cushman writes to Thomas Fields about Emma Crow Cushman's pregnancy and Emma Stebbins's Mann statue (Aug 27, 1864)
Charlotte Cushman discusses spinsterhood, Tilton, and Emma Stebbins's Mann statue in a letter to James Fields on Nov 21, 1862
Charlotte Cushman aks Annie Fields for press coverage and discusses chaity work [1865]
Charlotte Cushman mentions the Sewards, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Emma Stebbins, Sophia Peabody, and the Atlantic in a letter to Annie Fields on Feb 26, 1868
In a letter to James Fields, Cushman discusses press coverage of Hawthorne's Marble Faun and her reluctance to read publicly (July 15, 1868)
Charlotte Cushman invites the Fields for a trip to the White Mountains (July 30, [1868])
Letter from Charlotte Cushman mentions Hawthorne, financial matters, travel plans, and Anne Brewster to James Fields (Aug 15, 1868)
Cushman caught a cold (Sep 5, [1868])
Cushman trusts in James Fields's ability to turn "every thing to pure gold" (Sep 21, 1868)
Cushman instructs James Fields in different business matters (Oct 2, 1868)
Charlotte Cushman worries about finances (May 16, 1869)
Charlotte Cushman discusses her busy schedule (July 7, 1869)
Cushman mentions Emma Stebbins and her bust in the Music Hall to James Fields (July 25, 1869)
Charlotte Cushman mentions travel plans, the Hunt family, and her thoughts on returning to the stage (Jan 5, 1871)
Charlotte Cushman is worried about Mary (Emmons) who is spreading gossip about her (Feb 17, 1871)
Cancer has returned and Cushman is in great anxiety (Mar 30, 1871)
Cushman is busy signing autographs (Apr 5, 1871)
Charlotte Cushman informs the Fields about her travel itinerary and her plans to build a house (July 31, 1871)
Charlotte Cushman discusses health issues in a letter to Annie Fields on Aug 29, 1871
Charlotte Cushman implicitly inquires about press support by James Fields (Nov 27, [1871?])
Annie Fields has fallen ill [c. 1871]
Cushman suffers from her strained vocal chords, a cancelled reading event, and the resulting financial loss (Apr 16, 1872)
Annie recommended a public reading which proved to be successful for Cushman (July 22, 1872)
Cushman asks Annie Fields for help to destroy the effect "dirty" articles about Stebbins's Angel of the Waters in Central Park (June 29, 1873)
Cushman ponders reading Longfellow's Judas Maccabaeus with an orchestra (Apr 1, 1874)
Charlotte Cushmansends greetings to Longfellow in a letter to James Fields [before 1876]
Cushman invites the Fields family to come over for a visit and describes Mr Tilton as short-tempered [before 1876]
Cushman writes about travel arrangements to the Fields family (May 23, 1860)
Cushman apologizes for her nephew's behavior and is delighted about favorable reports in the Tribune and the Times (Aug 29, 1860)
Cushman urges James Fields to support her nephew's career (Sep 17, 1860)
Cushman is grateful that Fields got Ned Cushman a job as a salesman (Sep 20, 1860)
Cushman wants to raise money for Stebbins's statue with Fields's help (June 26, 1861)
Cushman asks James Fields to make Ned "a bookseller of '[his] school'" so that he will better educated and make Emma Crow "a more satisfying companion" [c. Sep, 1860]
In a letter to the Fields Family, [1860], Cushman informs them that Emma Stebbins has fallen ill
Cushman asks the Fields to join her for dinner [1860]
Fields wants to borrow some money from Cushman [1860]
Cushman informs Fields about a letter from Kate Field and Miss Blagden and Hosmer is anxious about her father's health [1860]
Cushman describes Emma Stebbins as her "much better half" and her "darling" to Annie Fields (Dec 25, 1860)
Cushman is about to meet James Fields (Aug 25, [1860])
Cushman involves James Fields in establishing her nephew Ned Cushman as a businessman (Sep 25, [1860])
Cushman discusses the financial distress that Stebbins is in due to delayed payments for her work (Mar 15, 1862)
Cushman discusses Emma Crow Cushman's miscarriage, family, and house issues (July 25, 1862)
Howe's Memories of a Hostess (1922) edited some of Annie Fields's diary entries, which include Cushman mentions
Annie Fields's James T. Fields. Biographical Notes and Personal Sketches (1881) describes Cushman as "a woman of great energy and ability" who aimed at "forwarding her own plans or those of others in whom she was interested"
Same-Sex Intimacy
The gallery below shows all items in which same-sex intimacy is touched upon in the correspondence with the Fields.
Cushman does not leave without Stebbins [1860]
Cushman includes greetings from Emma Stebbins [1860]
Cushman describes Emma Stebbins as her "much better half" and her "darling" (Dec 25, 1860)
Cushman's travel plans and life choices depend on Emma Stebbins (Nov 21, 1862)
![CCP 11, 3302-3303, Fields, Annie to CC, Feb 5, [1868].pdf](https://archivalgossip.com/collection/files/square_thumbnails/e8b1354308d0e7f1d1e4d7b20120078c.jpg "CCP 11, 3302-3303, Fields, Annie to CC, Feb 5, [1868].pdf")
Annie Fields sends love to Emma Stebbins knowing about Cushman and Stebbins being together in person. (Feb 5, 1868[?])
Cushman sends another letter to the Fields on behalf of Emma Stebbins and herself (July 30, [1868])
"kindest love from the Duo" (Sep 5, [1868])
Emma Cushman came to see Cushman, while Emma Stebbins's health worries Cushman (Aug 29, 1871)
In a letter to Anne Whitney (Dec 25, 1875), Annie Fields writes that Stebbins is "utterly absorbed by Miss Cushman" and her illness
Howe's Memories of a Hostess (1922)
Social Issues
The following items address social life issues.
Letter from Kate Field to Charlotte Cushman mentioning the Fields (Mar 15, 1860)
The Fields are supposed to arrange accommodation for Emma Crow and Cushman (May 23, 1860)
Cushman informs Fields about a letter from Kate Field and Miss Blagden [1860]
Charlotte inquires whether James Fields will be joining Emma and her in the Hills (Aug 25, [1860])
Cushman informs Annie Fields about recent happenings (Aug 29, 1860)
Cushman writes to the Fields of travel arrangements and complications which were experienced along the road and of a potential meeting in London (May 23, 1860)
Cushman discusses books and family issues (July 25, 1862)
Cushman tells Emma Crow about a letter from Annie Fields that brings "all sorts of news & gossip" (Jan 15, 1863)
Cushman mentions Fields in a letter to Emma Crow Cushman (Jan 22, 1864)
Cushman regrets not having visited the Fields in Boston and describes their house in Charles St as her "nest" (Oct 2, 1868)
a chatty letter by Cushman telling James and Annie Fields about her life (May 16, 1869)
Cushman's busy life does not allow for her to meet the Fields (July 7, 1869)
Cushman repeatedly receives books from Fields and mentions her bust in Music Hall (July 25, 1869)
Cushman discusses traveling plans, her stage career, and the Hunt family (Jan 5, 1871)
Charlotte Cushman is worried about Mary (Emmons) who is spreading gossip about her (Feb 17, 1871)
Cancer has returned and Cushman is in great anxiety (Mar 30, 1871)
Cushman mentions how tiresome it is to sign so many autographs (Apr 5, 1871)
Cushman discusses her travel itinerary and plans for building a house (July 31, 1871)
Cushman discusses a potential reading of Longfellow's Judas Maccabaeus (Apr 1, 1874)
Annie Fields has fallen ill and Cushman is worried [c. 1871]
Cushman gives Hunt advice in her gossip quarrel with Fields [1871-1875]
![JLP 1, CC to Sidney Lanier, Dec 1[8], 1875.pdf](https://archivalgossip.com/collection/files/square_thumbnails/be47d8c11f4d9322fb7c21420d7a4240.jpg "JLP 1, CC to Sidney Lanier, Dec 1[8], 1875.pdf")
Charlotte Cushman describes James Fields as a "very useful man." (Dec 18[?], 1875)
Cushman invites the Fields family to come over for a visit [before 1876]
Cushman writes to Fields about Longfellow [before 1876]
![JLP 1, CC to [Sidney Lanier], Feb 3, 1876.pdf](https://archivalgossip.com/collection/files/square_thumbnails/5875abdf22b6294235194ebb199af251.jpg "JLP 1, CC to [Sidney Lanier], Feb 3, 1876.pdf")
Cushman writes to Sidney Lanier about her healing process shortly before her death (Feb 3-4, 1876)
Howe's Memories of a Hostess (1922): Howe edited some of Annie Fields's diary entries
Annie Fields's James T. Fields. Biographical Notes and Personal Sketches (1881): Cushman mentions
Financial Concerns/Press/Business
The following group of items comprises information about Cushman's financial concerns and business matters.
Fields wants to borrow some money from Cushman (1860)
Cushman mentions a favorable article (Dec 25, 1860)
James Fields is "making [his] fortune." (Nov 21, 1862)
Chushman would like Ticknor to write about Cushman's upcoming stage performance (1865)
Annie Fields discusses article publications and calls the public an "obedient sheep" that can be influenced easily by public figures (Feb 5, 1868)
Cushman writes to Annie about James Fields, and the Atlantic (Feb 26, 1868)
Cushman would like to publish an article about Hawthorne's Marble Faun in the Atlantic and avoid reading in public (July 15, 1868)
Cushman mentions the Frothingham matter, articles, and fincancial business (Aug 15, 1868)
Cushman keeps track of James Fields's work for the magazine (Mar 30, 1871)
Cushman asks Fields to publish an article about her performance (Nov 27, 1871)
Cushman wants Fields to publish an article in the Atlantic (Apr 16, 1872)
Cushman compliments James' book which she perceives "as genial as [himself]" (July 22, 1872)
Howe's Memories of a Hostess (1922): Annie Fields characterizes Cushman as "Seward-ite in politics" and describes how she "has made money during the war."
Annie Fields's James T. Fields. Biographical Notes and Personal Sketches (1881): Fields mentions Cushman "a woman of great energy and ability" who aimed at "forwarding her own plans or those of others in whom she was interested."
The following timeline includes items that address both Cushmans own business matters and those related to family members.
Social Capital
The items listed below showcase in how far Cushman tried to win the Fields' support for business matters related to members of her family: Ned Cushman, Mr Carr, and Emma Stebbins.
Cushman asks James Fields to make Ned "a bookseller of '[his] school'" so that he will better educated and make Emma Crow "a more satisfying companion."
[c. Sep, 1860]
Cushman encourages Fields to push her nephew's career (Sep 17, 1860)
Fields to take care of Ned and treat him as if he were his "younger brother" (Sep 20, 1860)
Cushman asks Fields to take care of her nephew's career (Sep 25, 1860)
She trusts in his abilities as Fields turns "every thing to pure gold" (Sep 21, 1868)
Cushman asks James Fields to talk Stebbins into finishing her statue (June 26, 1861)
Cushman plans on writing to James Fields in favor of Emma Stebbins to support Stebbins's work and financial payment process (Nov 23, 1861)
Cushman asks Emma Crow to deliver a note to James Fields to receive his support in a financial matter (March 13, 1862)
Cushman asks Fiels for his support in financial matters (Mar 15, 1862)
chit-chat about books and the Atlantic Monthly (Nov 21, 1862)
Cushman writes about Crow's pregnancy and Stebbins's financial concerns (Aug 27, 1864)
Cushman asks Fields to support Stebbins getting paid for her work as a sculptor (Dec 31, 1864)
Emma Stebbins's statue was met with ridicule by several papers. Cushman urges Annie to help her act against this slander (June 29, 1873)
Annie Fields's James T. Fields. Biographical Notes and Personal Sketches (1881): Annie Fields mentions Cushman "a woman of great energy and ability" who aimed at "forwarding her own plans or those of others in whom she was interested"