Browse Items (972 total)

Letter from William Henry Seward to Frederick William Seward, September 16, 1868

Cushman writes a "manly" letter expressing "feminine" appreciation. Credit Seward Family Digital Archive

Letter from William Henry Seward to Frances Miller Seward, June 30, 1863

Charlotte and Emma Cushman are with the Sewards Credit Seward Family Digital Archive

Letter from Frederick William Seward to Frances Miller Seward, Oct 18, 1863

Cushman is touring for the Sanitary Commission, Emma Crow Cushman is accompanying her. Credit Seward Family Digital Archive

Northern Star about Charlotte Cushman, June 28, 1845

THE PRINCESS'S THEATRE.—The manager of this, "the prettiest theatre in London," deserves well of the English public for introducing to them Miss Cushman, the American actress. She is by far the best female performer on the stage. Devoid of…

Athenaeum, Cushman Mentions, July-Dec 1845 (Vol. 2)

Remarkably, Cushman's sister Susan and her mother are mentioned in the reports as wanting "a share of the fruits of Shakspeare's [sic] island." Cushman is characterized as a gifted and "prosperous actress." Credit Hathi Trust

Athenaeum, Cushman Mentions, Jan-June 1845 (Vol. 1)

Excerpts from the Athenaeum issues from the first half of 1845, which mention Charlotte Cushman;The passage praise Cushman as a versatile genius on stage despite at times gender-bending practices. The first volume of 1845 shows how the British press…

The Northern Star, Cushman Arriving in England, Dec 14, 1844

AN AMERICAN ACTRESS, Miss Cushman, celebrated in the highest walks of the drama, has arrived in England.

Petition "To the Laws of Property as They Affect Women," Feb 16, 1856

Carlyle, Cushman, Hays, Browning, and Jewsbury signed the petition Credit The Carlyle Letters Online/CLO

Baltimore Gazette and Daily Advertiser, April 17, 1835

One of the earliest public notices of Charlotte Cushman's performances: A short notice of her first professional appearance in the opera The Marriage of Figaro (April 1835 in Boston). The article mentions that "Mrs Wood had expressed herself [...]…

Isabella "Isa" Jane Blagden

"Isa Blagden is the author of five fairly sentimental yet often outspokenly feminist novels, a small volume of poetry, and a number of essays and short stories—almost all of which were published in London during the 1860s. She lived primarily in…

Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Mary Cushman, Apr 17, 1845

The letter discusses an incident of "beastly conduct of a woman" who Charlotte once defended and called her "intimate friend." Charlotte fears being "implicated by any misrepresentation of hers." Charlotte hopes that her mother's "account was a…

"Actresses Unhappy Wives," Port Jervis Evening Gazette, Oct 15, 1870

The article is based on the anonymous author's knowledge of Charlotte Cushman and deems Cushman to be "satisfied" with her husbandless condition of "virginity." Credit NewspaperArchive

"Personal Intelligence," The New York Herald, July 8, 1860

Emma Stebbins is described as Charlotte Cushman's "friend." The article infroms the reader about three works of Stebbins among which is the bust of Cushman. Credit 19th Century U.S. Newspapers

Biographical sketch of Charlotte Cushman in The New York Dramatic Mirror (published after her death), including a "Hitherto Unpublished Letter"

This article in The New York Dramatic Mirror offers a short, yet laudatory summary of Cushman's theatrical achievements, praising her "stage life [as] one long triumph, covering a period of many years. Her private life was equally triumphant, as…

"The Weekly Record," Howitt's Journal, Vol 1, 1847

Charlotte Cushman is listed among the "representatives of the best portion of American artists" that are a transatlantic product of "true simplicity, such genuine worth, and so natural a possession of the noblest poetic temperament." This…

"Grace Greenwood in Italy," New Hampshire Statesman, Apr 16, 1853

The article includes an excerpt from a "private letter" and remarks that, in London, Greenwood "was the frequent guest of eminent literary and noble personages, her sketches of whom have added much to the value of her letters." Rumors about her love…

"Miss Charlotte Cushman," Gleason's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion [1851]

The article traces Cushman's rise to success in Europe, mentioning her tours with Macready and the social circle she has formed: "In private life, she has won many warm and influential friends. Among the British aristocracy, her purity of diction and…

"The New England Girl," The Woman's Voice, Jan 17, 1895

Harriet Prescott Spofford celebrates various examples of "The New England Girl" among whom she identifies Charlotte Cushman as a great actress that fascinated both men and women. The latter especially in her later life. The article also mentions Anne…

"Famous Old Maids," Morning Oregonian, July 19, 1895

The same text as in The Daily Picayne, June 2, 1895, with a different heading. Credit 19th Century U.S. Newspapers