Browse Items (972 total)

Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Helen Hunt Jackson, Dec 21, 1869

Charlotte Cushman is back in Rome with Emma Stebbins and Emma Crow Cushman. Apparently, Helen Hunt warned her after the last letter that some of the "dangerous words inside" the last letter could have been read through the envelope. Many friends…

Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Helen Hunt Jackson, Dec 6, 1869

At this state, Charlotte Cushman is "a poor shaky old 'queen'" who contemplates going back to the US.She comments on her relationship with Emma Stebbins and reveals a breach of trust with, presumably, Emma Crow Cushman:"You are wrong dear in you…

Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Helen Hunt Jackson, Nov 28, 1869

Charlotte Cushman will be traveling to Nice, France, soon.Transcripts courtesy of Nancy Knipe, Colorado College.

Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Helen Hunt Jackson, Nov 23, 1869

Charlotte Cushman is grateful for a gift from Helen Hunt and tells her that she loves her.Transcripts courtesy of Nancy Knipe, Colorado College.

Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Helen Hunt Jackson, Nov 7, 1869

Helen Hunt Jackson is about to visit Charlotte Cushman.Transcripts courtesy of Nancy Knipe, Colorado College.

Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Helen Hunt Jackson, Nov 4, 1869

Helen Hunt Jackson will visit Cushman in Great Malvern very soon.Stebbins is suffering from her anxiety about Cushman.Transcripts courtesy of Nancy Knipe, Colorado College.

Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Helen Hunt Jackson, Oct 26, 1869

Charlotte Cushman is currently recovering from her surgery. She is allowed to travel again and Emma Crow Cushman is in charge of finding a place to stay on the journey.Transcripts courtesy of Nancy Knipe, Colorado College.

Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Helen Hunt Jackson, Aug 23, 1869

Charlotte Cushman's operation, which she calls her "trial," is scheduled for August 26, 1869.Transcripts courtesy of Nancy Knipe, Colorado College.

Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Helen Hunt Jackson, July 28, 1869

Charlotte Cushman suffers from anxiety alsu due to the prospect that she may have to undergo surgery in Edinburgh with James Simpson.She describes her brother as a "sweet tender womanly natured creature not fit to be a man" who "believes in his…

Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Helen Hunt Jackson, June 27, [1869?]

Charlotte Cushman is currently undergoing breast cancer treatment. She is surrounded by her friends and with Emma Stebbins.Transcripts courtesy of Nancy Knipe, Colorado College.

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 Kate Field to Cordelia Riddle Sanford, March 1860 (excerpt)

Kate Field tells her aunt about a lively evening she spent in the company of Harriet Hosmer and Emma Crow. She also mentions that Charlotte Cushman is en route to England and that Emma Stebbins is making progress on her Lotus Eater (the sculpture is…

Letters from Kate Field to Eliza Riddle Field (excerpts)

In these letters to her mother, Kate Field describes her social life in Rome - including her experience of the carnival, meetings with the Brownings and Hawthorne, and her rides with Charlotte Cushman, Emma Stebbins, and Harriet Hosmer.
Field also…

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…

Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Grace Greenwood, July 9, 1852

Charlotte Cushman tells Grace Greenwood about a quarrel with a friend of Hays who thinks that Cushman "stole" Hays from her. At the moment, Grace Greenwood is with Hays but Charlotte will return to them soon. She informs Grace about her travel plans…

Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Grace Greenwood, June 15, 1854

Charlotte Cushman tells Grace Greenwood about the change of her reputation after performing the role of Queern Katherine. She touches upon the heartbreak that she suffered from because Matilda Hays left her in London to be with Harriet Hosmer in Rome…

"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

"Masculine Women," Liberator, Jan 15, 1858

Mrs. Frances D. Gage criticizes an article in the Home Journal about the masculinity of women in jobs associated with men. She publishes her article in the Missouri Democrat, the article given here is a reprint, and takes Harriet Hosmer as her prime…

"Miss Harriet Hosmer," Liberator, Nov 20, 1857

Child praises Hosmer as a genius and comments on her being a woman sculptor among so many men in this profession. Child gives a definition of 'society' and its norms and counters arguments that have depicted Hosmer disparagingly as a 'masculine'…