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Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Sarah Josepha Hale, Sep 22, 1830
Harold Moulton sends photostatic copies of two autographed letters to Lorenz in this correspondence. For the transcription of the second letter, see Item 1020.The first letter is from Charlotte Cushman to Mrs Sarah J. Hale, Editor of “Lady’s Book”…
Tags: public image (active), publicity
"Our Literary Women" and "Personal," The Freeman, Jan 5, 1889
This excerpt from The Freeman shows, on the left, a feature on "The Literary Colored Women of America" written by Gertrude Mossell (including illustrations of Josephine Heard, Ida B. Wells, Mary Ella Mossell, and Francis Ellen Watkins Harper) and, on…
Letter from Charlotte Cushman to George Combe, Nov 21, 1845
Cushman presents herself as shocked and surprised at the "gross motive [that] might be attributed" to her performance of Romeo on stage together with her sister Susan: "your hints have only plunged me into trouble — for I find the subject, in a new…
Letter from Charlotte Cushman to C. Adams, Apr 19, 1850 [?]
Charlotte Cushman asks a Mr. Adams to release her from her contract, since April proves to be an unfortunate time for performances in terms of revenue and people attending.
Credit
New York Public Library
Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, July 23, 1869
Cushman tells Peabody about the discovery of a lump in her breast, her anxieties, and treatment after consulting several doctors. Cushman is afraid that her public image may suffer if she cannot pursue her social duties, such as responding to the…
Letter from Emma Stebbins to Emma Crow Cushman, Nov 23, 1874
Stebbins writes that the newspapers have been writing "exaggerated reports" about Cushman, which have been causing her great anxiety. An unfavorable paragraph about Cushman will appear in the Cincinnati Enquirer the following morning, which they have…
"Cromwell at the Coffin of Charles I.," Graham's Magazine, 1843
Poem by Charlotte Cushman
Credit
Hathi Trust
"Letters from the Capital," National Era, Jan 15, 1852
An example of one of Greenwood's letters reporting about the political life in Washington DC
Credit
Newspaper.com
"Letters from the Capital," National Era, Feb 13, 1851
An example of one of Greenwood's letters reporting about the political life in Washington DC
Credit
Newspaper.com
Record of the Metropolitan Fair in Aid of the United States Sanitary Commission Held at New York in April 1864
The excerpt praises Cushman's performance of "Macbeth" together with Edwin Booth retrospectively""It was perhaps the most memorable of all the public performances given to the Sanitary Commission."The record ispublished in 1867, three years after the…
Daniel Holmes's Journal History of a Young Lady (1848-1851)
The following information is provided by the Boston Athenaeum:"Journal describing his life as a merchant in New Orleans, and his young family, particularly the development of his first daughter, Georgine, and the birth, illness, and death of his…
Letter from Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning to Anna Brownell Jameson, Feb 4, 1847
The Brownings inform Jameson that "Miss Cushman means to be imperious about Mr Chorley’s tragedy .. the ‘Duchess Eleanor’"
Credit
Armstrong Browning Library - The Browning Letters
Tags: public image (active)
Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Mrs. Clevland [Clinland?/Clenland?], Oct 2, 1871
Facing a return to the stage, Cushman finds herself very busy again. She hardly participates in social gatherings anymore. However, she is willing to make an exception for a critic from the Tribune.
Credit
Armstrong Browning Library - Victorian…
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."
Credit
Hathi Trust
Greenwood Leaves, Second Series, 1852
Greenwood publishes her letters in a second series of her Greenwood Leaves.For instance, letter no. 12 is published in the National Era, Sept 23, 1852.The first series was published two years earlier, in 1850.
Credit
Archive.org
Letter from Grace Greenwood to John G. Whittier, Sept 9, 1849
Greenwood writes to Whittier about her Greenwood Leaves, the first series is about to be published by Ticknor & Fields. She laments that she is only allowed to include stories but no letters. Ticknor and Fields, however, offered her to publish a…
Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Sarah Anderton [?], Feb 1, [no year]
Cushman has not been able to write to Anderton as she has been "crowded with visitors." She grows tired of having to follow etiquette "while [her] head & heart are aching." Her employment is renewed until Feb 27, afterward, she will travel to…
Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Sarah Anderton [?], June 15, [no year]
Cushman exchanges poems with Anderton and praises her writing. She has reunited with Eliza Cook, who is disappointed that Cushman is so preoccupied with her engagements.Cushman comments on the poor behavior of Mr. S. [Stamnes?] and states that she…
Accounts of Charlotte Cushman's Life, Notes by Stebbins
This document is a collection of different quotes given by Charlotte Cushman before her death. It is supposedly written by Emma Stebbins and ranges from family history, childhood experiences, financial struggles, to early career ambitions and…
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…
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Charlotte Cushman

Charlotte Cushman becomes widely known on both sides of the Atlantic as the first successful US-American actress. Earlier, she was a singer under the tutelage of James G. Maeder, married to actress Clara Fisher, in Boston. Charlotte has been the sole financial support of her mother since her father…