https://archivalgossip.com/collection/files/original/9ee8937163e80687f9b9a4c6dd0b0387.pdf 9f24e12f3163a9433042679fc9903ac2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Cushmania Subject The topic of the resource Cushman, Charlotte Saunders, 1816-1876 Stebbins, Emma, 1815-1882 Gossip--Published Gossip--Private Relationships--Networks Italy--Rome Description An account of the resource A collection of archival material (letters, diaries, articles, auto/biographical accounts) collected from different archives (cf. <a href="https://www.archivalgossip.com/sources/archives/">list</a>) that showcase the life of Charlotte Cushman, one of the most successful US American actresses of the nineteenth century. We invite you to either look for specific items via the tag cloud at the bottom of the page or the search function at the top, <a href="https://archivalgossip.com/collection/items/browse?collection=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">browse all items</a> in this collection, or explore thematic compilations of selected items in our "<a href="https://archivalgossip.com/collection/exhibits" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Exhibits</a>." <h6 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://archivalgossip.com/collection/files/original/c4226e025914fe32ca1542c728bd11cc.JPG"><img title="Item Locations" alt="Item Locations" src="https://archivalgossip.com/collection/files/original/c4226e025914fe32ca1542c728bd11cc.JPG" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="349.5" height="237.5" /></a>(<a href="http://hdlab.stanford.edu/palladio/">Palladio</a> visualization, Dec 2021: location of items in collection, size nodes)</h6> <h6 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://archivalgossip.com/collection/files/original/44bccce1e23bf9efe34d0078d3cc97f0.JPG"><img title="Item Locations" alt="Item Locations" src="https://archivalgossip.com/collection/files/original/44bccce1e23bf9efe34d0078d3cc97f0.JPG" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="349.5" height="324.5" /></a>(<a href="http://hdlab.stanford.edu/palladio/">Palladio</a> visualization, Dec 2021: letter correspondence for items that have values defined for "location sender" AND "location recipient," size nodes)</h6> Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Library of Congress New York Public Library Philadelphia Historical Society Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1816-00-00/1920-00 Letter A resource containing textual messages sent from one person to another or one person to many people. Text Any textual data included in the document [3462] dear Madam your letter of January 7 reached me here two days ago. I am obliged for the kind & considerate manner in wh. you write. I have frequently heard of you both  from Mr. & Mrs. Dilglue [Dilberoglue]. so you are no stranger to me. With regard to my letters – it is always startling to be suddenly confronted with oneself of more than thirty years ago – things & people might be carelessly  mentioned in a way that one  [3462 reverse] wd not now speak of them but certainly there were no secrets. at least I know of none If there is any thing in these old letters wh wd be of service to you I can have no objection to their doing that service  & I feel assured of your faith & honour – still I wd like to know what it is that you desire to put in print & if you cd get those portions or passages copied wh. you desire to use. & wd  let me see them. They wd. bring to my mind many now forgotten circumstances & I cd give you a more perfect  [3463] account of these early days of Miss Cushman’s sojourn in England – I will however tell you now as much as  I can recollect – but I cannot even remember the exact year – I think it wd be 1846 or 1847 – but it was very shortly (a few weeks indeed) after she arrived in England for the  first time +++ Mr. Heraud the poet a dramatist   [last two words inserted] wrote to me about her & gave her a letter to me in Manchester where I then resided with my +++ youngest  brother. She came – she was alone except for Sally her faithful maid – who I hope is still alive. & if so I beg to be remembered to her kindy I suppose Miss Cushman  [3463 reverse] was not handsome – but the  beautiful true & firm grey  eyes – gave one the impression of beauty. & supplied the lack of it. if it were lacking,  to me she always looked  beautiful. Her voice too  was true & real like herself  & of a tone that was very  pleasant to the ear.   – She  conveyed the impression of protecting protection &  strength - In those day  she had not begun the  fight & struggle of her professional carreer in  England. She had appeared in London in the +++ Fazio. as Bianca &  [3464] had made a certain impression wh. promised well for [last two words inserted] her future success. She told me herself about her first appearance. –  She had come to England  with slender means & a  certain reputation acquired in America. but she was alone & without friends to help her or to back her up.  She told me how ill & anxious she was. & apparently quite unfit to act that first high The first act went without any marked effect & Sally had to comfort her in her dressing room by  [3464 reverse] practical observations on the drama itself & when the strong effect began–  She went on again. desperate  & determined - & the success  from that instant to the end was secured - & the  applause told her she had the audience under her spell. – She went home to her lodgings - not comfortably ones - & then the revulsion came. She felt miserable  & lonely – and she cried herself sick & then Sally brought her a mutton chop she had cooked herself - & made her eat it - & then  [3465] said [inserted] Miss Cushman "I write a long letter to my mother & went to bed. I felt no fear but what I shd get on in some way [last three words inserted] +++" – She told me  all this one afternoon when she cd. be quiet - & had come  to be with me for a few hours  It was only then, at that very commencement of her carreer  that she had leisure to be quiet  & cd. talk out of her heart. –  She told me about her early life after her father's death,  how the family in great  measure depended on her.  She had been previously with Clara Fisher & her husband (I forget her married name) she had then a magnificent voice  [3465 reverse] contralto. but she fell ill  & it left her entirely. & it  [...] as tho’ there were nothing  in  the world left that she cd  do – then she went on the  stage – drudged – to help her family  & she increased her salary by copying out the different  lengths of different pieces  for the use of the persons +++ for the characters. She worked  very hard. & learned her business by practice. – She acted with Macready when he was in  America & I believe he encouraged her to come to England  tho’ they were never great friends. –  In Manchester she made  many friends. quiet domestic people who regarded her [3466] with affection & respect.  & she made a favourable  impression as an actress  & obtained good terms from the Manager. When her sister & mother joined her  she had a more difficult  load to carry – her sister She was very strong in her  family attachment – her sister  tho’ very pretty was not much of an actress – but was always  included in her engagements  Her mother had the faculty of  being always discontented & Miss Cushman had much  to hear from her. – The younger daughter Susan was her mother's favourite +++ Miss Cushman's carrees became a hard battle. a hand  [3466 reverse]  to hand fight for place & name.  She was noble, generous & gave help to all who needed  it – & She had not the rest  & peace with her own family wh. She deserved; - and. the  turmoil & strife of these years told on her in every way. If she had left journals or +++ letters. the traces of that  strife for fortune wd have appeared – She had many friends who loved & respected her – but no one to rest upon & no inner citadel to wh she  might retreat – she had to fight every inch of her way with her own hand - & one [3467] can only hope that few of the women who are now seeking  careers & employment will  have so hard a life. As she said once to me herself  "She tried always to keep her prow set towards good -" –  & I feel sure desire [inserted] unlay the whole of her life  – We lost sight  of each other as was only  natural in lives wh. lay in such different places. When she was ill the last year she was in England I wrote to her but she was too ill to see me. Then came her apparent recovery and then – the unexpected  end when all her friends had begun to hope +++ all danger [last two words inserted] [3467 reverse] had passed[?]) of her acting in some of her character  I retain a vivid recollection  Her "Meg Merrilies" and  that strange silent +++ into the front of the stage  wh was her entrace on it  can be never forgotten. not the tones of her voice.  +++ wh seemed to come from another world. Madme Vestris once told  her. that" Meg Merrilies had made  & her turn cold" She +++ she  crooned in the part. was exactly what as Meg Merrilies  wd have given it. & suggested no other person & no acting Indeed all her character w singulary true – I never  She never seemed to display herself any way  [3468] I remember her Mrs Haller  in the "Stranger"  she seemed  to absorb & consume all the false sentiment. the intolerable priggeshness of the "Stranger". &all the mawkish sentimentals  of the whole piece. and to  elicit only the broad real suffering of the characters  & the tragical truth that nothing can undo deeds once done  It was I think her best  the character that in wh she  [last three words inserted] most impressed me. I saw the  first performance of her Romeo. & whatever may a woman taking the part be said against the fact  it was a most effective performance [3468 reverse] it suggested the at a full  conception of the character  even if it did not fulfil  it to the utmost Her Lady Macbeth, I do not  remember, - she played it  when I saw her. with G. V. Brooke who was then at his  best. – I remember too  seeing her once. in a version of Beaumont & Fletcher's  "scornful Lady" wh. was extremely  bright & clever –  I must have seen her in other characters but I  do not recollect them – yes – I once saw her in Fazio  [3469] & I know I admired it – but  my recollection is not distinct I never saw her act in London  She chief characteristic of her acting as I remember it  was its intense earnestness  & directness. & the absence of all evidence of self [inserted] consciousness or if any desire to produce make  the spectator think of the actress  In these days she used to sing in private [last two words inserted] in a very dramatic remarkable manner. not a note of voice– but its place supplied by her power of utterances It seemed as tho’ her will did every thing –  always retained a real regard  [3469 reverse] & respect for her —  one incident in her life. she  once told me - but it cd hardly  be used in print. but one +++ wish the spirit of it to be given for the [inserted] help & strengthening of those  who might be in a similar case[?]  She was, before she came to  England & still a druge drudge on the Boards, much attracted  to a young man in a high  position of life. Who to her seemed  the impersonation of all that was elegant & refined  he had courted her – +++ but [inserted] she discovered that his intent  was not honourable – nor "his purpose marriage" - & She broke the acquaintance at once  [3470] she spoke of the resolution it required to avoid meeting  him. or seeing him how she had  concealed herself as he possed close by her. almost touching  her. – She told me this in a way I have never forgotten, - When I  said. You were strong". - "I, strong,  child! I was as weak as water but I was kept from harm."  After this she got an a strolling[?] [last two words inserted] engagement & then she went on to tell  me all the fun & the hardship  & the excitements of that Tour[?]  wh. put all wh. cleared her heart & brain of all  cobwebs.  and now I have told you all I can recollect  you can make whatever  [3470 reverse] use you please of this letter  I think the record of the  simple handed strife she  carried on & the uprighness  with wh. she attained at last  her fortune & success will be a help & comfort to  many who are now struggling in various grades & conditions  of life —  If you accede to my request  to see those portions of my letters you wish to use I wd return them to you & along with them any  incidents of wh they might recal to my memory  — In  [3471] any case I trust to you that  no names or +++ references of  a personal nature shall  be introduced – one writes  carelessy & on the impulse  of the moment one writes  many things wh. one wd wish very much "to blot"!  I am dear Madame  ys [yours] very truly Geraldine E. Jewsbury  to Miss Stebbinss  16 East. 43d Street New York  I have no letters of Miss Cushman many years ago I destroyed  [3471 reverse] nearly all the letters I possess written by any one - I had no room to keep them and I preferred destroying them to leaving them after +++ to any accidents. From The name and email address of the person sending the email Jewsbury, Geraldine Endsor, 1812-1880 To The name(s) and email address(es) of the person to whom the email was sent Stebbins, Emma, 1815-1882 Cushman, Charlotte Saunders, 1816-1876 Location The location of the interview Seven Oaks, Kent Geocode (Latitude) 51.2745218 Geocode (Longitude) 0.1961166 Location (Recipient) 16 East. 43d Street, NYC, NY, US Geocode Recipient (Latitude) 40.753734 Geocode Recipient (Longitude) -73.979477 Admin Comment Comments for further research, pending questions, tasks that still have to be completed Maybe we could add destruction / loss of material to timeline? Clara Fisher was the wife of James Maeder. may she refer to what Logan talks about? Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter from Geraldine Jewsbury to Emma Stebbins, Feb 6, 1877 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jewsbury, Geraldine Endsor, 1812-1880 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived LoC, CCP 11: 3462-3471 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1877-02-06 Type The nature or genre of the resource Reference Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 0343 Description An account of the resource While working on the memoir of Charlotte Cushman, Emma Stebbins has made a request to Jewsbury, asking for her letters from 30 years ago. Although there are no 'secrets' in those letters, Jewsbury seems reluctant to hand them to Stebbins. The requested letters are about Cushman's early days in England. Cushman came to England with her "faithful" maid Sallie, struggling to start her career there. Struggles in Cushman's life extended to her family, Charlotte's father died an early death and her mother always preferred her younger sister. Susan performed with Charlotte even though she was not a very good actress as Jewsbury admits. Yet, Cushman's effort to help her family and her perseverance on stage garnered great admiration from Jewsbury. The letter continues to mention Cushman's acting and a failed courting which may relate to E. B. Fisher (Stebbins mentioned something similar in a letter to Lanier in <a href="https://archivalgossip.com/collection/items/show/313">1876</a>). However, the Cushman-Fisher correspondence dates back to the year 1836 and may be a bit too early for what Jewsbury refers to. Additionally, Jewsbury mentions that Cushman "broke the acquaintance" when she discovered that he was "not honourable" and Fisher's letters suggest that it was rather him and not Cushman who cut all ties. Jewsbury also indulges in the (false) claims that Macready invited Cushman to England though she acknowledges that they were not very good friends. <a href="https://archivalgossip.com/collection/items/show/19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stebbins</a> quotes extensively from this letter, but omits the last paragraph in which Jewsbury shares her misgivings about being quoted in full: "I trust to you that  no names or +++ references of  a personal nature shall  be introduced – one writes  carelessy & on the impulse  of the moment one writes  many things wh. one wd wish very much 'to blot.'" <a href="https://archivalgossip.com/collection/items/show/61" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Waters'</a> biography of Cushman, too, quotes from this letter (64-65). Waters calls Jewsbury a "friend" of Cushman. <h3>Credit</h3> <a href="https://www.loc.gov/">Library of Congress</a>, Charlotte Cushman Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Subject The topic of the resource Actors and Actresses--US American Citation of Named Entity Cushman, Charlotte Saunders, 1816-1876 Mercer, Sallie Jewsbury, Geraldine Endsor, 1812-1880 Gossip--Private Friendship Relationships-- Intimate--Same-sex Macready, William Charles Intimacy--As topic Muspratt, Susan Cushman, 1822-1859 England Family Finances Beauty Relationships--Intimate--Opposite-sex Rumors United States auto/biography breach of privacy financial concerns London love respectability social capital travel/touring