Among all my tasks, I would have to confess that my favourite and most memorable experience was working with the newspaper articles. It was not only the thrill of looking at newspaper clippings from around two centuries ago as a former student of history (who shifted focus to cultural studies), but also the striking realization that I had in the process that the concept of “celebrity” has not undergone as much of a significant transformation as one might think. As I was reading them, transcribing the text, and writing short descriptions, I was astounded by how similar celebrity culture was to the present day. The published gossip and invasive reportage in leading newspapers reminiscent of ‘TMZ-esque’ tabloid journalism was quite intriguing. Of course, some of the reports are motivated by discourses on sexuality and gender specific to the historical context of the nineteenth century, but in essence, the parallels are unmistakable. One example that immediately comes to mind is a piece in the Illustrated American News entitled “Miss Cushman in Male Attire” from August 9, 1851 that reports, in an instigating and mocking tone, that Charlotte Cushman has been seen in “masculine attire” and that she has decided to formally adopt it as her regular clothing style. The implication of scandal in the article is a response to Cushman’s non-binary performance of gender, that disrupts the nineteenth-century discourses on femininity and performance of gender. So, at first, I was amused by the article thinking how discourses on gender have changed over the centuries, but then I suddenly remembered the numerous reports on Harry Styles wearing a dress for a photoshoot for Vogue that was featured on its cover of the December 2020 issue; and the sheer volume of controversy it ensued. It was then I realized that any non-binary performance of gender still comes under scrutiny from the media and a large section of public opinion, especially on social media. There were, of course, a lot of media coverage that celebrated Harry Styles’ ‘gender-neutral’ fashion statement; but so did a lot of newspapers reviewing Cushman’s gender-bending performance as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, such as one in the Caledonian Mercury from January 5, 1846. The nineteenth century is much closer to the twenty-first century than we think and working on this collection made me only more convinced.

When it comes to a favourite item, I do not think that there is one particular item from this collection that I can choose. However, one item that was memorable for me was a letter from Charlotte Cushman to Emma Crow written on July 15, 1860. I am generally intrigued by how complicated Cushman’s relationship with Emma Crow was, since they shared a kind of intimacy and deep, passionate romantic feelings for one another while Cushman was in a steady relationship with Emma Stebbins. She even refers to Stebbins as “Aunt Em” when writing to Emma Crow— who also eventually marries Cushman’s nephew and adopted son Ned Cushman. This letter is very interesting to me since it reflects this incredible complexity of Cushman’s feelings towards Crow quite prominently — the affectionate tone emphasizes their difference in age and suggests how Cushman’s feelings for Crow is much more than just romantic: kind of like a caring older relative, but at the same time desiring to return Emma’s feelings of passionate love. In the letter, Cushman also mentions how the circumstances restrict her from reciprocating Emma’s feelings completely and as she would have liked. Here are my favourite lines from the letter:

“[…] I never doubt your love for me I only wish I were as sure of heaven as I am of the deep tender passionate love which I know lives in your heart for me I wish I were more worthy of it my darling. more able to show you how I value & appreciate it.”

Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Emma Crow Cushman, July 15, 1860, LoC, CCP 1:172-173 [here: 172]

I was touched by the words since they encapsulate the complexity of sentiments impeccably in one sentence.

With the project wrapping up, I was given this opportunity to reminisce about the items I got to upload and add to this collection and that was the aim of this writeup. All I want to say now, to close this is that I had an extremely enjoyable year and seven months working as a student assistant on this project, and with the wonderful team led by Dr. Katrin Horn.