The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-05-13
old theatre at Broadway ana 1nrpeenrn

old theatre at Broadway ana Thirteenth
street
Augustin DAILY, in his original Fifth Avenue
Theatre, gave the first general impetus to
the pictorial part of dramaticart. Possessing
a fine natural taste for color and stage effect,
he began, with the opening Of the establish
ment to attend personally to the smallest
detail which would enhance the stage picture
he wished to present. It is said that, from
the shade of the carpet on the floor to the last
waving feather tip in the leading lady's hair,
everything was considered and decided upon
by the manager himself, whose working
capacity has always been marvellous Fanny
Davenport was then, and for many years,
the favorite actress of the company, which at
different times included also Agnes Ethel,
Clara Morris, Linda Dietz, Ada Dyas and
others, all of whom dressed well and expen-
sively, but none of whom equaled Miss
Davenport in the costlinsss, not to say ex-
travagance, of her attire. She was large and
handsome and could wear becomingly the
most elaborate and pronounced stuffs-things
which made her smaller and less well-favored
fellows look simply vulgar. One toilet, which
she wore in the part of Lady Teazle in
superb revival of 1.-THE School for Scandal
beauty, that it has become almost a green
room tradition. 1t was pale blue silk or
satin of the richest quality, covered with
hounces, draperies and other trimmings of
very rare and genuine point lace, while her
arms, neck and hair sparkled with diamonds
of pure water. Commercially -minded
habitueS of the theatre estimated that the
toilet and jewels represented upwards of
7 Of hal Of
the years Immediately following the close Of
the war. But alas! it pointed a moral while
it adorned tale.
When the Fifth Avenue Theatre was burned,
a dozen years ago or more, Miss Davenport
lost among other things, few jewels valued
at about s., 900, which she had CHANGED to
leave in her dressing room. But these were
only a small portion of her possessions
Stage jewels, in the old sense have almost
wholly passed out of fashion with actresses,
except with those who play In pieces that
form the repertoires of such artists as Ris-
tori, Lander and Janauschek. In their parts,
where jewels are required at ALL they are
required in such masses that no woman off a
throne could honestly own real ones enough.
The modern contempOraneous drama" de-
mands fewer, but strictly genuine stones Of
as pure water as may be. There are some
quite celebrated pieces of jewelry on the
stage, as, for instance, the magnificent dia-
mond necklace owned by Miss Mary Ander-
son, and said to have cost 500, 600 in cash, to
say nothing of advertising.
Many actresses, however, are unable to
afford the jewels they regard as necessary.
Consequently when they play in cities they
hire by the evening or week what they need
In nearly all large places there are jewelers.
who, for sufficient security, are quite willing
to let ornaments; and with some dealers in
New York it is no inconsiderable part of
their business. It is true, too, of costly laces,
which large stores often quietly let to we'll
known and responsible players although they
would not wish it to be generally known
The large stores, too, often help actresses in
another way-by making their costumes at a
reduced rate on the understanding that it
shall be announced, wherever practicable,
that Miss So and Sos dresses, for such and
such part, were made at the well-known
establishment of Blank & Blank. This
notice often appears on the programme, and
innumerable paragraphs to the same effect
float about In the newspapers.
Miss Sara Jewett and Miss Maud Harrison,
best dressed women on the contemporaneous
stage. Miss Jewett can bear both the simple
and the ornate; but the latter suits her best.
Miss Harrison's garments are always coquet-
fish. 1t matters not whether they are made
of nuns gray or bellies pink, it is impossible
for them to be anything but coquettish; for,
more than almost any other actress, she sets
the stamp of her own personality upon them.
=. Ty.l. = TNaI--y ,-o1Ir-
mirably costumed. She is tall and slender,
and ordinarily chooses simple styles of ex-
cellent cut, probably perceiving that they
best become her.
Miss Rose Coghlan, of Wallacks, has a high
reputation for fine dressing, and wears most
expensive and elaborate toilets. She is not
beautiful woman, but she has figure well
adapted to the display of good clothes, and is
too thorough an artist not to avail herself of
all her points
To the thoughtful mind, however, all this
display OF personal adornment is saddening
rather than pleasing. 1t constantly impresses
one with a sense of wastefulness and material
ism-of the placing the unimportant before
the important. When you see that the dresses
of one actress IN a single part often cost far
more than the average yearly income of edu-
Gated men, you cannot help but recognize
that the relations of the theatre to life need
readjusting.
There is much talk just now among mana
gers of reducing what they claim to be the
present exorbitant salaries, to meet similar
reductions in other walks. If this be done it
viii probably have, for time at least, the
good effect of modifying the needless extrava-
gance of theatrical dressing.
MARGARET ANTHON.