Nineteenth Century Actor Photograph Collection
name: label: Collector
content: Templin, Roger P.
label: Collector
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Cultural History
label: Names
content: Ackerstrom, Ulie
label: Names
content: Barrymore, Maurice, 1849-1905
label: Names
content: Booth, Rachel
label: Names
content: Burroughs, Marie
label: Names
content: Cayvan, Georgia, 1858?-1906
label: Names
content: Coe, Isabelle
label: Names
content: Davenport, Harry, 1866-1949
label: Names
content: Drew, John, 1853-1927
label: Names
content: Fox, Della
label: Names
content: Glaser, Lulu, 1874-1958
label: Names
content: Hopper, Edna Wallace, 1872-1959
label: Names
content: Jefferson, Joseph, 1829-1905
label: Names
content: Plunkett, Charles
label: Names
content: Ratcliffe, Edward J., 1863-1948
label: Names
content: Rehan, Ada, 1857-1916
label: Names
content: Robson, May, 1858-1942
label: Names
content: Russell, Lillian, 1861-1922
label: Names
content: Sothern, E. H. (Edward Hugh), 1859-1933
label: Names
content: Terriss, William
label: Names
content: Wilson, Francis, 1854-1935
topic: label: Occupation
content: Actors
label: Topic
content: Theater
label: Topic
content: Portraits -- 19th century
label: Topic
content: Actresses
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated by Roger P. Templin in memory of his sister Daisy Templin in October 1958.
creator: label: Collector
content: Templin, Roger P.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Nineteenth Century Actor Photograph Collection
abstract: label: Summary
content: Photographs of numerous and popular actors of the 19th century.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: The cult of celebrity is not a 20th century phenomenon.  In the latter part of the 19th century innovations in the use of photography as advertising spurned a new avenue of celebrity likeness-based souvenirs.  Portraits of personalities from the stage who were previously portrayed in engravings and traditional portraiture were now available to an interested public in a more realistic and affordable form – the cigar/cigarette card included as an incentive in the purchase of a smoking product and cabinet photographs sold as souvenirs by theatrical promoters.   These photographs depicted celebrities as well as scenes from plays in which they performed.  They were avidly collected by a public interested in the personalities of minstrelsy, vaudeville and the legitimate theatre.

This collection was created, or acquired, by Daisy Templin (1874?-1956) of Alton, Illinois.  Templin was an avid collector of Victoriana and filled the home (1605 Washington Avenue) of she and her brother, Roger P. Templin (1872?-?), with furniture, ceramics, bric-a-brac and all types of predominately Victorian ephemera.  She wrote that ". . . whatever interested me I bought."  Her brother was a former wholesale grocery salesman in St. Louis, MO.  By the time of her death, Templin had contemplated donating much of her collection to the Smithsonian Institution.  Her collection was willed to her brother who donated a sizable portion of the collection (over 1,000 items) to the museum in 1958.  The home she and her brother shared was demolished to make way for a shopping center in 1961.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Cubic foot (3 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1868-1897
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: Collection transferred from the Division of Cultural History (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) to the Archives Center, in April 2001. The collection was originally titled 19th Century Actress Photo Collection (Accession # 219034 Catalog # 59.789)
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0779
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Cigarette cards
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Cabinet photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Divided into 3 series: Series 1: Cigar/Cigarette Cards, undated; Series 2: Cabinet Photographs, 1878-1897,and Miscellaneous, 1868-1892.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., 2009.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Cigarette cards
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 1850-1900
label: Genre/Form
content: Cabinet photographs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Cigar/cigarette cards and cabinet photographs portraying actors (male and female) from the late 19th century. The photographs are predominantly American actors but some English and French performers are also included. Some of the more prominent persons represented are Lulu Glaser, Francis Wilson, and Georgia Cayvan, plus others listed below.