Collection View
Consists of correspondence of Blanche Pauli with family members, professional contacts, and admirers, along with a group of family correspondence, including correspondence of Herman Utley Boardman, Claudia Pauli, and other members of the Taney family. Blanche Pauli is also often referred to in correspondence as "Jean," "Dee," or "Deede."
Correspondence of Blanche Pauli is arranged alphabetically by correspondent, followed by a group of family correspondence that is arranged by family member.
Baker, Sam J., Dr., 1899 November 15
Boardman, Herman Utley, 1904
Boardman, Herman Utley, 1914
Coleman, Halbert A., 1902-1903
Dalton, Robson, 1902-1922
Diller, Mr., undated
Hartman, M.S., 1899
Huff, William Morton, 1899 August 5
Smith, Ira F., 1914 October 7
Taney, Harriette (Sister), 1904-1915
Unidentified Admirers, 1895-1899
Invitations and Party Favors, 1883
Photographs, circa 1897-1904
Consists of headshots and photographs of Blanche Pauli in costume, along with one negative and print depicting a performance.
Materials are arranged by type.
Datebook and Address Book, 1898-1990
Materials are arranged by type.
Consists of visiting cards and business cards of Blanche Pauli and her professional associates, as well as a metal card holder inscribed with her name.
Materials are arranged by type.
Materials relate to Blanche Pauli and her family members; they include funeral bills for Francis Taney and Agnes M. Baker, a bill for Pauli's rent in the building of Lucie M. Boardman, a mortgage bill for H. Utley Boardman, and other receipts.
Materials are arranged by type.
Includes clippings, religious cards and devotionals belonging to Francis J. Taney, a "Catechism of the History of the United States," blank postcards, a ship joiner's log for John Taney, and an advertisement for "Mlle. Taney's Institute" in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Materials are arranged by type.
Système Jay Gloves, 1890s
Also includes a photocopy of a patent for the glove design.
Materials are arranged by type.
Newspaper Clippings, 1898-1917
Consists of a group of clippings collected and occasionally annotated by Blanche Pauli. There are clippings about Pauli, including reviews of her work ("Hello Bill" and other performances) and an 1898 article documenting Pauli's receipt of a medal from the New York Fire Department after she saved the lives of several people by helping them escape from a burning building. There are also clippings about theater, politics, and current events, including articles about suffragists, Lillian Clayton Jewett, President William McKinley, and obituaries of public figures.
Materials are arranged by type.
Newspapers and Magazines, 1883-1904
Materials are arranged by type.
Robson Dalton Materials, 1898-1902
Consists of materials related to Pauli's vaudeville partner Robson Dalton, including photographs, advertisements and printed materials related to Dalton's performance in the Strange Adventures of Amos Skeeter, and a cartoon drawn by Dalton about the sinking of the USS Maine.
Materials are arranged by type.
Materials are arranged by type.
Includes printed ballads of H. Antoine D'Arcy; an "International Descriptive Catalog of Plays and Dramatic Works" (1905-1906), which includes information about vaudeville and minstrel shows; an advertisement for performer Inez Shannon; and travel-related materials (hotel list, railroad schedule).
Materials are arranged by type.
Opera Libretti, undated
Includes libretti for The Mikado and Olivette.
Materials are arranged by type.
Includes typescript and manuscript play scripts and actor's sides for parts in popular vaudeville and other stage acts. Many are heavily annotated.
Arranged alphabetically by play title.
The Deemster, undated
The Devil's Mine, undated
Fireman's Ward, undated
A Great Game, undated
Mama's New Husband, undated
My Neighbor's Wife, undated
My Old New Hampshire Home, undated
The Mystic Mountain, undated
Rip Van Winkle, undated
The Secret Enemy, undated
The Smugglers, undated
Tangled Hearts, undated
A Trip to the City, undated
Under Two Flags, undated
A Woman of Society, undated
Vaudeville Acts Sides, undated
Untitled Sides, circa 1900-1910
Playbills, 1899-1907
Consists of playbills for plays in which Blanche Pauli appeared, as well as some playbills for similar plays.
Playbills for plays in which Blanche Pauli appeared are arranged alphabetically, followed by playbills for other plays in which she did not appear.
Playbills: A-H, 1899-1902
Playbills: I-O, 1901-1904
Playbills: P-Z, 1900-1903
Playbills: Other, 1900-1907
Sheet Music, 1872-1919
Consists of manuscript and printed professional copies of sheet music for popular vaudeville and minstrel songs.
Arranged alphabetically by song title.
"Annie Laurie", undated
"As I'd Nothing Else to Do", undated
"Down on the Old Suanee", 1900
"Dreaming of You", 1902
"Forever, Dear!", 1900
"Gayest Manhattan", undated
"The Happy Pair", undated
"Life's Dream is O'er", undated
"Ma Rainbow Coon", undated
"My Downtown Girl", 1902
"My Heart's Tonight in Texas", 1900
"Please Mr. Conductor", 1902
"One Little Word", 1899
"Roses Underneath the Snow", 1872
"Shall We Never Meet Again?", 1896
"Speak to Me, Speak", undated
"That's All", undated
"Under the Bamboo Tree", 1902
- Scope and Contents
Blanche Pauli, as she was known professionally, was a singer (billed as "The Female Baritone"), actress, and vaudevillian, active in the northeastern United States and Canada from the late 1890s through 1904. Pauli was born around 1870 in Brooklyn, New York, and christened Virginia C. Taney. Early in her theatrical career, she was a member of a chorus known as The Criterion Girls. While Pauli found occasional work in New York as a supporting actress, she found her leading roles primarily with stock companies, including a company called The Dominion Stock, that toured from Pennsylvania to Quebec. She played in melodramas, operettas, and vaudeville acts that were stock fare at the time. During those years she joined up with performer Robson Dalton to form the vaudeville team of "Robson and Pauli." Pauli stopped performing regularly in 1904 and married Herman Utley Boardman, the grandson of the owner of the house in New York City where she lived. She was afterward known as Mrs. Virginia Boardman.
This collection consists of Blanche Pauli's professional and family correspondence, photographs, play scripts and actor's sides, sheet music for vaudeville and minstrel show songs, playbills, personal and family memorabilia, and clippings. Some materials also relate to Pauli's husband, Herman Utley Boardman, and her performance partner, Robson Dalton. Headshots and photographs of Blanche Pauli and Robson Dalton in costume, datebooks documenting Pauli's travels, performance announcements and reviews, and other materials provide a glimpse into the life of a regional vaudeville performer at the turn of the century. Scripts, playbills, sheet music, and libretti also provide documentation of the songs and plays common among vaudeville and minstrel performers in the late 19th and early 20th century.
- Arrangement
Materials are arranged by type.
- Acquisition:
Additions were a gift of Reverend Daniel J. Gatti, S.J., in 2017 (AM 2018-38). No acquisition information is currently available for earlier accessions, though materials were likely acquired from multiple sources.
- Appraisal
No materials were separated during 2017 processing.
- Processing Information
This collection was processed in 2002.
The finding aid was revised and updated by Kelly Bolding in November 2017, with assistance from Fiona Bell '18 and Julia English '19.
- Conditions Governing Access
Open for research use.
- Conditions Governing Use
Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
- Credit this material:
Princeton University Library Collection of Blanche Pauli Materials; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Permanent URL:
- http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/jh343s338
- Location:
-
Firestone LibraryOne Washington RoadPrinceton, NJ 08544, USA
- Storage Note:
- ReCAP (scarcpxm): Box 1-4
- Subject Terms:
- Actresses -- United States. -- Sources
Entertainers -- United States. -- Sources
Minstrel music -- United States. -- Sources
Revues -- United States. -- Sources
Singers -- United States. -- Sources
Vaudeville -- United States. -- Sources - Genre Terms:
- Clippings.
Correspondence
Photographs, Original.
Playbills.
Scripts (documents).
Sheet music. - Names:
- Boardman, Herman Utley
Dalton, Robson
Pauli, Blanche (1870?-)
