Fanny Davenport Collection, 1870s-1890s

Contents and Arrangement

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Collection Overview

Creator:

Davenport, Fanny (1850-1898)

Title:

Fanny Davenport Collection

Repository:

Manuscripts Division

Permanent URL:

http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/n870zq87r

Dates:

1870s-1890s

Size:

9 boxes and 5 linear feet

Storage Note:

This is stored in multiple locations.
ReCAP (scarcpxm): Boxes 1-7; 9
Firestone Library (scamss): Box 8

Language:

English

Abstract: Consists of papers of Fanny Davenport, a popular nineteenth-century American actress and theater manager.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of papers of Davenport, an actress and theater manager. Included in the collection is correspondence of Davenport with Frances Aymar Mathews, a playwright, T. Henry French, Elizabeth Marbury, Victorien Sardou, and other actresses, actors, real estate brokers, bankers, theater owners, costume designers, friends, and fans. Theater-related materials include scripts for Fedora and Gismonda , costume sketches, contracts with the Tremont Theatre and with Frances Aymar Mathews for her to write the play Warrior , and reviews of Fedora and Sarah Bernhardt. There is a large group of financial papers consisting of a log book of salaries paid to actors in various cities, over 1600 cancelled personal checks (1878-1896), journal pages of expenses for 1888 performances, 26 envelopes of accounts of performances for 1896-1898, and several hundred receipts for personal and company related purchases. Memorabilia includes two small silver-plate souvenir trays, a menu, stationery, notes, and newspaper clippings. There is also an account book (1859-1861) for the Howard Athenaeum kept by Davenport's father, Edward Loomis Davenport, and a framed photograph of him acting in "Blackeyed Susan."

Collection Creator Biography:

Davenport

Davenport first performed on stage at the age of eight. As an adult she performed in Philadelphia at the Arch Street Theatre, then with Augustin Daly's company at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York, acting in revivals, new plays, Shakespeare, and other plays. Around 1877 Davenport formed her own company with which she toured around the country. From 1883 to 1895 she also appeared in four plays, Fedora , Gismonda , Tosca ,and Cleopatra , by the French dramatist Victorien Sardou in roles originally performed by Sarah Bernhardt.

Collection History

Processing Information: Folder inventory added by Feng Zhu '14 in 2012. Box of previously unprocessed materials added to inventory by Lauren C. Williams in March 2024.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

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.

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