Wadsworth collection of playbills, 1841-1879

Collection — Folder: 1

Identifier: A1978-009-031

Scope and Contents

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The Wadsworth Collection of Playbills contains broadsides of advertisements for theater performances during the years of 1841, 1850-1851, 1854-1859, 1861, 1865-1867, and 1879, as well as some broadsides of which the dates are unknown. These performances included Shakespeare plays and other comedies and dramas, and occurred in Boston area theaters, including Boston Theatre, Howard Athenaeum, and the National Theatre. For the most part, the broadsides within this collection list plays in which the performances of Joseph Proctor or Annie Proctor are listed. These two actors were maternal relatives of George Wadsworth, the donor of the collection. Broadsides advertising other theatre groups and performances in the New England, New York Pennsylvania, California and Colorado area are also within this collection as well as one from Edinburgh Scotland. This collection also contains a broadside entitled "Epitaph" which claims to be a facsimile of a document that was circulated throughout the Southern United States during the American Civil War and it claims to make known the "South-side view of the rebellion".

The series are arranged alphabetically by location (city name), separated alphabetically by theatre name, and arranged chronologically within each folder. The collection, contained in one box and one oversize folder, consists of 31 folders containing 251 broadsides total of various dimensions.

Dates

Creation: 1841-1879

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Materials in this collection may be governed by copyright. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Please contact the Archivist regarding permission to publish material.

Biographical / Historical

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Joseph Proctor (May 7, 1816-Oct. 2, 1897) was a famed actor in the mid-nineteenth century America. Mr. Joseph Proctor's professional theatrical career led him through many important cities in the United States during the American Civil War period as well as caused him to travel to Europe in 1859. At times he acted in association with Edwin Forrest, Julius Brutus Booth and Edward L. Davenport. He retired to teach acting in the later years of his life. His daughter, Anna E. Proctor (1849-1928), the child of his second marriage, was one of his students and went into an acting career herself, but did not pursue as long a career on the stage as her father because of her ill health.

In an article in the Boston Evening Transcript of 1896, Mr. Joseph Proctor was interviewed and his insight on the theater world of this period and the heightened interest in vaudeville during the late 1800's sheds an interesting light on the theatrical productions in America during the Civil War period. "During the war I acted all through all the Northern States; I saw hundreds of audiences, and the plays that took with them were farces and light comedies. Men were under a terrible strain during those four long years, and when they went to a theatre they wanted to be amused".

"Before the war, tragedy was always popular, but afterwards it seemed to have lost its power as an attraction. My theory may be wrong but I think that theatrical conditions at present are simply a result of the war".

Mr. Joseph Proctor was a Mason and a Knights Templar.

Full Extent

250 item/s

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Wadsworth Collection of Playbills contains broadsides of advertisements of theatre performances from the years 1841, 1850-1851, 1854-1859, 1861, 1865-1867, 1879, and some with dates unknown. These performances were mostly held in the New England area but some of the broadsides list performances that were held in Pennsylvania, New York, Colorado, California and Edinburgh Scotland. The vast majority of the performances listed on these broadsides include within their cast members the actor Joseph Proctor (May 7, 1816-Oct. 2, 1897) and the actress Anna E. Proctor (1849-1928) who were maternal relatives of the donor George P. Wadsworth.

The collection provides an indication of the kinds of performances that were being held during this time, and also as a record of the climate of the entertainment industry in America during this difficult period of cultural adjustment.

Researchers interested in the immigrations patterns in the Boston area and the cultural acceptance of diverse ethnic groups could find items of interest in this collection as the titles of the performances change dramatically during the period of 1855-1856 in the Boston Theatre Series.