The collection consists of 131 posters advertising attractions coming to Rochester, New York theatres during the early 1880s. The lithographed posters are a graphic record of the public amusement available in Rochester during this period and provide a broader view of the theatrical offerings of the era including drama, comedy, melodrama and vaudeville.
The information about the collection was either gleaned from the posters or from contemporary newspaper accounts of the productions. All information supplied from sources other than the posters is in brackets.
The posters were collected into a folio volume by their original owner. Unfortunately, when this was done, they were trimmed to a standard size (19.5 x 26.5 inches) resulting in missing text on many of the posters.
The images displayed with the descriptive records were scanned from color microfiche of the original posters. The scans are intended for reference purposes only, and may not accurately reflect the color of the original lithographed posters. The microfiche were created through a grant by the New York State Conservation/Preservation Program.
| Big golden bell chiming, which reads "Chimes of Corneville" | Blonde man (J.K. Emmet ?) dancing on top of (same man's) head; holding many (of same man's) heads in his hands |
| Four separate portraits surrounding the number "4". The top two portraits are of women and the bottom two are of men; also, a four-leaf clover | Funeral scene; gravesite of Terry Dennison |
| Giraffe standing against sky background; trees on the side | John McCullough as the Gladiator; duel scene w/ spectators |
| Macbeth w/ three witches? | "O'Hara and His Nora"; portrait of man (Joseph Murphy ?) and woman holding birds |
| Old black man wiping bald head, w/ hat tipped and dress clothes on; bag on floor next to him | Outdoor scene w/ two men (one apparently a priest) and three women (one w/ many jewels, one w/ cross necklace, and one much older) |
| Outdoor scene, w/ man struggling in water, and young man jumps off bridge to save him; woman on bridge looks on | Performance scene w/ Silvo, the innovator; separate portraits of Tony Denier and Silvo |
| Portrait of "Hazel Kirke"; surrounded by figures portraying scenes from the play | Portrait of Ada Gray |
| Portrait of Adam Forepaugh | Portrait of Agnes Hallock |
| Portrait of Alice Gleason | Portrait of Barney McAuley as "Uncle Dan'l" |
| Portrait of bearded man, wearing a (captain's ?) hat, holding a whip, w/ stern look in his eyes | Portrait of Bobby Newcomb |
| Portrait of Buffalo Bill in center w/ buffalo head; w/ surrounding action scenes | Portrait of Camilla Urso, w/ two violins |
| Portrait of Carlotta Crabtree ("Lotta"), in hammock | Portrait of Carrie Swain, carrying child on shoulders |
| Portrait of Catherine Lewis, in cracked egg shell | Portrait of Charles E. Evans as "The Book Agent", sitting on keg of gun powder |
| Portrait of Charles T. Parsloe, w/ surrounding scenes in black background | Portrait of Clara Louise Kellogg |
| Portrait of Cool White as Uncle Tom; cabin in background | Portrait of Corinne as the "Mascotte" |
| Portrait of Cyril Searle | Portrait of Dollie Delroy, contralto |
| Portrait of Elliott Barnes | Portrait of Eloise Chandler, w/ boat in the water in background |
| Portrait of Emma Abbott | Portrait of Emma Thursby |
| Portrait of Fanny Davenport | Portrait of Fanny Davenport as Fedora |
| Portrait of Fay Templeton in a star through a golden horseshoe, on a black background | Portrait of George H. Adams |
| Portrait of George S. Knight | Portrait of George S. Knight w/ beard and hat |
| Portrait of Geraldine Ulmar, holding parasol | Portrait of Harry Meredith |
| Portrait of Helen Potter w/ Helen Potter's Pleiades; pictures of her, playing various characters | Portrait of Helena Modjeska |
| Portrait of Henrietta Chanfrau | Portrait of Herndon Morsell |
| Portrait of Herrmann | Portrait of Jeffreys Lewis in bell |
| Portrait of Jennie Yeamans | Portrait of John F. Ward |
| Portrait of John McCullough | Portrait of John T. Raymond |
| Portrait of Joseph Jefferson as Rip Van Winkle, after the sleep of 20 years | Portrait of Joseph Jefferson as Rip Van Winkle, before the sleep of 20 years |
| Portrait of Josie Sutherland, the elegant skipping rope artist; separate portraits of Tony Denier and Josie Sutherland ? | Portrait of Julia Holman |
| Portrait of Kate Castleton | Portrait of Kate Claxton |
| Portrait of Kate Claxton | Portrait of Kate Claxton as a nun |
| Portrait of Katie Rooney, "The Faultless Little Soubrette" | Portrait of Lillian Brown |
| Portrait of Lillian Cleves | Portrait of Lillian Spencer |
| Portrait of Lizzie Annandale | Portrait of Lizzie Harold as the Princess Chuck |
| Portrait of Louis Aldrich | Portrait of Louis F. Baum |
| Portrait of Lytton Sothern | Portrait of M'lle Addie |
| Portrait of M.B. Leavitt | Portrait of Madelon Zolo |
| Portrait of man and woman (Ada Gray ?) embracing; woman's gown has long train | Portrait of man dressed in red and gold, holding a sword; standing before arched doorway |
| Portrait of man serenading woman in window | Portrait of Margaret Mather |
| Portrait of Margaret Mather | Portrait of Marie Nellini |
| Portrait of Mary Anderson | Portrait of Minnie Hauk |
| Portrait of Minnie Maddern [Fiske] | Portrait of Mrs. George S. Knight |
| Portrait of Nathaniel C. Goodwin | Portrait of Nellie McHenry on hammock |
| Portrait of Nellie McHenry, w/ surrounding drawings | Portrait of Pauline Markham |
| Portrait of Professor Hartz surrounded by various images of dancing and playing figures | Portrait of Roland Reed |
| Portrait of Roland Reed, tipping hat to young girl | Portrait of Rose Eytinge |
| Portrait of The Great Zittella | Portrait of Theresa Vaughn; squirrels in tree surrounding the portrait |
| Portrait of Thomas W. Keene, tragedian | Portrait of Tony Pastor |
| Portrait of Topsy Venn | Portrait of unidentified woman w/ blond hair, wearing gold beaded necklace and gold earrings |
| Portrait of Viola Clifton ? | Portrait of W.J. Scanlan |
| Portrait of William Jermyn Florence | Portrait of William Pfaff |
| Portrait of woman (Rose Coghlan ?), surrounded by multi-colored roses | Portrait of woman in flowered dress, holding open a curtain next to a chair, w/ finger to her lips |
| Portrait of woman in ringlets (Emma Howe ?), surrounded by flowers and butterfly | Portrait of woman standing, holding open a reddish curtain; woman wearing long white dress |
| Portrait of woman w/ bird | Portrait of woman w/ flowers in hair |
| Portrait of woman w/ long red hair, wearing white and red; standing in a dark, wooded area | Portrait of woman, w/ torn dress and wearing hat; carrying knife, and has one foot resting on a mound on the ground |
| Portrait of [Charles] Wyndham | Portrait of [Hortense] Rhea |
| Portrait of [Hortense] Rhea | Portraits of Bateman, Webber, Cook, and Ryder |
| Public gathering; elephant statues; storm clouds w/ lightning striking circular building | Scene from "Bleak House"; "The Meeting" in foyer of house |
| Scene showing "the arrival of the boarders"; man pushing twins in a baby carriage | Scene w/ child on iceburg in rapid waters; two men trying to save her |
| Scene w/ man (Uncle Alvin ?) giving three women fruit in the streets of town | Scene w/ men and women working outside Coriander Smalley Grocery, Ranch 10 |
| Scene w/ men surrounding orange flag that reads "Byron" | Scene w/ two cows pulling cart towards train tracks and train approaching, w/ Uncle Josh (?) holding stick |
| Tent scene, where man is lying on a curtained bed next to his sword, dying; he sees bright light where people are holding arms out to him | The great forum scene in "Virginius" |
| "The Only Real Nubian Bull Ever Seen on This Continent"; two bulls in water | "The Road From Chatham to London in the Snow & Moonlight." Woman and two men in snow scene |
| Three men; one very tall, one holding caged birds | Three separate portraits of Thatcher, Primrose, and West (?), respectively |
| Two dogs and a barrel of money | Two portraits of Mattie Vickers in separate scenery and costume |
| Woman riding horse cart, everything in disarray; person flying off cart, chicken flying, woman has evil, angry look in eyes |
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