Women’s History Vaudeville and Burlesque Performers in Commercial Print Culture Photographic and Advertising Archive 1880s to 1910s

Showgirls Vaudeville Performers

Archive

Photographs and printed ephemera of female stage performers dating from the 1880s through the 1910s document the emergence of women as visible figures within vaudeville and burlesque entertainment at a time when theatrical labor offered one of the few public professions available to working women. The archive identifies named performers including Gracie Wilson, Jennie Joyce, and Mlle. Marcia and records their presentation within commercial and studio imagery that circulated widely in mass print culture. These materials support research into women’s history, performance studies, and the development of popular entertainment industries, particularly the ways female performers navigated public visibility, economic opportunity, and gender norms in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Archive consists of sixteen pieces, including two sepia cabinet cards mounted on cardstock, chromolithographic advertising trade cards, hand colored and monochrome postcards, and real photo postcards, measuring approximately 3.5 x 5.5 inches to 4.25 x 6.5 inches. The cabinet cards, issued by Newsboy of New York, include studio portraits of Jennie Joyce dressed in breeches and jacket and Gracie Wilson in a militarized costume with exposed legs, both demonstrating the use of theatrical costume to construct stage identity. Additional items include postcards and trade cards depicting British and American burlesque performers in staged poses, often accompanied by advertising text for commercial products such as barbershops and hair dressing parlors. Several pieces from series such as “British Burlesque Artists” present lithographed and photographic images of performers in theatrical settings, including classical backdrops and studio interiors, emphasizing pose, costume, and visual composition associated with stage publicity.

These materials were produced during a period when mass printing technologies expanded the circulation of performer imagery, allowing actresses and dancers to reach audiences beyond the theater through postcards and advertising media. The inclusion of cross gender costume, stylized poses, and commercial branding reflects the intersection of entertainment, gender presentation, and consumer culture in this period. Female performers used such imagery to establish recognizable personas while operating within a commercial system that marketed their appearance and performance. Light edge wear, creasing, and surface wear to some items, with foxing present on certain advertising cards; overall very good condition. This archive provides concentrated visual and material evidence of women’s participation in early popular entertainment and the commercial frameworks that shaped their public image.

Item #22289

Price: $885.00