LGBTQ+ Performance History Julian Eltinge Female Impersonation Ephemera from Vaudeville and Broadway 1910 to 1916

Julian Eltinge

Archive

Eltinge, Julian. ephemera relating to early twentieth-century female impersonation documents one of the most prominent figures in American stage performance and the cultural negotiation of gender presentation in the 1910s. Active across vaudeville, Broadway, and early film, Eltinge achieved national recognition for highly stylized and convincing portrayals of women at a time when cross-dressing performance operated within both popular entertainment and legal scrutiny. His stage roles in productions such as The Fascinating Widow, The Crinoline Girl, and Cousin Lucy circulated widely through promotional media, including sheet music, postcards, and theater programs. These materials demonstrate how Eltinge’s career depended on the simultaneous cultivation of a theatrical feminine persona and an offstage masculine identity, reflecting broader social constraints surrounding gender nonconformity in the early twentieth century.

Eltinge, Julian. When You Skate with a Wonderful Girl. New York: Leo Feist, 1910s. Sheet music with pictorial cover showing Eltinge in costume for Cousin Lucy, music by Percy Wenrich, lyrics by Edward Madden.
Eltinge, Julian. I’m at Your Service Girls. New York: Bernard Granville Publishing Co., 1916. Sheet music from Cousin Lucy, pictorial cover featuring Eltinge out of costume with facsimile signature, music by Jimmy Shea and Billy Venderveer.
Eltinge, Julian. When Martha Was a Girl. New York: Leo Feist, 1910s. Sheet music with color pictorial cover depicting Eltinge in costume for The Crinoline Girl, lyrics by Eltinge, music by Percy Wenrich.
Eltinge, Julian. The Fascinating Widow. Washington, D.C.: Columbia Theatre, November 14, 1910. Theatre program with portrait of Eltinge in costume.
Eltinge, Julian. Real photo postcard promoting The Fascinating Widow. Mounted on cardboard.
Eltinge, Julian. Real photo postcard promoting The Fascinating Widow.
Eltinge, Julian. Color cigar box label with portrait of Eltinge in suit within decorative frame.
Group of seven items including three pieces of sheet music, one theatre program, two real photo postcards, and one lithographed cigar box label. Materials include both in-costume and out-of-costume representations, illustrating the dual marketing of Eltinge’s stage and public identities.

These materials were produced during a period when female impersonation occupied a visible but carefully mediated place in American entertainment, shaped by audience expectations and social regulation of gender expression. Eltinge’s widespread popularity and commercial success positioned him as a central figure in this performance tradition, and the range of formats in this archive demonstrates how his image circulated across theatrical, musical, and consumer markets. Light handling wear with mild toning and minor creasing to paper; colors remain vivid and photographic images clear; overall very good condition. The archive provides a focused record of early twentieth-century drag performance.

Item #22504

Price: $880.00

Status: On Hold