Cabinet photographs of contortionist Belle Birbeck
Overview
Photographs of contortionist Belle Birbeck.
Dates
- Creation: 1893
Language of Materials
English
Condition Description
In good condition.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research.
Extent
.08 linear feet (7 items in 1 volume)Seven cabinet photographs of Belle Birbeck wearing "fancy dress", six of which show her in solo contortionist positions and the seventh showing her, her husband, and performing partner Drummond Staley.
Birbeck's name and, on one, Dick (Drummond) Staley's, "Morrison, Colo", and "1893" are written in blue ink on all cards; on three they are written on the photograph itself. The photographer was Feinberg in New York (probably Abraham S. Feinberg).
Biographical / Historical
Belle Birbeck and Drummond Staley were respected vaudeville performers from at least the 1890s through the 1910s, performing regularly around the country. Their act involved both music and Birbeck's contortion performance, as well as rapid transformation of sets.
Arrangement
Arranged as received.
Custodial History
Ownership prior to Houghton's purchase is unknown.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2021MT-13. Purchased from Kate Mitas, Bookseller, with the Frank E. Chase Bequest, 2020 November 18.
Processing Information
This collection was processed to a basic level with minimal rehousing, organization, and preservation (Melanie Wisner, 2021 February).
Subject
- Birbeck, Belle (Person)
- Staley, Drummond (Person)
- Title
- Cabinet photographs of contortionist Belle Birbeck, 1893 (MS Thr 2084): Guide
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard University
- Date
- 2021 January 18
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou03363
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
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