Theatrical music, playbills, and portraits related to Mrs. Jordan
Overview
Music, playbills and portraits related to the Irish performer Dorothy Jordan, known as Mrs. Jordan.
Dates
- Creation: 1783-1825
Language of Materials
English.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.
This collection is not housed at the Houghton Library but is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. Retrieval requires advance notice. Readers should check with Houghton Public Services staff to determine what material is offsite and retrieval policies and times.
Extent
.2 linear feet (1 box)Collection is comprised of music for songs performed by Mrs. Jordan in various productions; playbills for productions in which she appeared; and printed portraits of her chiefly in various theatrical roles.
Biographical / Historical
Born Dorothea (sometimes called Dorothy or Dora) Bland near Waterford, Ireland, Dorothy Jordan was the daughter of Francis Bland (d. 1778) and his mistress, Grace Phillips. She was an Irish actress, courtesan, and the mistress and companion of the future King William IV of the United Kingdom for 20 years while he was Duke of Clarence. She took the stage name "Mrs. Jordan" as it was slightly more respectable for a married woman to be on the stage. There was no Mr. Jordan and Dorothea Bland never married.
Arrangement
Arranged in three series:
- I. Music
- II. Playbills
- III. Portraits
Physical Location
Harvard Depository [box is portfolio sized]
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2009MT-93 (lot 30). Purchased with funds from the Frank E. Chase Bequest and George and Faith Kahrl Fund for Theatre History; received: 2009 August 24.
General note
This collection is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. See access restrictions below for additional information.
Processing Information
Processed by: Monique Duhaime and Melanie Wisner
- Title
- Jordan, Dorothy, 1761-1816, performer. Theatrical music, playbills, and portraits related to Mrs. Jordan, 1783-1825: Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou02162
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.
Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.
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