Each photograph captures a story in a single moment. That’s a fact.
By adding up the details in the picture you can make a new discoveries. It could something about the person in the picture. It might be how the image fits into the context of national, local or family history. In some cases, it’s all three.
This new blog column, Photo Stories, introduces pictures from different sources.
Some come from my photo collection. Others are from clients. In other instances, the image comes from a library or archive. I hope you’ll enjoy seeing these photographs in a new light. Each post contains a research tip.
You’re likely wondering about the tale behind this picture. It’s a curious one. A woman in an odd costume poses for a portrait. Is it Halloween costume, a fancy dress-up for a charity event or is it something else?
Turns out Mrs. George Gilbert was an actress. A famous one. This photograph is from the Brady-Handy collection in the Library of Congress. The cataloging record lacked a few details.
Anne Jane Hartley (1821-1866) was from Rochdale, Lancashire, England. She learned ballet at Her Majesty’s Theatre before marrying George H. Gilbert. Together they immigrated to the United States in 1849 to seek their future on a Wisconsin farm. They’d had enough of the theatrical life. Their agricultural pursuits didn’t work out so they joined a theater company in Chicago.
Mrs. Gilbert was not considered a beauty by nineteenth century standards. Yet her appearance lent itself to the stage. Instead of being cast as a dancer, producers hired her for speaking roles. Success in Chicago, led to roles in New York plays.
Gilbert’s gift was her changing appearance in every role. In her autobiography, she wrote: “They tell me I never look quite the same in any two parts, but except for this care about detail in costume, which has clung to me always, I do very little to make myself different. She didn’t like using make-up. She claimed that she became the characters she played.
The detail in her costume in this picture is clear. Every piece of her outfit from oversize earrings, to her hat and coat make her look the part of a stern person.
She became well-known for playing older women. She spent forty-seven years as an actress.
Research Tip: Look Further
The research tip for this story is to look further even when you find an answer. Gilbert’s autobiography, The Stage Reminiscences of Mrs. Gilbert (1901) is available on the Internet Archive, but the photos are missing. A quick look on Google Books resulted in another copy of the book with the pictures in place. The image of her as the School-Marm at the LOC appeared on page 53. It was a match!
Bibliography
“Gilbert, Anne (1821-1904).” in Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia (Gale Research, 2002).
Martin, Charlotte M., ed. The Stage Reminiscences of Mrs. Gilbert. 1901.
