[The Night Owls Beauty Show" Poster, Pauline Markham]
Date
Undated
Production
The Night Owls Beauty Show
Character roles
Pauline Markham (The General)
Artistic roles
Pauline Markham (Actor)
Genre
Burlesque
Theme
Women in 19th C. Theatre
Item description
Lithograph poster advertising 'The Night Owls Beauty Show' starring Pauline Markham (1847-1919). Poster is in color and is estimated to be dated 1891. The show was produced by the Robert Manchester French Folly Company.
Object narrative
Pauline Markham (1847-1919) was born in England and began her performance career there in 1867 at the Queen's Theatre in 'The First Night.' She came to the United States in 1868 with the Lydia Thompson Troupe as Venus in 'Ixion,' later closing with the same company at Niblo's Garden, New York. She was mentioned in an article in 'The Galaxy' magazine as early as 1869 as already being a burlesque actress of note. Her '. . .speech is vocal velvet. . .her voice and her smile give to her presence a rare attraction, that calls to mind the allurements which Horace immortalized. . .'(The Galaxy, Aug. 1869). It is rumored that she quit the Lydia Thompson company in order to join the cast of 'The Black Crook.' 'The Night Owls Beauty Show,' a Robert Manchester French Folly Company production, was performed in 1891. It says that Markham played the part of 'The General.' Women playing men in burlesque shows was the practice of the time, with pictures of burlesque actresses even being sold as souvenirs in the streets. Pauline Markham was most often billed as an 'actress in tights' in these pictures, rather than an 'actress showing bust,' as other actresses were pictured. 'The National Police Gazette' in 1879 noted: 'Miss Pauline Markham, the popular and widely famous artiste, who has by general approval been invested by right of her beauty and magnificent statuesque form with the title of 'Queen of the burlesque stage'. . .'
Type
image
Original format
Poster
Original publisher
[Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified]
Language
en
Contributing institution
Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries
Source collection
MSS255 Robert C. Hansen Performing Arts Collection
[Identification of item], Robert C. Hansen Performing Arts Collection, 1753-2006 (MSS255), Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives and Manuscripts, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.
NO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATES. This item has been determined to be free of copyright restrictions in the United States. The user is responsible for determing actual copyright status for any reuse of the material.
Object ID
MSS255.P002
Digital publisher
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries, PO Box 26170, Greensboro NC 27402-6170, 336.334.5304
