Title	[Book Plate of Sarah Bernhardt, "Cleopatra]
Date	Undated
Production	Cloptre
Character roles	Sarah Bernhardt (Cloptre)
Artistic roles	Sarah Bernhardt (Actor)
Genre	Tragedy
Theme	Women in 19th C. Theatre
Item description	Book plate of Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) in the role of Cloptre.' The book plate is a reproduction of a photograph taken by Napoleon Sarony. She is pictured with her handmaiden.
Object narrative	Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) was born in France and over the course of her lifetime became the first truly international celebrity actor. Born to a courtesan in Paris, Bernhardt was virtually ignored by her mother for much of her childhood, being raised by a nanny and educated in a convent. This treatment, it is believed, led to her particularly sensitive, nervous, and dramatic temperament the rest of her life, and her life motto, Quand mme, which means In spite of all, or No matter what. Not happy with Sarahs decision to become a nun, one of her mothers clients arranged for Sarah to enter the Conservatoire, the training school for the Comdie Franaise, in 1860. After finishing her training and an unimpressive debut at the Comdie, she left that company after having an impetuous argument with one of the older actresses. Brief appearances at smaller theatres and an absence during which she had a child led to her resurfacing at the Odon theatre in 1866, where she began her rise to notoriety with such plays as Le Passant and Victor Hugos Ruy Blas. By 1872, she had become quite popular and the Comdie wanted her back. Paying a fine for leaving her contract at the Odon was acceptable to the shrewd Bernhardt, who was only interested in advancing her career. She signed a twenty year contract with the Comdie and began making hits in plays such as Phdre and Hernani. Her celebrity rose even higher as her eccentric behavior became known in the press. She was known for sleeping in a coffin at the foot of her bed and having a human skeleton in her bedroom, as well as having a rather exotic collection of pets, including a tortoise and an alligator. She had a fascination with death and believed she would die young, rehearsing for the event by playing as many heroines with death scenes as she could. Her acting style was highly melodramatic, relying on facial expressions, planned gestures, and her rich voice to create passionate and tortured characters. In 1880 she continued her tradition of breaking her contracts and left the Comdie Franaise for more extensive fame. Over the next forty years she would tour to virtually every habitable continent of the world and make millions of dollars, earning herself the title, 'The Divine Sarah.' This photograph is in book plate format from a picture originally taken by Napoleon Sarony and depicts Bernhardt in the role of Cloptre by Sardou, which she opened on October 23, 1890. Bernhardt was Sardous muse at this time, as she was particularly suited to the heroines he created. Leading up to Cloptre, he had written Fdora, Thodora, and La Tosca all for her. Cloptre was no different. The sensuous queen of Egypt fit into Bernhardts style completely, as, according to French critic Jules Lematre, she is only completely herself when she is killing or dying. Nowadays she is only the incomparable actress of last acts... (qtd. in Wagenknecht 66). Cloptre was six acts long and ran more than four hours. According to critics, it was made bearable only because of Bernhardts presence: The part is cut like a robe or, better, like the winding softness, the clinging transparency, of Sarahs jeweled gowns just to fit her best moods. She is always on the stage, with long intervals of silence, when she does nothing but recline or lean as only Bernhardt can. The drama goes on, but you neither care nor listen... (NYT' 9 Nov. 1890). She is pictured here with a handmaiden.
Type	Image
Original format	Book Plate
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
Series/grouping	10.1.1: Photographs, Cards, Caricatures/Satire and Other Pictoral Materials -- Photographs -- People
Box	88
Finding aid link	http://library.uncg.edu/info/depts/scua/collections/manuscripts/ead/mss255.xml
Preferred citation	[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.
Rights statement	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
Additional rights information	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	MSS255.088.014
Digital publisher	The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries, PO Box 26170, Greensboro NC 27402-6170, 336.334.5304
OCLC number	872280924

[Book Plate of Sarah Bernhardt, "Cleopatra"]

Page/Item Description