Back to top

Pages


Cunningham, Emma Augusta.
Waist-length portrait of Mrs. Cunningham, seated., In Frank Leslie’s illustrated newspaper, vol. 3, no. 63 (Feb. 27, 1857), p. 192., Mrs. Emma Augusta Cunningham was accused of murdering Dr. Harvey Burdell, a wealthy dentist from whom she rented a suite of rooms and with whom she was romantically involved. The murder and subsequent trial caused a media frenzy and, though she was ultimately acquitted of the crime, her innocence came into question when it was found that she was neither married to Burdell nor pregnant with his child, as she initially claimed. The murder remains unsolved.

Cunningham, Helen.
Waist-length portrait of Miss Helen Cunningham, wearing necklace., In Frank Leslie’s illustrated newspaper, vol. 3, no. 63 (Feb. 21, 1857), p. 192., Miss Helen Cunningham was the daughter of Mrs. Emma Augusta Cunningham. Miss Cunningham was a tenant in Dr. Harvey Burdell’s mansion and a witness at the sensational trial of his murder.

Cushman, Charlotte, 1817-1876.
In Jones, A.D. The illustrated American biography (New York, 1855), v. 3, p. 439. "Portraits drawn by S. Wallin, and engraved by J.W. Orr.", Other portraits appear in: Gleason's pictorial drawing room companion, v. 1 (1851), p. 232 and p. 481; Hale, S.J. Woman's record (New York, 1855), p. 638; Jones, A.D. The American portrait gallery (New York, 1855), p. [617]., Bust-length portrait of the actress., For image of painting of Charlotte Cushman by Thomas Sully, press link below.

Cushman sisters
In The People’s journal, vol. 2, no. 29 (July 18, 1846), p. 29., At head of image: Public exhibitions. No. 2., Full-length portraits of the actresses Charlotte and Susan Cushman.

Da Ponte, Ann Celestine Grahl, 1769-1831.
In Versi composti da Lorenzo Da Ponte per per la morte d'Anna Celestina Ernestina (New York, 1832), frontispiece., Bust-length portrait of the English expatriate, who was known as Nancy.

Dalton, Helen Maria, b. 1837
In The Dalton divorce case (Boston, 1857), title vignette., Helen Dalton was accused of adultery by her husband, Frank Dalton, but maintained her innocence, arguing that her relations with her supposed lover, William Sumner, had not been improper. The ensuing divorce trial was complicated by counter-accusations of adultery and spousal neglect leveled at Frank Dalton, allegations of an aborted pregnancy, and Sumner's death following a brutal beating by Mr. Dalton. The trial became something of a public sensation, as the topic of women and morality was a subject of heated debate. The jury was ultimately unable to come to a conclusive verdict., Full-length portrait of Dalton, wearing a gown and bonnet.

Davidson, Lucretia Maria, 1808-1825.
In Duyckinck, E.A. Cyclopaedia of American literature (New York, 1855), v. 2, p. 482., Facsimile inscription: In regard of the Tempest! [?], Bust-length portrait of the writer.

Davidson, Margaret Miller, 1787-1844.
In Graham's Magazine 34 (1849), plate opposite p. 156. "Engraved Expressly for Graham's Magazine.", Waist-length portrait of the writer, seated with pen in hand, with open bound manuscript and other volumes (both printed book and manuscript?) nearby.

Davidson, Margaret Miller, 1823-1838.
In Duyckinck, E.A. Cyclopaedia of American literature (New York, 1855), v. 2, p. 484. "The engravings are by Mr. W. Roberts."—Preface, v. 1, p. x., Facsimile signature: Margaret M. Davidson., Bust-length portrait of the writer.

Daviess, Mrs.
Full-length portrait of the back of Mrs. Daviess, holding a shotgun aimed at an Indian man stepping through a doorway., In Frost, John. Daring and heroic deeds of American women (Philadelphia, 1860), plate following p. 206., Mrs. Daviess was the wife of the late 18th-century Kentucky pioneer Samuel Daviess. She tricked her potential captor into setting down his gun, which she then used to hold him hostage.

Davis, Mary F., active 19th century
In The magic staff : an autobiography of Andrew Jackson Davis (New York, 1857), plate opposite p. [19]., Facsimile signature: Mary F. Davis., Mary Fenn Davis divorced her first husband, Samuel G. Love (1821-1893), in order to marry celebrity spiritualist Andrew Jackson Davis (1826-1910) in 1855. In 1885, Andrew Jackson Davis had their marriage annulled after he discovered that he had made a mistake thirty years earlier when he determined that he and Mary Fenn Davis were soul mates. He then married Della E. Markham (1839-1928). Already a temperance lecturer when she met Andrew Jackson Davis, Mary Fenn Davis worked alongside her husband in writing and editorial projects during their marriage., Waist-length portrait of Mrs. Davis, dressed simply with a lace collar and a brooch at her neck.

Davis, Paulina W. (Paulina Wright), 1813-1876.
Bust-length portrait of the reformer with her right hand at her chin., In The American phrenological journal, vol. 18 (July, 1853), p. 12., Mrs. Paulina Wright Davis was a prominent abolitionist and suffragist as well as a lecturer in various scientific fields, such as anatomy and physiology.

Davis, Sarah Fellowes, 1822-1834.
In Davis, G.F. Children instructed to fear the Lord (Hartford, 1834), frontispiece., "Your aff. friend Sarah"., Waist-length portrait of the child.

Day, Mary L., b. 1836.
In Day, M. L. Incidents in the life of a blind girl (Baltimore, 1859), frontispiece., Mary Day studied at the Maryland Institution for the Instruction of the Blind, now the Maryland School for the Blind., Bust-length portrait of Mary Day.

De Kroyft, Helen Aldrich, 1818-1915
In De Kroyft, H.A. Place in thy memory (New York, 1850), frontispiece., Facsimile inscription: Instead of their eyes; the blind pick up the gems of thought with their fingers. S.H. De Kroyft., Three-quarter length portrait of blind writer, holding an open book.

De Wilhorst, Cora, b. 1835.
Full-length portrait of the actress saluting in costume as Marie from Donizetti’s opera, “La Figlia del Reggimento.” Her accoutrements include a canteen, top hat, and a drum., In Frank Leslie’s illustrated newspaper, vol. 3, no. 68 (Mar. 28, 1857), p. 264., Cora De Wilhorst was an opera singer and a native New Yorker.

Dean, Julia, 1830-1868.
In Ballou's pictorial drawing-room companion, vol. 8, no. 12 (Mar. 24, 1855), p. 177. "Mr. Rowse's design illustrates the scene in the first act of Mr. Sargent's new tragedy"., Full-length portrait of Dean, acting in a scene with two other figures, with a cottage in a woodland setting in the background.

Dean, Theodosia Ann Barker, 1819-1843.
In Church, P. Notices of the life of Theodosia Ann Barker Dean (Boston, 1851), frontispiece., Facsimile signature: Theodosia A. Dean., Waist-length portrait of Mrs. Dean, with a palm trees and a pagoda-like tower.

Dickerman sisters.
In The sisters : a memoir of Elizabeth H., Abbie A., and Sarah F. Dickerman (Boston, 1859), frontispiece., Three separate waist-length portraits in arabesque frames: Elizabeth H. (Lizzie) Dickerman; Abbie A. Dickerman; Sarah F. (Fannie) Dickerman., The Dickerman sisters, who grew up in Connecticut, lived pious lives and died young. Elizabeth lived long enough to work first as a teacher and later as the first principal of the Hart Female Seminary in Plymouth, Connecticut.

D.M.
Bust-length portrait of the criminal., In Sampson, M. B. Rationale of crime and its appropriate treatment; being a treatise on criminal jurisprudence considered in relation to cerebral organization. Edited by Eliza W. Farnham (Philadelphia, 1846), p. 159., “My acknowledgements are due to the officers of the Penitentiary on Blackwell’s Island for their politeness in furnishing me with facilities for taking the daguerreotypes, and to Mr. L. N. Fowler for aiding me in the selection of cases; nor must I omit to name Mr. Edward Serrell, who was obliging enough to take the outline drawings for me; or Mr. Brady, to whose indefatigable patience with a class of the most difficult of all sitters, is due the advantage of a very accurate set of daguerreotypes.” -- Introductory preface by Mrs. Farnham, p. xx., “D.M. has been an inmate of the county prisons of New York, a greater part of the last seven or eight years. She is notoriously abandoned and profligate; and for the last few years has added intemperance to her other vices. She seems utterly lost to all sense of decency and to every moral tie of humanity. With all this degradation she possesses a good mind, with much shrewdness and quickness of perception. The drawing indicates a large development of propensity with fair intellect, but a total destitution of moral endowment. The scanty development of the coronal region of her head is very striking.”--P. 159.

Douglass, Margaret.
In Educational laws of Virginia / The personal narrative of Mrs. Margaret Douglass, a southern woman, who was imprisoned for one month in the common jail of Norfolk, under the laws of Virginia, for the crime of teaching free colored children to read (Boston, 1854), frontispiece., Facsimile signature: Margaret Douglass., Douglass established a small school for free black children, teaching them to read and write in her home. For this offense, she spent a month imprisoned in jail in Norfolk, Virginia., Waist-length portrait of Douglass.

Dow, Peggy, 1780-1820.
In Dow, L. Quintessence of Lorenzo's Works (Philadelphia, 1816), frontispiece., Bust-length portrait of Mrs. Dow in profile, wearing a bonnet.

Dreadful tragedy.
In Serious almanac, 1845 & '46 (New York, 1845), p. [25]., According to the accompanying article, Julian Gardner answered the door when her husband was not at home. A black man wielding a lighted torch pushed his way in and “with one blow split open the head of Mrs. G. with an axe.”, Probably a fictitious character., The same image appears in Tragic almanac. 18-46 (1845), p. [13].

Duer, Catherine, 1755-1826.
In Griswold, R.W. The Republican Court, or, American society in the days of Washington. New and rev. ed. (New York, 1856), plate preceding p. 27., Three-quarter length portrait of "Lady Kitty" holding a folded fan and standing in front of an open window, surrounded by foliage, with a distant landscape in the background.

Duff, Mary Ann, 1795-1807.
Bust-length portrait of the actress in costume., In Barker, James N. The tragedy of superstition (Philadelphia, 1826), frontispiece., “An incomplete list of [Mrs. Duff’s] performances reveals that she played at least 220 different roles in her career. Junius Booth called her the greatest tragic actress in the world and John Gilbert proclaimed that she had no superior. Joseph N. Ireland, her biographer and a stage historian of considerable experience with actors, believed she was the best tragic actress in nineteenth-century America.” -- Claudia Durst Johnson (1999). “Duff, Mary Ann Dyke”. American National Biography. 7. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 19-20.

Dutton children.
In Ballou's pictorial drawing-room companion, v. 16, no. 20 (May 14, 1859), p. 305., “The accompanying engraving of the already famous “Fairy Children” is from a drawing made expressly for us by Mr. Homer [i.e., Winslow Homer] ….”, Dollie Dutton, known as the “Little Fairy,” had a stage career as a singer and a dancer. She and her sister Etta performed together before Etta died at the age of eight., Full-length standing portraits of diminutive Etta and Dollie Dutton, with a significantly taller child standing between them.

Dwight, Elizabeth Barker, 1807-1837.
In Dwight, H.G.O. Memoir of Mrs. Elizabeth B. Dwight (New York, 1840), frontispiece., Facsimile signature: Your very affectionately E.B. Dwight., Bust-length portrait of Mrs. Dwight.

d'Yrujo, Sally McKean, 1777-1841.
In Griswold, R.W. The Republican Court, or, American society in the days of Washington. New and rev. ed. (New York, 1856), plate preceding p. 333., Daughter of Pennsylvania Gov.Thomas McKean; wife of Carlos Martinez de Yrujo y Tacon, the Marques de Casa Yrujo (1763-1824)., Three-quarter length portrait of the Marchioness d'Yrujo, seated, wearing a pearl necklace and hairpiece, also in a dress adorned with pearls. Her hands are folded in her lap and her right hand holds a closed fan.

Dyson, Julia A. Parker, Mrs., 1818-1852.
In Dyson, J.A. Life and thought. 2nd ed. (Philadelphia, 1871), frontispiece, first published in 1856., Bust-length portrait of the writer.

Edmond, Amanda M. Corey, 1824-1862.
In Edmond, A.M. Broken vow (Boston, 1845), frontispiece., Facsimile signature: Amanda M. Edmond., Three-quarter length portrait of the writer, seated holding a closed book, with another book nearby.

Eldridge, Elleanor, 1784-1845?
In Green, F. H. Memoirs of Elleanor Eldridge (Providence, 1840), frontispiece., Eldridge, of mixed African and Native American heritage, established herself as a successful businesswoman who worked in numerous trades, successfully defended her brother in a lawsuit against him, and became a landowner and homeowner., "Elleanor now, with her sister, entered into a miscellaneous business, of weaving, spinning, going out as nurse, washer, &c.--in all of which departments she gave entire satisfaction: and in no single instance, I believe, has failed to make her employers friends. She also, with her sister, entered considerably into the soap boiling business. Of this article they every year made large quantities, which they brought to the Providence market, together with such other articles as they wished to dispose of, or as were, with suitable commissions, supplied by their neighbors. By this time the earnings of Elleanor had amounted to a sum sufficient to purchase a lot and build a small house, which she rented for forty dollars a year."--P.63., Waist-length portrait of Eldridge, holding a broom.

Ellet, E. F. (Elizabeth Fries), 1818-1877
In Godey's Lady's book 34 (February, 1847), frontispiece., Facsimile signature: E.F. Ellet., Bust-length portrait of the writer.

Embury, Emma C. (Emma Catherine), 1806-1863.
In Read, T.B. Female poets of America (Philadelphia, 1849), plate opposite p. 87., Facsimile signature: Emma C. Embury., Waist-length portrait of the writer, wearing a lace garment.

Eminently pious women of America.
In Bloom, David F. Memoirs of eminently pious women of Britain and America (Hartford, 1833), plate opposite p. [300]., Five separate bust-length portraits in arabesque frames: Mrs. Susan Huntington, Mrs. Sarah Edwards, Mrs. Isabella Graham, Mrs. Ann H. Judson, and Miss Hannah Adams.

Emma, as a sailor, captured on the high seas
In The life and sufferings of Miss Emma Cole (Boston, 1844), p. [19]., Emma Cole [later Mrs. Hanson] is probably a fictitious character., Full-length of the woman wearing a sailor suit, lying on her back on the deck of a ship, while a man binds her hands. Four other armed men stand nearby.

Emmons, Elizabeth, 1817-1841.
In A Sketch of the life of Elizabeth Emmons, or, The female sailor. 2nd ed. (Boston, 1841), frontispiece., Elizabeth Emmons is probably a fictitious character., Waist-length portrait of the partially-sighted woman on board ship, wearing a sailor uniform.

Escars, Mary.
In The American book of beauty, or, Token of friendship (Hartford, 1847?), plate following p. [40]., Another portrait appears in: Family circle, and parlor annual, 1849 (New York, 1848), plate following p. 148., Three-quarter portrait of Miss Escars, seated holding handkerchief and spray of flowers in her lap., Fictitious person? Original sitter identified as the English photographer Catherine Curtis Verschoyle; cf. Heath's Book of beauty, 1839; and Taylor & Schaaf. Impressed by light: British photographs from paper negatives, 1840–1860 (2007).

Evans, Rebekah, 1758-1835.
In Memoir of Mrs. Rebekah Evans (Boston, 1836), frontispiece., Bust-length portrait of Mrs. Evans wearing a bonnet.

Expiring moments of the unfortunate Mrs. Watkins.
In: The trial and a sketch of the life of Oliver Watkins (Providence, 1830), p. [2]., Full-length portrait of a man bending over a woman lying on a bed, with his arms outstretched. Oliver Watkins strangled his wife Roxana with a horsewhip, so the item in the man's right hand may be the handle of a horsewhip. A child gestures from a smaller bed in the background. The clock on the back wall indicates that the time is 1:45.

Fant, Mary A.
Waist-length portrait of Mrs. Fant wearing a wedding gown, veil, and gloves, surrounded by pastoral vignettes and a Gothic revival border depicting flowers and animals., In Hewitt, John Hill. The betrothed (Philadelphia, 1840), cover., “Written, composed and inscribed to Mrs. Edward Fant of Baltimore, by John H. Hewitt”.

Pages