In The life and adventures of James P. Beckwourth (New York, 1856), p. [116]., The Native American woman died after her husband punished her for disobeying him when she chose to dance in celebration of the scalping of three white men. After her death, her father (a Flat Head) prevented Beckwourth from being killed, and also presented him with the wife’s younger sister as a replacement wife., Recumbent portrait of Mrs. Beckwourth after her husband struck her with the side of his battle-axe.
In The life and adventures of James P. Beckwourth (New York, 1856), p. [203]., The Native American woman was taken captive and adopted by the Crows when she was about ten. After excelling as a warrior, she became a chief, and was known as Bíawacheeitchish, or Woman Chief. She married four women in her lodge. In his autobiography, James Pierson Beckwourth, calling her Pine Leaf or Bar-chee-am-pe, claims to have had a romantic relationship with her., Full-length portrait of the woman warrior astride a horse.
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.
In Twelve years a slave (Auburn, N.Y., 1853), plate opposite p. 320., Same image appears in Twelve years a slave (Auburn, N.Y., 1854)., Full-length portrait of Mrs. Solomon Northup embracing her husband; their daughters Elizabeth and Margaret stand nearby.
In Only full report of the trial of Rev. I.S. Kalloch, on charge of adultery ... with accurate portraits of Kalloch, and the beautiful lady in black (Boston, 1857), p. 4., “The Springfield republican says: ‘The lady thus unfortunately implicated with Mr. Kalloch, is the young and lovely wife of a citizen of Brattleboro’, Vt.’”, Waist-length portrait of the “lady in black,” touching her necklace with her right hand.
In Hannah Corcoran, the missing girl of Charlestown (Boston, 1853), title page vignette., Three-quarter length portrait of the young woman, wearing a Maltese cross brooch.
In Narrative of the deceptive courtship and seduction of Miss Phebe Crossen (Cincinnati, 1857), wrapper vignette., Fictitious person? Born near Blanchester, Ohio, Phoebe Crossen was raised by her grandparents after her mother died (and her father went West); her seducer promised marriage and then supplied Phebe with medicine in order to kill their unborn child; after the child was born dead, she wrote the narrative and committed suicide with laudanum on February 19, 1857., Three-quarter length portrait of the unwed mother, carrying a book in one hand and a lace handkerchief in the other hand.
In The lighted valley, or, The closing scenes in the life of a beloved sister (New York, 1850), frontispiece., The young woman was the daughter of the Rev. Robert Bolton (1788-1857), an Episcopalian clergyman who was born Savannah, Georgia; in 1807, he traveled to England, where he married Anne Jay Bolton (1793-1859); the couple and their children left England in 1836 and settled in New York; they opened the Bolton Priory School in Pelham Manor, New York, in 1838., Three-quarter-length portrait of the young woman., Another portrait appears in Bolton, R. The Lighted valley, or, The closing scenes of the life of Abby Bolton (London, 1851), frontispiece ("Eng'd by W. Holl, from a painting by her brother [i.e., William Jay Bolton]").
In Twelve years a slave (Auburn, N.Y., 1853), plate opposite p. 88., Same image appears in Twelve years a slave (Auburn, N.Y., 1854)., Full-length portrait of the enslaved women, possibly a fictitious character, kneeling next to her daughter Emily; two white men stand above her.
Waist-length portrait of the Boston native., In Jones, A.D. The illustrated American biography (New York, 1853), v. 1, p. [29]., In 1679, Rebecca Rawson married a man who swindled her out of her fortune and abandoned her in England., Another portrait appears in Jones, A.D. The American portrait gallery (New York, 1855), p. [29].
In Jones, A.D. The illustrated American biography (New York, 1853), v. 1, p. [31]., In 1657, Penelope Winslow married Josiah Winslow (1629-1680), the Governor of Plymouth Colony., Another portrait appears in Jones, A.D. The American portrait gallery (New York, 1855), p. [31]., Bust-length portrait of the English colonist.
In Jones, A.D. The American portrait gallery (New York, 1855), p. [344]., Deborah Franklin was the common-law wife of Benjamin Franklin., Waist-length portrait of the Philadelphia native., Another portrait appears in Franklin, B. Works of Benjamin Franklin (Boston, 1840), v. 7, frontispiece.
In Van Amburgh’s Zoological & Equestrian Co. Concert Company. Fun for the million! (Philadelphia, 1859), detail., Mlle. Fredericks worked with Van Amburgh in 1859 only; cf. W.L. Slout. Olympians of the sawdust circle (1998)., Full-length portrait of the slack wire performer, holding a hoop as she balances on the wire.
In Hammond, L.M. Trials and triumphs of an orphan girl; or the biography of Mrs. Deiadamia Chase, physician and phrenologist (Cortland, N.Y., 1859), frontispiece., Mrs. Chase, orphaned in childhood, became a physician who advocated the use of phrenology., Waist-length portrait of Mrs. Chase., Another portrait appears in: American phrenological journal, v. 15 (May, 1852), p. 100.
In Life and confession of Ann Walters, the female murderess!! (Boston, 1850), front wrapper., Full-length portrait of the murderer, possibly a fictitious character; cf. McDade 1036.
In Frank Leslie’s ladies gazette of fashions & the beau monde, vol. 4, no. 6 (Dec. 1855), p. 113., Mrs. Vernon was a popular actress, who first came to the United States from England in 1827., Three-quarter length portrait of Mrs. Vernon wearing a lace-trimmed bonnet.
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.
In Gleason’s pictorial drawing-room companion, vol. 7, no. 3 (July 22, 1854), p. 36., Waist-length portrait of the widow of Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford.
In Writings of Caroline Elizabeth Jenness (Boston, 1858), frontispiece., Waist-length of the New Hampshire writer, wearing a brooch depicting an adult and a child at the mid-point of a lace collar.
In Ballou's pictorial drawing-room companion, vol. 9, no. 19 (Nov. 10, 1855), p. 300., "Mrs. Farren is an American by birth, being the daughter of Richard Russell, who was lessee of the Tremont Theatre, some twenty-four years ago .... Mrs. Farren's earliest appearance ... was as Cora's Child in Sheridan's bombastic but popular drama 'Pizarro'."--P. 300., Waist-length portrait of the actress.
In Rockafield, H. A. The Manheim tragedy (Lancaster, 1858), back wrapper., Anderson and Richards were hanged at Lancaster, Pa., April 9, 1858., Full-length view of the women struggling with their assailant, one of whom holds a pistol and the other an axe.
In Tingley, H.F. Incidents in the life of Milton W. Streeter, the jealous and infatuated murderer, who murdered his young and beautiful wife, Elvira W. Streeter (Pawtucket, R.I., 1850), p. [3]., Full-length portrait of the woman, prostrate on the floor, with a man holding her by the hair to position her on his knee while he wields a razor high above his head; the woman has her right arm raised toward the razor.
Waist-length portrait of Harriet Ware, wearing a bonnet and a dress with lace collar, knitting., In Wayland, Francis. A memoir of Harriet Ware (Providence, 1850), frontispiece., Harriet Ware was an educator and philanthropist who founded the Providence Children’s Friend Society after retiring as a teacher at Indian Point, a suburb of Providence., “She seldom allowed herself to sit many minutes without work of some kind in her hands. While entertaining callers and friends, knitting was her most common employment, and, even while intensely interested in conversation, her needles would be flying, as if impelled by some unseen power. Knitting work came at length to be called her ‘coat of arms;’ and in the daguerreotype portrait, a copy of which was taken only at the urgent request of her friends, which I believe is to accompany the memoir of her, her knitting work has its appropriate place, and may serve as a fit emblem of the homely virtues which she honored and practiced.”--P. 129-30.
Waist-length portrait of Mrs. Wells wearing bonnet., In Smith, John Jay, ed. Letters of Doctor Richard Hill and his children (Philadelphia, 1854), plate preceding p. 171., Mrs. Wells was the fifth daughter of physician Richard Hill and of prominent Quaker lineage, belonging to the Hill, Lloyd, Moore, and Partridge families of Philadelphia., “Rachel married in Philadelphia Richard Wells, an English gentleman, and had two sons and three daughters, of whom many descendants are known to us.”--P. xviii.
Bust-length portrait of Mrs. Scott, wearing a necklace and earrings, and holding a child., In Smith, John Jay, ed. Letters of Doctor Richard Hill and his children (Philadelphia, 1854), plate preceding p. 115., Mrs. Scott was the fourth daughter of physician Richard Hill and of prominent Quaker lineage, belonging to the Hill, Lloyd, and Moore families of Philadelphia., “Harriett married John Scott, and had one daughter, Mary, who died young, and a son, John -- called Jock in the letters -- who grew up and held an official appointment in India; he died about the same period with his widowed mother. She seems to have been an affectionate, timid, and sorrowful woman; her married life, entered upon without her father’s consent, was not entirely happy; her husband was much older than herself.”--P. xvii-xviii.
Waist-length portrait of the poet, wearing a garment fastened by a brooch, with lace visible beneath., In Scott, Julia H. Memoir of Julia H. Scott (Boston, 1853), frontispiece., Facsimile signature: Thine, Julia H. Scott., Mrs. Julia H. Scott, an early 19th-century writer of poetry and prose, frequently wrote on romantic themes such as nature, death, and spirituality.
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. 271., Three-quarter length portrait of Mrs. Sedgwick, seated, her hands resting in her lap, her right hand holding a flower.
Waist-length portrait of Mrs. Sears, seated next to a table on which there are books., In Hamline, Melinda. Memoirs of Mrs. Angeline B. Sears, with extracts from her correspondence (Cincinnati, 1851), frontispiece., Facsimile signature: Your affectionate Angeline., Mrs. Sears was the wife of the itinerant Methodist minister Clinton W. Sears. As the wife of a minister, she had occasion to aid others, especially the sick and the poor, before her death at a young age from consumption (the disease known as tuberculosis today).
In White, C.I. Life of Mrs. Eliza A. Seton (New York, 1853), frontispiece; portrait also stamped in gold on cover and spine., Waist-length portrait of Mrs. Seton, in profile, wearing a crucifix.
In Stratton, B. B. Captivity of the Oatman girls: being an interesting narrative of life among the Apache and Mohave Indians, (New York, 1858), frontispiece., More illustrations depicting Oatman appear in Stratton, B. B. Captivity of the Oatman girls (New York, 1858), plates opposite p. 85, p. 259, p. 272; p. 119, p. 133, p. 155, p. 195, p. 229., Olive Oatman lived as a captive among the Apache and Mohave Indians for five years, following the murder of her family., "The chief's wife then bade us go out upon the yard, and told us that the physicians were going to put marks on our faces. It was with much difficulty that we could understand, however, at first, what was their design. We soon, however, by the motions accompanying the commands of the wife of the chief, came to understand that they were going to tatoo our faces. We had seen them do this to some of their female children, and we had often conversed with each other about expressing the hope that we should be spared from receiving their marks upon us. I ventured to plead with them for a few moments that they would not put those ugly marks upon our faces. But it was in vain. To all our expostulations they only replied in substance that they knew why we objected to it; that we expected to return to the whites, and we would be ashamed of it then; but that it was their resolution we should never return, and that as we belonged to them we should wear their ‘Ki-e-chook.' They said further, that if we should get away, or if some other tribes should steal us, they would by this means know us. They then pricked the skin in small regular rows on our chins with a very sharp stick, until they bled freely. They then dipped these same sticks in the juice of a certain week that grew on the banks of the river, and then in the powder of a blue stone that was to be found in low water, in some places along the bed of the stream, (the stone they first burned until it would pulverize easy, and in burning it turned nearly black,) and pricked this fine powder into these lacerated parts of the face. The process was somewhat painful, though it pained us more for two or three days after than at the time of its being done. They told us this could never be taken from the face, and that they had given us a different mark from the one worn by their own females, as we saw, but the same with which they marked all their own captives, and that they could claim us in whatever tribe they might find us"--P.182-183., Waist-length portrait of Miss Olive Oatman, wearing necklace, with facial tattoos.
In Bishop, H. E. Floral home; or, first years of Minnesota (New York, 1857), plate opposite p. 259., Old Bets was a Dakota woman, also known as Aza-ya-man-ka-wan, or the Berry Picker, who lived near St. Paul, Minnesota. She was involved in aiding white settlers in the Sioux Uprising of 1862., Waist-length portrait of Old Bets., Another portrait appears in: American phrenological journal, v. 26 (Oct., 1857), p. 84.
In Ballou's pictorial drawing-room companion, vol. 8, no. 19 (May 12, 1855), p. 300., Nau, a soprano of American birth, trained and toured in Europe and won considerable critical acclaim before returning to New York to make her American debut., Waist-length portrait of Nau, seated and wearing a necklace and mantle.
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. 69., Three-quarter length portrait of Mrs. Madison standing in front of a curtain., Another portrait appears in Hunt, L. The American biographical sketch book (New York, 1848), plate opposite p. 339.
In Ballou's pictorial drawing-room companion, v. 12, no. 8 (Boston, Feb. 21, 1857), p. 124., Marsh's Juvenile Comedians was a traveling children's theater troupe that performed in locations from Maine to California to Australia. Many of its members went on to successful adult acting careers., "In the performances of these children, you would look for something automatic; and might fancy beforehand, if you saw them once, you would exhaust their capabilities. Such, however, is by no means the case. Though they certainly evince careful training, still there is a great deal of spontaneity in their performances. If they possessed a purely imitative faculty, without any creative genius, they could not by any possibility be taught to play the many pieces which make up their repertory."--P.124., Full-length portrait of the troupe, including sixteen girls and three boys.
In Hitchcock, E. The power of Christian benevolence illustrated in the life and labors of Mary Lyon (New York, 1858), frontispiece. A different portrait appears in Hitchcock, E. The power of Christian benevolence... 4th ed. (Northampton, 1882), frontispiece., Mary Lyon founded the Mount Holyoke Seminary, which became Mount Holyoke College., Text below portrait: From a miniature painting in 1832., Another portrait appears in: The home: a fireside monthly companion and guide, vol. 1 (Feb. 1856), p. 49., Bust-length portrait of Lyon, wearing a hat and shawl.
Full-length portrait of the singer holding a fan and wearing a full-skirted tiered dress., In Frank Leslie’s illustrated newspaper, vol. 4, no. 91 (Aug. 29, 1857), p. 193., Miss Juliana May was an American opera singer who first achieved fame in Europe.
Full-length portrait of the actress in costume as Medea. She wears Grecian robes and drapes a long beaded necklace around her head and across her chest. A brooch with a portrait on it adorns her right sleeve and she wears a bracelet beaded with pearls., In Frank Leslie’s illustrated newspaper, vol. 3, no. 59 (Jan. 24, 1857), p. 128., “Miss Heron’s style is her own. She has endeavored throughout her career to perfect such abilities as were most natural to herself : hence her success in producing powerful emotions upon her audiences. At first she is rather quiet - almost tame, some would suppose - but she gradually warms up with the progress of the play, and closes the performance with some of the most powerful effects it is possible to imagine. In most of her scenes she is perfectly natural, and refuses to use any of the trickeries which have so long defaced the efforts of some of our best actors.”--P. 128., Another portrait found in: Ballou’s pictorial drawing-room companion, vol. 14, no. 8 (Apr. 4, 1857), p. 177.
In Trial of John Hendrickson, Jr. (Albany, 1853), detail from frontispiece., Three-quarter length portrait of the murder victim, whose husband was convicted of poisoning her with aconite (more popularly known as wolf’s bane).
In Hawes, A.H. Grafted bud (New York, 1853). This copy stamped: Mercantile Library, New-York., Following the dissolution of her parents' marriage, the young child "Susan B." was moved frequently, living at various times with her father ("Mr. B."), her mother ("Mary M."), and others in her native Michigan. The Hawes family, believing her to be an orphan, adopted her and had her baptized Angelica Irene Hawes. Under their care in New York, she received instruction in religion and school subjects, as well as other cultural opportunities. Before her death in 1851 from scarlet fever, she told Mrs. Hawes that she considered her to be her real mother., Waist-length portrait of the young girl.
In Hale, S.J. Woman's record (New York, 1853), p. 868. "Illustrated by two hundred and thirty portraits, engraved on wood by Lossing and Barritt.", Bust-length portrait of Mrs. Hill, with a lace collar.
In Gleason's pictorial drawing-room companion, v.6, no. 26 (Boston, July 1, 1854), p. 416., Howard began acting at age four, and was famous for playing the role of Little Eva in Uncle Tom's Cabin., Waist-length portrait of Howard., Another portrait appears in: American phrenological journal, v. 23 (May, 1856), p. 108.
Full-length portrait of Miss Hardy standing beside two unnamed men, perhaps as a means of depicting her extraordinary height., In The American phrenological journal, vol. 21 (May, 1855), p. 120., Miss Hardy, known during her lifetime as the Maine Giantess, was exhibited in P.T. Barnum’s American Museum during the mid-nineteenth century as a nearly eight-foot tall curiosity., “Miss Hardy is now thirty years of age. She has grown about seven inches since she was twenty-one, and is nearly eight feet high at the present moment. She weighs three hundred and forty-six pounds, is massively proportioned, robust, matronly in appearance, symmetrical in figure, but inclined to stoop, (as most tall people are,) a habit acquired in her native village, where her gigantic height subjected her to a scrutiny on the part of strangers, most annoying to her bashful nature. Her features are large. The expression of her face, if not handsome, is amiable ; her disposition is mild and gentle to a pleasing degree. Her voice is somewhat coarse, but not unmusical. Her movements are easy and graceful ; although, having never before left her village home, she is as yet unsophisticated in fashionable ways, and moves and acts with a timidity that a little more acquaintance with public life will readily remove… She certainly is one of the most wonderful natural phenomena of the age.”--P. 120.
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.
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.
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.
In Kerlin, I.N. The mind unveiled (Philadelphia, 1858), plate opposite p. 15., Three-quarter portrait of eight-year-old Beckie standing next to full-length seated portrait of Bessie. Beckie and Bessie are children with mental disabilities at the Pennsylvania Training School (Germantown, Pa.).
