Actress Cabinet Card?

Hello everyone!

Hope everyone is enjoying there week!

Purchased this Actress Card by Wendt today, but can't seem to find any info
about her. Even when I search it tries changing the spelling of the name.

Not sure why I'm coming up empty!

Any help would be greatly appreciated as always!
Warm Regards,
Scantic

 

Found only 1 hit for that name on FultonHistory. From the Buffalo Courier April 23, 1916. She was appearing as Little Eva in Uncle Tom's Cabin.

The whole page is too large to upload so I'll have to work on it a bit.

 

Here you go. Unfortunately the photo above the article was like this in the original.

 

I got only one hit, too, but a different one. 'Cept when I went to the newspaper page, I couldn't find an article that mentioned her. At least the link says where she was born, though. This is what the link looks like...



The newspaper is the Pittsburgh Press, April 30, 1916.

 

Ancestry shows a few Bernedines in the 1920 census who lived in Columbus, Ohio and were about the right age...

 

I haven't found out anything about her; however, found the same card pic in the digital collection of Syracuse University. The one at SU is 10" x 15". It is in the "Ronald G. Becker collection of Charles Eisenmann photographs"

"More than one thousand photographs of 19th century sideshows and circuses, most by photographer Charles Eisenmann or his successor Frank Wendt, the remainder by unknown photographers. Most of the photographs depict the physical abnormalities of humans and animals featured at these shows. Subjects include P.T. Barnum, the P.T. Barnum Firm (Barnum and Bailey Circus), and Tom Thumb. Also included are Becker’s research notes, an 1865-1868 run of The New York Clipper (forerunner of Billboard Magazine), and various print (broadsides and posters) and non-print circus memorabilia."

Here the pic with info below it:
http://digilib.syr.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/eisenmann&CISOPTR=2482&CISOBOX=1&REC=1
A Search engine of the collection is on the right of this page:
http://library.syr.edu/find/scrc/collections/diglib/eisenman.php

Explanation of the collection:
http://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/b/becker_eisenmann.htm
The inventory is on that same page. Here is a link directly to Wendt's section. Scroll down to Box 7, #544:
http://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/b/becker_eisenmann.htm#series5

A more detail of the collection's Inventory. Still very little info - no date given. Scroll down to #544
http://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/b/beckerinventory.xls

--- Susan

 

Hmm. "Physical abnormalities" I wonder if she was not actually a child, but a "little person?"

 

In the photo, I don't get a sense of a little person? Also, my screen capture left off the end of the link text, which said she'd been on the stage practically since she was able to walk.

 

I don't either, Pat, although that chair looks huge. If you read the article I posted, also 1916, the language doesn't sound like a child. Certainly not one of only 8 to 10 years old.

 

Hmm... maybe the photo was taken much earlier and she was older by 1916? I probably should have used a wider range on Ancestry.

I agree that the things she said in the article sound older than the girl in the picture, though I can almost hear Shirley Temple saying those kinds of things when she was pretty young. Maybe it was a script she learned before the interview?

 

Funny that both articles we found were only 1 week apart. I was very surprised not to get more hits on fultonhistory. They have all the big "entertainment" newspapers from back then, in addition to hundreds of newspapers from cities and towns in NY state. That name should have appeared more than once.

Maybe I'll try again in the morning.

 

I tried IMDB, too, in case she was in any movies. But nada.

 

Ha! Found another FultonHistory on the so called "Baby Bernadine." In the Mar 29, 1907 issue of the Lavonia, NY, Gazette is a lengthy ad for the coming performance of the touring Mason Bros. theatrical group doing Uncle Tom's Cabin. Playing Little Eva is 4 year old Baby Bernadine. There is a good paragraph on her. Sooooin 1916, Baker's find, Baby would have been 13 ifffff her age was really 4 in 1907. Have included the paragraph about her. Here is a link to the full newspaper page. The whole 5th column from the left is about the coming performance at the Prettejohn Opera House and tour group.

http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers...-1907/Livonia NY Gazette 1906-1907 - 0291.pdf

--- Susan

 

Meant to add the following in the above. Spotted the following on Ancestry. Here is a picture of a curly top girl born in 1898, died in 1986, who was a child actress that played Little Eva. At first sight I thought it might be the same chlid, but on closer look, I don't think so. Her name was Hazel Riley. I would not be surprised if she was given a stage name when a child especially for playing Little Eva. Hazel just doesn't sound like a name for a Little Eva. Anyways, i don't think they are one and the same. Also as Uncle Tom's Cabin was such a famous play back then, no doubt there were many many theatrical groups performing the play across the country.

11th pic down from the top:
http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/...ifornia,+USA&cpxt=0&catBucket=p&uidh=000&cp=0

--- Susan

 

Using an earlier birth date, I wasn't able to locate any Bernedines in Columbus, Ohio. That's assuming the Columbus she lived in was in Ohio, which might not be the case.

 

Susan, I agree that the two little girls don't look like the same person.

How do you search in Ancestry for a photo? I didn't realize you could do that.

 

Just to throw a monkey wrench into the mix, it would have been quite possible for more than one person to use the moniker "Baby Bernedine" or "Baby Bernadine" -- And also, Bernadine might or might not have been her real name.

You're welcome.

Fig

 

Found this blog post with information about the photographer Frank Wendt:
http://dulltooldimbulb.blogspot.com...sideshow-photography-master.html#.VaeuPvnGofg

I tried linking to the newer blog about only Frank Wendt that was announced at the end of the post, but it took me to a Google login, even when I typed in the address.

Apparently Wendt moved the studio to New Jersey from NYC in 1898.

Another thing to think about is whether there is any other indication of the date of the photo. For some reason I do think her bonnet looks like early 20th century, although it is a child's attire and one can't tell for certain. Also, the look of the photo to me appears to be a reprint copy of the photo. It could be a reprint contemporary with the original, or could have been printed somewhat later. However, it looks like Baby B did not have a lot of longevity in that role (probably because of growing up), so I would think this is probably from approximately the first decade of the 20th century. From what I can tell, that kind of card photograph was not used very long into the 20th century.

 

Hmmm. "Hazel Riley" was enumerated in the 1910 Census in Minneapolis, staying with relatives (she's grandniece to the Head of Household) others of whom are also involved in a "travelling show."

Oh - and that little girl was born in Chicago, Ill. not Ohio.

 

Pat - "Pictures" is one of the categories in the lefthand column on the "results" page when you've created a search on a name. Clicking on that will show you only files in that category.