University of Texas at Austin

Sarah Bernhardt:

An Inventory of Her Collection at the Harry Ransom Center

Creator: Bernhardt, Sarah 1844-1923
Title: Sarah Bernhardt Collection
Dates: circa 1860-1977 (bulk 1880-1920)
Extent: 8 document boxes, 1 scrapbook box, 3 oversize boxes (osb), 6 oversize folders (osf), 1 oversize portfolio (osp) (5.04 linear feet)
Abstract: The collection contains theatrical production materials, playscripts, translations, and theatrical performance photographs from over thirty of Bernhardt's productions, including l'Aiglon, Camille, and Phedre. Also present are personal photographs, postcards, clippings, a scrapbook, caricatures, advertisements, and artistic sketches of Bernhardt.
Call Number: Performing Arts Collection PA-00170
Language: English and
Access: Open for research. Special permission from the Curator of Performing Arts, plus advance notice, is required to access oversize posters. To make an appointment, please email Reference. Researchers must create an online Research Account and agree to the Materials Use Policy before using archival materials.
Use Policies: Ransom Center collections may contain material with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in the collections without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the Ransom Center and The University of Texas at Austin assume no responsibility.
Restrictions on Use: Authorization for publication is given on behalf of the University of Texas as the owner of the collection and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder which must be obtained by the researcher. For more information please see the Ransom Centers' Open Access and Use Policies.


Administrative Information


Preferred Citation: Sarah Bernhardt Collection (Performing Arts Collection PA-00170). Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin.
Acquisition: Compiled by staff from Albert Davis, Robert Downing, and Messmore Kendall Collections
Provenance The Sarah Bernhardt Collection was compiled from materials previously organized within the Ransom Center's Theater Biography file and is now a discrete collection. A large portion of the materials are originally from the Albert Davis and Messmore Kendall Collections.
Processed by: Nicolette Schneider, 2003
Repository:

Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin

Biographical Sketch


Sarah Bernhardt, "The Divine Sarah," was born Henriette-Rosine Bernard in Paris, France, in 1844. She spent her life gracing the theatrical stages of the world with her interpretations of both classic and modern French drama. Following her education at the drama school of the Paris Conservatoire, Bernhardt made her theatrical debut on stage in an 1862 production of Racine's Iphigenie en Aulide. But it was not until her 1872 performance in Victor Hugo's Ruy Blas that she was recognized and established as a great theatrical actress of her time.
In 1880, Bernhardt began her long series of tours throughout Europe and Americirca She delighted audiences with her interpretations of characters in productions such as Adrienne Lecouvreur, Frou Frou, Hernani, Jeanne D'Arc, Phedre, and Theodora, to name just a few. Bernhardt also became one of the few female actors of the time to portray a lead male character. She did so in Hamlet and again as the Duc de Reichstadt in Rostand's l'Aiglon. She continued to tour America for the rest of her career, even announcing three separate "farewell" tours between the years 1905-1912. Despite all of the time she spent outside her home country, Bernhardt remained a loyal Frenchwoman. In 1914, she was presented the Legion of Honor award for her continued support of her country and its servicemen. After battling a threatening infection in 1915, Bernhardt lost a leg to amputation, but she still continued to pursue her love of acting and traveling. Her final tour through America lasted from the years 1916 to 1918 and then she returned home to France. Bernhardt continued to practice her craft until her death in 1923.
In addition to her traditional stage work, Bernhardt starred in several silent movies, including two of her better-known films, Queen Elizabeth and Camille in 1911. Aside from acting, Bernhardt was also known to be a gifted artist, sculptor, and writer. She edited and translated many of the plays in which she performed and wrote several novels. Her memoir, Ma double vie (My Double Life), originally published in 1907, is still being reprinted today.


Sources:
Gold, Arthur. Divine Sarah: A Life of Sarah Bernhardt. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991.
"Sarah Henriette Rosine Bernhardt" in The Oxford Companion to the Theatre. London: Oxford University Press, 1967.
Skinner, Cornelia Otis. Madame Sarah. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1966.

Scope and Contents


The Sarah Bernhardt Collection, circa 1860-1977 (bulk 1880-1920), contains theatrical production photographs, personal photographs, publicity stills, postcards, theater programs and playbills, clippings, and a scrapbook. Also present are several prints, caricatures, advertisements, and artistic sketches of Bernhardt. The collection is arranged in three series: I. Theater Productions, 1872-1920; II. Clippings and Scrapbook, 1879-1977; and III. Other Materials, 1860-1920. Materials in Series I are arranged alphabetically by title of production and then chronologically within each production; materials in Series II and Series III are arranged chronologically where appropriate.
The Theater Production series comprises the bulk of the collection and contains production photographs and theater playbills and programs for over thirty Bernhardt productions. Although the bulk of the production photographs are portrait styled cabinet card photographs, this series contains several photographs of Bernhardt performing on stage. Bernhardt's famous productions of l'Aiglon, Camille, and Phedre are especially well represented. Among the playbills and programs, there are several playscripts, translations, and other versions of plays which are specific to Bernhardt and carry her identification as "the only correct version of my plays translated and printed from my own promptbooks." There are also souvenir programs which contain information on multiple productions.
The Clippings series, while comprehensive during the span of Bernhardt's career with reviews, is very extensive throughout 1923, the year of her death.
The Other Materials series chiefly comprises personal photographs, some family and ceremonial photographs and various portraits, caricatures, advertisements, prints, and artistic sketches. Personalities represented with Bernhardt in the photographs include actress Lillie Langtry, playwright Victorien Sardou, theater mogul Martin Beck, escape artist Harry Houdini, and her manager William Connors. Also in this series is an Alphonse Mucha sketch of Bernhardt as Medea, a copy of a letter from Her Artistic Life, and several advertisements in which Bernhardt used her notoriety to sell various products.

Related Material


Additional material by and about Sarah Bernhardt are located in the Ransomc Center's Carlton Lake Collection of French Manuscripts, Carlton Lake Literary File Photography Collection, Carlton Lake Art Collection, John Gassner Papers, Frank Harris papers, Harry Houdini Papers, Harry Houdini Collection, Artine Artinian Collection of French Manuscripts, Artine Artinian Art Collection, Joanna Richardson Papers, B. J. Simmons and Co. Collection, Performing Arts Prints Collection, Ernest William Smith Collection, the Helmut and Alison Gernsheim Papers, the Al Hirchfeld Collection, the Edward Gordon Craig Collection, Literary File Photography Collection, Jed Mace Collection, and the Ransom Center library.
The University of Pennsylvania Rare Book and Manuscript Library also offers a substantial collection of Sarah Bernhardt images in their Philip H. Ward Collection of Theatrical Images.

Index Terms


People

Nadar, Paul, 1856-1939.
Sarony, Napoleon, 1821-1896.
Mucha, Alphonse Marie, 1860-1939.

Subjects

Actors--France.
Theater--France.

Document Types

Cabinet photographs.
Cartoons.
Photographs.
Playbills.
Postcards.
Portraits.
Prints.
Scrapbooks.
Theatre programs.

Container List