Original Listing Description

A rare large original September 1858 broadside for Mrs. D. P. Bowers's New Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia featuring The Youth of Frederick the Great with All that Glitters Is Not Gold as afterpiece. Featured among both casts is Frank Drew, John Drew's brother and great uncle of Ethel, Lionel, and John Barrymore. Dimensions nineteen and a half by ten inches. Light creasing, small punctures and small mounting hole at top margin otherwise good. Mrs. D. P. Bowers was among the few female theatre managers of the era. See the story of the Walnut Street Theatre below. Shipping discounts for multiple purchases. Inquiries always welcome. Please visit my other eBay items for more early theatre, opera, film and historical autographs, photographs and programs and great actor and actress cabinet photos and CDV's. From Wikipedia: The Walnut Street Theatre at 825 Walnut Street on the corner of S. 9th Street in the Washington Square West neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the oldest continuously operating theatre in the English speaking world and the oldest in the United States.[3] The venue is operated by the Walnut Street Theatre Company, a non-profit organization, and has three stages: the Mainstage, for the company's primary and larger productions, the Independence Studio on 3, a studio located on the building's third floor for smaller productions, and the Studio 5 on the fifth floor, which is rented out for independent productions. The company wants to build a theatre in the round next door, where the parking lot currently is. The Walnut Street Theatre was built by the Circus of Pepin and Breschard, which toured the United States from 1807 until 1815. Pepin and Breschard constructed numerous venues in cities along the East Coast of the United States, which often featured, along with performances of their circus, classical plays as well as horse dramas.[5] The theatre was founded in 1809, going by the name of The New Circus. In 1811, the two partners commissioned architect William Strickland to design and construct a stage and orchestra pit for theatrical performances and the theatre's name was changed to The Olympic. The official website says that the name The Walnut Street Theatre was first used there in 1820, though the name was changed back to The Olympic in 1822 and to The Walnut again in 1828. A travel guidebook from 1849 indicates that in the mid 19th century, this building was called The American Theatre. The Walnut was the first theatre to install gas footlights in 1837. In 1855 it was also the first theatre to feature air conditioning. The theatre switched to electric chandeliers and footlights in 1892. The theatre has undergone many renovations since its opening. The first theatrical production at the theatre was The Rivals in 1812 (President Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette were in attendance). Edwin Booth and John Sleeper Clarke purchased the theatre in 1865, and then the theatre became part of The Shubert Organization in 1941. On October 15, 1966, The Walnut Street Theatre was designated a National Historic Landmark and in 1969, the theatre was purchased by a non-profit organization and turned over to the new Walnut Street Theatre Corporation. On September 23, 1976, it was the site of the debate between Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter. The Walnut Street Theatre Company, a non-profit regional producing company, was formed in 1983. In 1984, the Walnut Street Theatre School was established and over 1,200 students enroll annually, and 1986 saw the introduction of the Independence Studio on 3 series. To this day, the company produces five productions a season on the theatre's main stage and is the most subscribed theatre company in the world. In Fall 2008, the theater celebrated its 200th season of live entertainment. Elizabeth Crocker Bowers (March 12, 1830 – November 6, 1895) [1] was an American stage actress and theatrical manager.[2][3] She was also known professionally as Mrs. D. P. Bowers. Early life Elizabeth Crocker Bowers was born March 12, 1830 in Stamford, Connecticut,[4] the daughter of an Episcopal clergyman[1] and sister of actress Sarah Crocker Conway (also known as Mrs. F. B. Conway).[4] Career and marriages[edit] In 1846, she appeared in the character of Amanthis [1] at the Park Theatre in New York City, New York. On March 4, 1847,[1][4] she married actor David P. Bowers,[3] and moved to Philadelphia. She appeared as Donna Victoria in A Bold Stroke for a Husband at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. She became very popular at the Arch Street Theatre, and made Philadelphia her home until her husband's death in 1857. In December 1857, after a period of retirement from the stage, she leased the Walnut Street Theatre and retained its management until 1859. She then leased the Philadelphia Academy of Music for a short dramatic season. She married Dr. Brown of Baltimore in 1861.[3] and traveled to London. She made a great success as "Julia" in The Hunchback at the Sadler's Wells Theatre and "Geraldine D'Arcy" in Woman (play) at the Lyceum Theatre in London. Returning to New York City in 1863, she played for a time at the Winter Garden (now demolished). Among her favorite roles were Juliet, Lady Macbeth, Marie Antoinette, and Lady Audley. After the death of Dr. Brown in 1867, she married actor J. C. McCollom,[4] with whom she repeated many of her popular roles. Her subsequent retirement in Philadelphia was interrupted by a return to the stage in October 1886 for several years.[3] She organized a new dramatic company, and visited the principal cities of the U.S., playing many of her old and favorite characters. Under A. M. Palmer's management she appeared in Lady Windermere's Fan (1893), and later she was a supporting actress for Rose Coghlan and Olga Nethersole.[1] Bowers died of pneumonia and heart failure [4] on November 6, 1895[3] in at the home of her son-in-law, Frank Bennett, in Washington D.C. She was survived by a daughter, Mrs. F. V.(May) Bennett and two sons, Harry C. Bowers of Portland, OR and Walter Bowers of New York City.[5] She was buried at Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

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