Historic Photo Gallery: 1850 to 1899
1884
Fanny Davenport modeled herself after French actress Sarah Bernhardt, inspired by
her passionate acting style and glamorous lifestyle. Davenport even began to
secure the rights to Bernhardt's vehicles. The first was Fedora, in which she
appeared at Walnut Street Theatre in March 1884. She later acquired several other
Bernhardt standards, including
La Tosca, Cleopatra and
Gismonda.
(Photograph courtesy of the Theatre Collection, Free Library of Philadelphia.)
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