Edwin Booth (1833-1893) was born Edwin Thomas Booth, the fourth son of prominent tragic actor, Junius Brutus Booth in Baltimore. He was named after another great tragic actor in Booth's circle, Edwin Forrest. The next son to be born to Booth would be John Wilkes. All his life Edwin had an observant, thoughtful, melancholy disposition (Winter, Biographical Sketch 9), according to William Winter, critic and biographer of the time. In 1846, Edwin's education came to a standstill as he was called upon to act as his father's companion while he was touring. The elder Booth was not capable of staying sober or taking care of himself while away from Edwin's mother; Edwin became a soothing and loyal chaperon to his father, and also gained his father's skill in playing great tragic roles. In 1849 at the age of sixteen, he first stepped on stage to relieve the stage manager of the role of Tressel in Richard III. He continued after this to play in other small and large roles alongside his father. In 1852, Junius Brutus Booth Sr. died and Edwin continued to perform in the Western states and even toured to Australia and Hawaii with Laura Keene, but his father's penchant for hard drinking and carousing rubbed off on him. Returning East in 1856, his experience building both farcical and tragic roles over the preceding years brought him almost immediate fame and recognition. Important and known roles in his repertoire included Hamlet, Richard III, Sir Giles Overreach (A New Way to Pay Old Debts), Richelieu, Shylock, and Lear. On April 14, 1865, he had just finished a performance of Hamlet in Boston when word reached him that his brother, John Wilkes, also an actor, had shot President Lincoln in Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C. Edwin retired from the stage in mortification and grief, but returned in January 1866. Winter remarked that Booth was the representative tragedian of the time and established the most magnificent theatre in America (Winter, Biographical Sketch 48), triumphing over many tragedies, disappointments, hereditary evils, and misrepresentations over the course of his career. This cigar card was produced by Between the Acts Little Cigars, which claimed to be All Tobacco No Paper and Not a Cigarette. The card features a brightly colored rendering of Edwin Booth on the front looking quite young and describes Booth on the opposite side, saying: Edwin Booth: Born in Maryland in 1833. Died in 1893. He made his theatrical debut in Richard III. In 1864 he began his famous one hundred night run of Hamlet. In 1869 opened his Twenty-third Street Theatre as Romeo. Don Caesar de Bazan, Sir Edward Mortimer, Claude Melnotte, Pescara Bertuccio and Richelieu were the characters he considered worthy of reviving. His King Lear, Othello, and Iago are monuments to his memory. He last appeared in 1891. The card is estimated to have been produced around 1910 and advertises its cigars as Particularly satisfactory to smokers of high grade cigars when time is limited. (As in the short time between acts while spending an evening at the theatre). This card would have accompanied the pack of cigars a theatre patron bought during an intermission. Production(s) represented: The Merchant of Venice. Character role(s) represented: Mr. Henry Irving (Shylock), Mr. William Terriss (Bassanio), Mr. Howe (Duke of Venice), Mr. Haviland (Antonio), Mr. Tyars (Prince of Morocco), Mr. Lacy (Salanio), Mr. Harvey (Salarino), Mr. F. Cooper (Gratiano), Mr. Hague (Lorenzo), Mr. Archer (Tubal), Mr. S. Johnson (Launcelot Gobbo), Mr. Reynolds (Old Gobbo), Mr. Graham (Gaoler), Mr. Marion (Leonardo), Mr. Rivington (Balthazar), Mr. Belmore (Stephano), Mr. Tabb (Clerk of the Court), Miss Kate Phillips (Nerissa), Miss Coleridge (Jessica), and Miss Ellen Terry (Portia) , Artistic role(s) represented: Sir Henry Irving (Actor, Manager), Ellen Terry (Actor).
Need more information? Have information to provide? Need permission to re-use or re-publish the item?
