Cigarette card for the week ending
Saturday, 13 September 2003
Corinne (fl. late 1880s/1890s)
American comic opera and burlesque actress
Corinne as Edmond Dantes
(photo: unknown, probably 1888)
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This real photograph cigarette card was issued in the United States, probably in the early 1890s, with 'The Old Reliable Sweet Caporal Cigarette.' It shows Corinne as Edmond Dantes (a part originated by Nellie Farren at the Gaiety Theatre, London, 23 December 1886), in an adaptation of the burlesque melodrama, Monte Cristo Jr, which toured the United States during the season of 1888-1890 under the management of Corinne's mother, Jennie Kimball * * * * * * * *
'One of the most fascinating queens of the comic opera stage is Corinne, the star of the Kimball Opera Comique and Burlesque Company, under the direction of Miss Jennie Kimball. As a prima donna comedienne in miniature, Corinne has long held undisputed sway. After running the gamut of comic opera, the little lady has launched into burlesque, and her success has been greater than ever. She has become identified with the mischievous pranks of Tom-Tom, the Piper's Son in [William] Gill's burlesque Arcadia, and so great is her fame in the rôle, that the largest theatres will not hold the crowds that come to see her. For her sword dance, the Boston Caledonian Club recently presented her with a diamond medal. The presents she receives during a season would make up a small fortune. Miss Kimball has now in preparation the burlesque Monte Cristo, Jr., in which Corinne will play the title-rôle. The success of Corinne is due to the able management of Miss Kimball. Next season this untiring business woman will have a hand in the direction of half a dozen important amusement enterprises.'
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Corinne as she appeared for the Scotch Sword Dance
in William Gill's burlesque, Arcadia
(photo: unknown, USA, probably 1887)
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'The hit made by the production of Monte Cristo, Jr., justifies a long and prosperous run. Corinne, as the hero, is a delight, and she receives many encores for her songs and dances. Her personal triumph is not to be gainsaid. She is an arch little body with a singular winning smile, a musical voice, and the liveliest of limbs.' * * * * * * * *
'Corinne, who has been a public favourite since she was a small child, has outgrown the title of "Little Corinne." She is now a full-grown star, able to hold her own against any of the adult luminaries of the burlesque stage, but the charm with which she held her audiences in the earlier days does not seem to have been lost in the intervening years. She has still the same sprightly, entertaining personality, and if she has changed at all it is only in the right direction. For the past two seasons, with her new burlesques, the business that she had done [on tour in the United States] has been so large as to cause her to be ranked among the best paying attractions on the road. Jennie Kimball, the manager, always travels with the company, and there is no doubt that its success is, in a large measure, due to her skill in her department.' * * * * * * * *
'Under the management of Mrs. Jennie Kimball that clever burlesquer, Corinne, has grown steadily in the public eye, and to-day she is one of the most popular stars on the road [in the United States]. This season [1892-1893] she is supported by the Kimball Opera Comique Company of sixty artists and chorus in the lively burlesque The New Arcadia. The libretto of this entertaining vehicle is by William Gill, and its music by Richard Stahl. So successful has Corinne been in this that the time for next season is already fully booked. Mrs. Kimball's enterprise is one of the very few that employs a special car for its scenery. The car she uses was built expressly for her, and is perhaps the most complete of its kind travelling. The New Arcadia is now being booked for 1893-94-95, and its promises to grown in value as a theatrical property.' |
Corinne
(photo: unknown, USA, mid 1890s)
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The above photograph is reproduced by kind permission of the curators of the Ringling Collection, a collection of digital images made from source materials from the Belknap Collection for the Performing Arts in the Department of Special Collections at the Smathers Libraries on the campus of the University of Florida.
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© John Culme, 2003