William J. Davis, Will J. Davis, and family photograph collection, 1860-1920

Collection is available for research.

No known restrictions.

Gift of Mrs. Alison Carroll on July 29, 2003 (Accession number: 2007.0124.2-10).

William J. Davis, Will J. Davis, and family photograph collection, 1860-1920 (Chicago History Museum) plus a detailed description, date, and box/folder number of a specific item.

Photographs relating to William J. Davis of Chicago (Ill.), who managed theaters and theatrical troupes in Chicago and on tours. The collection includes views of interiors and exteriors of the Iroquois Theater in Chicago (Ill.) prior to the 1903 fire and interior and exterior views of the Haymarket Theatre in Chicago (in box 21) as well as many photographs of Davis family members, including his mother; his wife, famed opera singer Jessie Bartlett; and their son, William. Family-related materials include views of family outings, buildings, and landscapes at Davis's farm, Willowdale, near Crown Point (Ind.), and family pets and livestock, including horses and cows.

A large section of the collection is composed of professional portrait photographs of actors and actresses collected by Davis and some autographed or inscribed to him. Many of these photographs were made for publicity purposes; some show the performers playing a role, which is identified in a label. These portraits include actors and actresses who appeared in Chicago and other United States sites, Canada, and portraits probably collected during Davis's travels and an international tour that included New Zealand, Australia, London, British Columbia, Honolulu, as well as San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Names in the collection may be confusing. The family included several men named William J. Davis and called Will or Willie. William James Davis (1844-1919) was often called Will J. Davis and his son, William Jesse Davis was sometimes called William J. Davis, Jr. Jessie Bartlett Davis had two sisters who became singers: Arabella Bartlett (1855-1874) and Josephine Bartlett Perry (1859-1910). Jessie Bartlett Davis's niece also became a singer. She was Belle Bartlett (1879-1901).

William J. Davis managed theaters and theatrical troupes, primarily in Chicago (Ill.) during the late 1800s, working mainly for the theatrical production partnership Klaw & Erlanger and its successor, known as the Theatrical Syndicate. He was at various times associated with the Grand Opera House, the American Opera Company, and the Haverly, Columbia, Haymarket, Illinois, and Iroquois theaters.

In 1880, Davis married opera singer Jessie Bartlett. They met in 1879, while Davis was managing her acting troupe of the opera H.M.S Pinafore, where Bartlett played her debut operatic role, Buttercup. Bartlett’s most famous role was as Alan a-Dale in the opera Robin Hood (1890), and she recorded popular parlor songs in 1900. William and Jessie had one son who survived them, William Jesse Davis, who worked with his father in theater management as an adult. The Davis family owned a home on Grand Avenue in Chicago as well as a farm, named Willowdale, near Crown Point, Indiana.

Davis was manager of the Iroquois Theater at the time of the 1903 fire, which caused 604 deaths and remains the worst single-building fire in U.S. history. In 1902, Davis and Harry J. Powers had leased the theater building located at 24-28 West Randolph Street (between State and Dearborn streets) in Chicago, Illinois. Davis managed this theater, eventually called the Iroquois Theater, for Frohman, Klaw, and Erlanger. The theater was advertised as "Absolutely Fireproof" on its playbills and was equipped with an asbestos curtain to block the audience from any fire that began on the stage. Despite these precautions, on December 30, 1903, a devastating fire broke out during a matinee showing of the musical, Mr. Bluebeard. Over 1,900 patrons were in the audience, most of them women and children.

Related materials at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, include additional photographs in the William J. Davis family photographs (2002.0058); and photographic portraits of family members in composite collections, filed by name. Related manuscript materials include the Chicago fire narrative by William J. Davis; the William J. Davis papers; and the William J. Davis family items [manuscript]. There also are separately cataloged items under Davis's name, including the "Scrapbook of clippings on the appearances of the Chicago Church Choir Company in Pinafore, 1879," which Davis compiled. There also are materials donated by the estate of William J. Davis that are cataloged separately, including the Napoleon B. Bartlett letters, 1864; and the Henry Warren papers, 1846-1858 (collected by Davis).

• Subject
  • Actors -- 1860-1920. Actresses -- 1860-1920.
  • Families -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 1860-1920.
  • Families -- Indiana -- Crown Point -- 1860-1920.
  • Farms -- Indiana -- Crown Point -- 1860-1920.
  • Livestock -- Indiana -- Crown Point -- 1860-1920.
  • Opera -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 1870-1910.
  • Singers -- 1860-1920.
  • Theater -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 1860-1920.
  • Theatrical managers -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 1860-1920.
  • Travel -- 1870-1910.
  • Women singers -- United States -- 1870-1910.
• Names
  • Davis, William James, 1844-1919 -- Portraits.
  • Davis, William James, 1844-1919 -- Homes and haunts.
  • Davis, Will J. -- Portraits.
  • Davis, Jessie Bartlett, 1859-1905 -- Portraits.
  • Willowdale Farm (Crown Point, Ind.)
  • Haymarket Theatre (Chicago, Ill.) -- Photographs.
  • Iroquois Theater (Chicago, Ill.) -- Photographs.
• Geographic Coverage
  • Chicago (Ill.) -- Social life and customs.
  • Chicago (Ill.) -- 1860-1920.
  • Madison (Wis.) -- Social life and customs.
  • Crown Point (Ind.) -- 1890-1920.

The collection is arranged in two series.

Series 1. Family and farm (box 1-4)

This series contains personal photographs of the Davis family, livestock, pets, and the family farm called Willowdale, located in Crown Point, Indiana. Box 1 contains Willowdale photographs, which include Davis riding horses, group family portraits, portraits of his pets and livestock, scenic photos of the farm as well as family outings. Box 2 contains family portraits of Davis’s mother and his son, William Davis, Jr., and promotional and personal portraits of his wife, Jessie Bartlett Davis. There are also photographs from a family vacation to Madison, Wisconsin. Box 3 and 4 contains oversized family portraits, and photographs of their vacations and travels.

Series 2. Theater (box 5-22)

This series includes cabinet cards, cartes de viste, photo albums or scrapbooks, and publicity photographs of actors and actresses, many with inscriptions to Davis. A letter in this series indicates that Davis enjoyed collecting actor’s photographs, especially cabinet cards. This series also contains photographs of the exteriors and interiors of both the Iroquois Theater and the Haymarket Theatre in Chicago. Boxes 5-8 contain cabinet cards and are organized in general alphabetical order by last name. Box 9 contains cartes de viste. Boxes 10-20 contain oversized photographs of actors, some of which are inscribed to Davis. Box 21 contains photographs of the interior or of the construction of the Iroquois Theater and the Haymarket Theatre. Boxes 22-23 contain two albums or scrapbooks, each holding about 100 photographs of actors’ publicity and production photos. Some photos are labeled with the role the actor played, and some are photographs of the actors from Davis’ international tour including actors from New Zealand, Australia, London, British Columbia, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Honolulu.