CHARLES HENRY PARKHURST: CLERGYMAN, SOCIAL REFORMER, CROOKED POLITICIAN’S AND CORRUPT POLICEMAN’S NIGHTMARE (1892)

 

parkhurst

Charles Henry Parkhurst (1842-1933) is the subject of these Cabinet Card photographs which are published by Newsboy. Photographer Napoleon Sarony has the 1892 copyright for the top photograph. The second photograph is marked “375” and is part of Newsboy’s tobacco premium series. Parkhurst was a clergyman and social reformer. He was a presbyterian minister and from 1874 until 1880, he was a pastor in Lenox, Massachusetts. He then became the pastor for Madison Square Presbyterian Church in New York City (1880-1919). During the year of this photograph, Parkhurst began giving tough sermons attacking the political corruption in the New York City government. This led to the exposure of the corruption in Tammany Hall and subsequent social and political reform. He had a special concern about the problem of prostitution in New York City’s tenderloin section. He hired private detectives to investigate the houses of ill repute and their police protection. Concerning the police, he said “while we fight iniquity they shield or patronize it; while we try to convert criminals, they manufacture them”. He took his concerns and investigative results to court on these matters. He was President of the New York Society for the Prevention of Crime and published numerous magazine articles and books. Parkhurst died tragically; while sleep walking he fell off the second story porch of his home.

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Published in: on July 19, 2014 at 11:37 am  Leave a Comment  
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BLANCH WALSH: STAGE ACTRESS IN PROVOCATIVE POSE (PUBLISHED BY NEWSBOY)

BLANCH WALSH_0008This cabinet card photograph of actress, Blanch Walsh, was published by Newsboy and was given as a premium to buyers of  the company’s tobacco products. The photograph was number 12 of a series of celebrity photographic portraits. This particular photograph is particularly provocative and risque. Miss Walsh is exhibiting a great deal of exposed skin. Her pose and expression add to the subliminal sexuality. Miss Walsh is costumed as if to portray a gypsy. Note her jewelry. She is wearing a chain around her neck and multiple bracelets on her left arm. To view other theatrical images by Newsboy, click on category “Photographer: Newsboy”. Blanch Walsh (1873-1915) was a highly regarded American stage actress. She also appeared in one film, “Resurrection” (1912). She was born in New York City and educated in the public schools. Her father was T. P. Fatty Walsh, a Tammany politician and prison warden (The Tombs). Her stage debut was in 1888. She worked in the Charles Frohman Company as well as the William Gillette Company. She looked like a younger version of stage star Fanny Davenport. When Miss Davenport was ill for some time before dying in 1898, Blanch Walsh was given a number of her emotional roles. To view photographs of Miss Davenport, write Fanny Davenport in cabinet card gallery’s search box. Walsh’s most sensational role was as Maslova in Tolstoy’s “Resurrection” (1903). She also received much acclaim for her performance in “The Woman in the Case” (1905). The New York Times printed an article about Walsh upon her post surgical death. She was viewed as a major actress who likely would have risen to greater heights in the theater world if her life had not been cut short by her unfortunate early demise.

Published in: on February 2, 2013 at 12:01 am  Comments (1)  
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