Loading...
Creator
Madison, Maud
Call number
(S) *MGZMD 91
Physical description
1 document box (108 items in 27 folders)
Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Maud Madison Papers, Collection number: (S) *MGZMD 91, Dance Collection. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

Repository
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

The papers of Maud Madison consist mainly of 87 letters (and fragments of letters), most of which were written by Madison to her mother, her daughter, and to someone she called Lee, Bee and Bon (possibly the father of her daughter). The letters discuss her life on tour in the United States; ideas for costumes and lighting for her dances; living and trying to work in Paris in 1900, her debut in Paris, her opinions of Loie Fuller for whom she auditioned; and her child.

Biographical/historical information

Maud Madison was born in San Francisco. She studied at the Boucicault School of Acting in 1889. She performed with Richard Mansfield in Richard the Third (1890?) and toured in acting and dancing troupes. She was influenced by seeing Loie Fuller perform, and went to Paris in 1900 to attempt to get performing engagements during the Exposition. She gave programs of what she called "fancy costume dances" in Paris and then on tour in the United States. She later taught social ballroom dancing in New York City around the time of World War II.

Madison had a daughter, Beatrice [Bonnie?] Maude, who, as a child, occasionally performed with her and later became an actress. She survived her mother, who died in California on October 4, 1953.

Scope and arrangement

The papers of Maud Madison consist mainly of 87 letters (and fragments of letters), most of which were written by Madison to her mother, her daughter, and to someone she called Lee, Bee and Bon (possibly the father of her daughter). The letters discuss her life on tour in the United States; ideas for costumes and lighting for her dances; living and trying to work in Paris in 1900, her debut in Paris, her opinions of Loie Fuller for whom she auditioned; and her child.

Some letters of interest include the following:

  • 11/19/1891 letter to her mother mentions MM's 21st birthday
  • 4/14/1893 letter to her mother discusses the lighting technique and costume for a "diamond dance"
  • 1900's - many letters from Paris mention Loie Fuller
  • 3/6/1901 letter to her daughter mentions MM's first appearance on the stage.

The collection also contains drafts of some autobiographical material and two short stories written by Madison, as well as a few programs and some promotional material pertaining to MM's career.

The Maud Madison papers are arranged in five series:

Administrative information

Custodial history

Purchased from Golden Legends, Inc. and received in April 1993.

Processing information

Processed by Henley Haslam; machine-readable finding aid created by Catherine Johnson.

Separated material

The following items were received with the original purchase but have been separated from the manuscript collection. The items are in process (as of 5/20/1993) and therefore are not assigned a catalog number at this time.

1 scrapbook of c.100 clippings about the "skirt dance craze" 2 scrapbooks (1893-1899) detailing the dancing career of MM c.73 photographs, mostly of MM dancing

Using the collection

Location

Jerome Robbins Dance Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor