Olga Nethersole

Bell, Archie ; [1877-1943]

Published by Printed by Herbert Clarke, Paris, 1907

About this Item

29 pages; Publisher's stiff slate grey wrappers, folded over endpapers in the French manner, cover with title lettered in gilt. An excellent copy, just a tiny bit of looseness in the sewing, but clean and unmarked. The subject and author of this well-preserved pamphlet were each much better known to the public a hundred years ago. The subject, the actress Olga Isabella Nethersole, was born in London (her mother was Spanish) at the beginning of 1867, making her stage début at Theatre Royal, Brighton in 1887. She played important roles on the stage of her native city beginning in 1888, starting under Rutland Barrington and John Hare at the Garrick Theatre. After her thorough conquest of the London stage, Olga Nethersole made successful tours to Australia and America. Before the turn of the century, she gave her name to a bit of stagecraft which became notorious (and the subject of that semi-sincere form of flattery: the parody) -- the "Nethersole Kiss" -- a passonate kiss on the lips lasting for a very long time. so long, that it is said that stagehands wagered amongst themselves on the duration of any particular night's iteration. This event was first offered to the public in Nethersole s 1896-97 production of the play "Carmen." The actress was her own manager for this, and for the production which made her the notorious subject of an indeceny trial in New York. Miss Nethersole asked a then-famous American playwright, Clyde Fitch, to adapt Alphone Daudet's 'Sapho,' requesting that Fitch adopt the point of view of the lead female character. Following out-of-town tryouts in Chicago, etc., "Sapho" opened in New York in February of 1900. The critics panned it, mostly, and predicted a quick exit from the Broadway stage. But the public found it fascinating, one scene in particular. Olga Nethersole played 'Sapho s' lead character, Fanny LeGrand, and the story has her seduce a naïve man named Jean Gaussin. In the crucial scene, these two characters ascend a spiral staircase together, Nethersole in a diaphonous costume, presumably their off-stage destination was a bedroom. But this destination is never specified, and any activity which might take place after they exit the scene at the top of those stairs was left entirely to the imagination of the audience. Still, it was not hard to whip this imagination into a frenzy, both for the benefit of Miss Nethersole as 'Sapho's' actor-manager, and also, to the benefit of the growing movement advocating "decency" on the stage -- particularly Anthony Comstock's New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. Journalists found their own interests involved, and helped fan the flames of controversy (in part by sending complimentary 'Sapho' tickets to those parties drama reporters knew would be most likely to take offense). The New York District Attorney ordered Nethersole, her co-star, and two managers arrested on February 21, and the city's police closed the theatre on March 5. For a month, while stories were flung back and forth by the press, Miss Nethersole played other, less controversial, roles on Broadway -- to larger than expected audiences. Her trial on charges of "violating public decency" lasted two full days, but the jury was back in fifteen minutes with acquittals for Olga Nethersole, and all other parties. 'Sapho' reopened on April 7, 1900 for 55 additional performances. Over fifty years later, the New York "Times" in its obituary recalled the incident as a watershed: ""During the Comstock era . when a public kiss on the mouth was considered an indecency . Nethersole typified the growing revolt against prudery and was a stanch advocate of women s rights and intellectual independence." ["Olga Nethersole Dies At Age Of 80 (sic): Famed British Actress, Whose Role In 'Sapho' Led To Furor, Quit Stage to Aid Poor", New York Times, Jan. 11, 1951, p. 2.] Nethersole played "Sapho" for years and years (sometimes appearing in just the third act). After her conquests of London, Australia, and the Ame.

Seller Inventory # 41587

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Olga Nethersole
• Publisher: Printed by Herbert Clarke, Paris
• Publication Date: 1907
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: First Edition; First Printing.
• Condition: Very Good+