Prince Ananias - 1894

This is an early design by Caroline Siedle, from 1894. It’s often tricky to identify what show an individual costume is from, but earlier shows such as this can be even more difficult to pinpoint; Siedle was not as well known and didn’t get mentioned as often in the programs and reviews.  

Until recently I’d been unable to identify where this costume was used, but it does offer up a clue or two. It can be identified as early due to the appearance of her signature; in later drawings her signature changed into a more stylized form, though it was always initials (C.F.) and the last name. I believe the change in style occurred around 1895, but that isn’t a definite date. 

At the lower left on the front is written “Mr. MacDonald for Music sheets”. This was intriguing; it seemed to indicate that not only was this a costume design, but this drawing was selected for use on the cover of sheet music for the production. It was not unusual for sheet music to feature a costumed character from a show, sometimes as a photo and sometimes as a drawing. But it was unclear if Mr. MacDonald was a character or a performer, and until I knew the name of the show I was drawing a blank.  

 

On the back of the board we find a name, Howard Carroll, but I'd been unable to trace this name to a performer.  There's also Siedle's name along with two addresses for the return of the drawing - the first is the Metropolitan Opera House in the city, the other is her home address in Yonkers.

Siedle did have a workspace at the opera house, where her husband Edward became a prop-man in 1891, as well as a studio space in her home. Many of her designs bear the rubber stamp of the Metropolitan Opera, even if they were not drawn for use in their productions. When mentioned in articles, she was often referred to as “Mrs. Siedle of the Metropolitan Opera”.

I started looking at early shows that Siedle was known to have worked on, and made a search for reviews of Prince Ananias, which was the first Victor Herbert comic opera. This finally gave me my answers. Produced by The Bostonians in 1894/95, an October, 1895 review of the production (then on tour in San Francisco) mentions Mr. W. H. MacDonald appearing in the role of Prince Ananias.  The Bostonians (1883 - 1905) were a well-known traveling comic opera company, and William H. MacDonald was one of the proprietors, as well as a leading player. Victor Herbert wrote a handful of his earliest operettas for the company, and Siedle’s earliest costume work was creating designs for several of their productions; according to an 1895 interview, her first show was The Knickerbockers, produced in 1893 by The Bostonians.

 

 With the new information in hand, a quick internet search located sheet music featuring the design, proving the connection conclusively. If any further proof were needed, at the Museum of the City of New York I located a photo from the production showing Mr MacDonald wearing this costume (circled in red)!