Scope and Content Note
The papers of John Thompson Ford (1829-1894) document his career as a theater manager. Ford is best known as the owner of the Washington, D.C., theater where President Abraham Lincoln was shot in April 1865, but he managed theaters in Baltimore, Maryland; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Charleston, South Carolina; Alexandria, Virginia; Richmond, Virginia; and Washington, D.C., in the last half of the nineteenth century. He also managed traveling and resident acting companies. His papers are arranged into the following series: General Correspondence, Subject File, Writings, Playbooks, Playbills, Scrapbooks, Addition, and Oversize. The collection spans the period 1809-1960, with the bulk of the material from 1850 to 1894.
The General Correspondence covers the period 1832-1894 and includes letters from notable theatrical personalities such as Edwin Booth, Edwin Forrest, Joseph Jefferson, Clifton W. Tayleure, and William Winter. These letters, as well as those written by Ford's friends and business associates, reflect the influence Ford had on the theater during this period. Copies of letters from Ford, some from other manuscript repositories, are included. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln by the actor John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre, the subsequent arrest of Ford and his brothers, and the closure of the theater are related in the correspondence. Ford's civic activities, particularly in Baltimore, are also documented.
A large portion of the Subject File consists of unbound scrapbook pages documenting productions at the Holliday Street Theatre and Ford's Grand Opera House in Baltimore, his charitable activities, and management of Gilbert and Sullivan productions. Included also is biographical and genealogical information.
The Writings File contains writings and notes by Ford and plays written by his daughters, Annie E. Ford and Lizzie Ford. Among John Thompson Ford's writings are handwritten transcriptions of his letters to the Baltimore Clipperduring the period he was on tour with the Nightingale Serenaders minstrel troupe, letters to the editor on theatrical topics, and an account of his belief in the innocence of Mary E. Surratt of the charge of being a conspirator in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
A Playbooks series is comprised of playbooks for productions staged at theaters managed by Ford. They include one-act farces, full-length comedies, and dramas. Such books were bought by patrons at the theater and contained the entire script of the play by character. They were helpful in following the play and also were kept as souvenirs. A few of the playbooks contain annotations.
A series of Playbills spanning 1856-1881 contains theater programs and broadsides for productions at theaters Ford managed in Washington and Baltimore. Arranged chronologically under the name of the theater, it provides details such as names of performers and theater managers, dates of performances, and the cost of admission.
The Scrapbooks series is comprised of seven volumes compiled by Ford's daughter, Lizzie Ford. They contain mainly newspaper clippings, but include programs, notes, menus, and other memorabilia. Focusing on theatrical topics, her father's career and interests, and productions and benefits at Ford's theaters, they also chronicle events in Baltimore.
An Addition to the papers contains family correspondence between members of Ford's extended family, a ledger, 1869-1870, of a theatrical company in Charleston, S.C., that was also used as a scrapbook about his Baltimore theaters in the years 1875-1879, a copy of a diagram depicting John Wilkes Booth's escape from Ford's Theatre, and copies of autograph books containing entries by prominent theatrical figures of the nineteenth century. An incomplete biography written by Ford's grandson, John Ford Sollers, covers Ford's early years, the Lincoln assassination, and Ford's struggles to retain his theater following that event.