Opera House To-Night: Closing Recital by Miss George and Class in Elocution and Delsarte (Michigan, 1896)

(Central Michigan, ca. 1895-1898). Broadside, 10.5 x 4.5 inches. With a band of sunning at the top edge and old creases, VG+. Handsome typography and interesting squiggly dividers. The exact date and location are unknown, but the program includes a handful of distinctive names, such as Fern Swarthout, that have been traced to Barry County, Michigan, and whose dates suggest the young lady participants were in their late teens to early twenties.

Francois Delsarte's "System of Expression" was introduced to the U.S. by his pupil, Steele MacKaye, after Delsarte's death in 1871. An "Americanized" system evolved, emphasizing the physical aspects of expression that became ingrained in American culture and education from around 1885 through the 1920s, with adaptations for dance and theater, as well as physical culture, education, and light popular entertainment.

The evening's highlights included "Pantomimes expressing Expectation, Listening, Looking, He Comes, Affection, The Vow, Anger, Sorrow, Joy, Fear, Devotion, 'Parting is such Sweet Sorrow.'" The program evokes the comically melodramatic depictions of Delsarte in novels and period dramas. But it's worth remembering that the Americanized Delsarte was dominated by women such as Genevieve Stebbins (of unknown relation to participant Gertrude Stebbins), Emily Bishop, and Anna Morgan, all of whom published major popular guides. What might seem like a frivolous way to pass afternoons for women whose academic studies had concluded could also be an opportunity for experiencing bodily autonomy and artistic expression in a sanctioned format.

Miss Bessie George, class leader, is listed as an elocutionist in the Grand Rapids, MI, directory in 1894, and is mentioned in Michigan newspapers for performing at events ranging from political receptions in Owosso (Times, 5/24/95, p4), to an Epworth League recital in Middleville (The Sun, 2/28/1896, p8), to a "Ladies' Minstrel Entertainment" in Lansing (State Republican, 2/7/1895). 

Bessie George Webb (1871-1955) married William Earl Webb (1872-1959) in Barry Co, Michigan, in 1898, and continued her career as Bessie George Webb, at one point touring with the Lincoln Lyceum Bureau, bringing Chautauqua programming to Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Her WWI-era performances featured pro-peace selections and writing by contemporary women authors, with frequent readings of "In the Vanguard" by Katrina Trask.

Her husband was principal and director of Webb Academy in Grand Rapids, which she helped run until 1925, when they moved to Los Angeles. Bessie appears sporadically in newspapers as a featured reader, always with a remark upon her skill and charm. They never had children. 

Last photo in listing from the Clements, for reference only. Ref.: "Bessie George Webb" Findagrave.com; "Ranks very high among local schools," Grand Rapids Press, 8/27/1913, p. 8; "Mrs. Bessie G. Webb is Heard by 500" Jackson Citizen Patriot, 5/7/1915, p. 16. "On Chautauqua Tour," Grand Rapids Press, 6/5/1914.