Inventory of the William Henry Sedley Smith Sides
Sara Gunasekara
Department of Special Collections
© 2008
General Library
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA 95616-5292
Phone: (530) 752-1621
Fax: (530) 754-5758
Email: speccoll@ucdavis.edu
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Creator:
Smith, W. H. (William Henry), 1806-1872
Title: William Henry Sedley Smith Sides
Date (inclusive): circa 1869-1872
Extent:
0.2 linear feet
Abstract: William Henry Sedley Smith (1806-1872) was an actor and stage manager who first
appeared in the United States at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia in 1827. During his later years he
was both actor and stage manager at the California Theatre in San Francisco. The collection contains five
holograph sides, circa 1869-1872, presumably for roles Smith performed at the California Theatre in San
Francisco. Sides are defined as pages containing an actor's part and cue words.
Physical location: Researchers should contact Special Collections to request collections, as many
are stored offsite.
Repository:
University of California, Davis. General Library. Department of Special
Collections.
Davis, California 95616-5292
Collection number: MC090
Language of Material: Collection materials in English.
William Henry Sedley Smith was born in Wales in 1806. After touring the English provinces for several years, in
1827 he came to the United States where he made his first appearance at the Walnut Street Theatre in
Philadelphia as Jeremy Diddler in
Raising the Wind.
He was stage manager of the Boston Museum from 1843 to 1860. In 1869 he traveled to San Francisco where he was
stage manager of the California Theatre until his death on January 17, 1872.
Source:
Hartnoll, Phyllis.
The Oxford Companion to the Theatre. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1983.
The collection contains five holograph sides, circa 1869-1872, presumably for roles Smith performed at the
California Theatre in San Francisco. Sides are defined as pages containing an actor's part and cue words.
The collection is arranged alphabetically by play title. Also listed is the name of the character that was
performed.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public
access catalog.
Smith, W. H. (William Henry), 1806-1872--Archives.
Theater--California--San Francisco--19th century
Collection is open for research.
Acquired in 1967.
Sara Gunasekara processed this collection and created and encoded this finding aid.
[Identification of item], William Henry Sedley Smith Sides, MC090, Department of Special Collections, General
Library, University of California, Davis.
Copyright is protected by the copyright law, chapter 17, of the U.S. Code. All requests for permission to
publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections, General Library, University of
California, Davis as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the
copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Box MC090:1
The Colleen Bawn, Father Tom circa 1869-1872
Box MC090:2
Frou Frou, Brigard circa 1869-1872
Box MC090:3
Kit, Mr. Stubbs 1871 October 17
Box MC090:4
Lady Audleys Secret, Sir Michael Audley circa 1869-1872
Box MC090:5
Mary Stuart, Paulet circa 1869-1872