Description
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.
Background
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.
Restrictions
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.
Availability
Collection is open for research.