FANNY DAVENPORT - AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED CHECK 04/29/1889 CO-SIGNED BY: MAY DAVENPORT SEYMOUR - HFSID 83274

FANNY DAVENPORT
$25 check made out to her actress niece, May Davenport Seymour (who has endorsed it).
Check signed: "Fanny Davenport" and endorsed "May Davenport Seymour", 7½x4½. New York City, 1889 April 29. Check #55, entirely filled out by Davenport, drawn on The Chemical National Bank, payable to May Davenport Seymour for $25.00. London-born American actress FANNY DAVENPORT, educated in Boston, made her New York stage debut in Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady (1862). Davenport, who later had her own theatre company, was especially known for the plays of Victorien Sardou, including Fedora (1883) and Cleopatra (1890), playing roles originated in Europe by Sarah Bernhardt. She was the daughter of famed actor Edward Loomis Davenport, and the mother of D. W. Griffith actress Dorothy Davenport. Both of her husbands were also actors. All six of Fanny's siblings and several members of the next generation were also thespians, including MAY DAVENPORT SEYMOUR who appeared in 8 Broadway plays between 1903 and 1905. May was the mother of stage, film and TV actress Anne Seymour (1909-1988). At least one source identifies May Davenport Seymour as Fanny Davenport's sister, but this seems a confusion resulting from a shared family name. Web photos of May Davenport Seymour show her as a young woman in the early 20th century, and sister May's birthdate (1856) would make her an unlikely mother for Anne Seymour.) Four vertical and one horizontal fold. Lightly worn. Bank cancellation stamps on verso (affecting "Seymour"). Otherwise, fine condition.