The first edition, first issue, of the novel. Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life among the Lowly. Vol. 1. Boston: John P. Jewett; Cleveland: Jewett, Proctor and Worthington, 1852. 2 vols. From the Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin introduced into the American theatre a compelling anti-slavery plot and a large cast of characters that endured for well over seventy-five years. Within a year of its 1852 publication, the popular novel inspired multiple stage productions. George L. Aiken adapted the work into a six-act drama which initially staged 100 performances at the Troy Museum in Troy, New York, before moving to Purdy's National Theatre in New York City in 1853. There the play ran for over 300 consecutive performances, helping to establish the financially profitable concept of the "long run" in the American theatre. Henry J. Conway produced another popular adaptation of the novel, and both Aiken's and Conway's melodramatic interpretations lent themselves to numerous reworkings and stagings throughout the country.

Prior to and during the Civil War, the play helped to fuel abolitionist sentiments in a theatrical environment, reaching and influencing hundreds of audiences. After the war, the melodramatic flair of the plot continued to appeal to theatre-goers well into the twentieth century, and numerous theatrical troupes performed versions of the play on stages in America and Europe.

Topsy's Recreation. Erie, PA: Erice Litho., [1910?]. Purchased with the Robert and Virginia Tunstall Trust Fund.

Poster, showing Topsy dancing with ribbons, announces the performance "Uncle Tom's Cabin. Opera House. One Night Only, Tuesday, Dec. 31." 

Howard, George C. Eva to Her Papa As Sung by Little Cordelia Howard in Her Original Character of the Gentle Eva in "Uncle Tom's Cabin." New York: Horace Waters, 1853

In 1852 and 1853, Cordelia Howard played the role of Eva in the Troy Museum production of Uncle Tom's Cabin at the National Theatre in New York City.

From the Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature

Shown is the program for a performance of Uncle Tom's Cabin at the Boston Theatre. 

"Uncle Tom's Cabin, A Story of Negro Slavery." A Drama in Two Acts, Founded upon the Celebrated American Tale of That Na[tion] As Represented with Great Success in the London Theatres. London: J. & H. Purkess, [1850s].

From the Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature

Caryll, Ivan. Uncle Tom's Cabin. Musical Tableaux Vivants. Lyric by Ivan Caryll. London: Hopwood and Crew, [1900s].

From the Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature

The Ray. Vol. 8; no. 106. Boston: H. A. M'Clenen, 1878.

From the Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature

A script for a British stage adaptation of Uncle Tom's Cabin as a children's performance.

Webb's Juvenile Drama. Uncle Tom's Cabin. A Drama in Three Acts. Written Expressly for and Adapted Only to Webb's Characters & Scenes in the Same. London: W. Webb, [1850s].