New York Clipper, Vol. IV, No. 20

The New York Clipper, September 6, 1856. The masthead features an ornamental engraving of waterfront activity and urban scenes flanked by classical figures. Below sits a full-page portrait engraving of Charlotte and Susan Cushman in theatrical costume, accompanied by dense newspaper columns reviewing stage productions, sporting events, and entertainment news. Founded in 1853, the Clipper served as the leading trade weekly for American popular entertainment—theater, minstrelsy, circuses, prizefighting, horse racing, and baseball. Heavily illustrated with wood engravings, it brought news and images of performers, athletes, and spectacles to a mass audience hungry for coverage of stage celebrities and sporting heroes. The paper pioneered the visual-textual format later perfected by Variety and Billboard.