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Winter, Elizabeth Campbell : Collection of Two Handwritten Instructions for the Burial of Elizabeth Campbell Winter, 1886 and 1891

Collection of two original handwritten burial instructions by Elizabeth Campbell Winter with accompanying envelopes. Each envelope has Elizabeth's handwriting on front panel. Each letter and envelope has Elizabeth's signature. Instructions are dated May 12, 1886 and November 10, 1891. Both letters: 5 1/4" x 8." 1886 instructions: one page (one leaf of paper written on one side). 1891 instructions: two pages (one leaf of paper folded in half and written on two sides). 1886 instructions and envelope are handwritten in purple ink on beige paper. 1891 instructions and envelope are handwritten in black ink on beige paper. Each letter is very clean and intact except for light age toning and two horizontal fold lines (perhaps original). The envelope with 1886 instructions is clean and intact overall but has light age toning, slight wear to extremities, and a few wrinkles and folds. The envelope with 1891 instructions is clean but has browning and is missing top flap. Each letter and envelope and the collection as a whole are Very Good. Elizabeth Campbell Winter (nee Campbell; 1840-1922) was a Scottish-American actress, author, and the wife of the acclaimed drama critic and author, William Winter (1836-1917). Elizabeth was born in Glasgow, Scotland. She made her first appearance on stage before the Civil War as a singer having studied under the noted actress, Elizabeth Jefferson. Following the war, Elizabeth became a student of Edwin Booth. She played Katherine alongside Booth in the Taming of the Shrew. She also acted with James Henry Hackett, John Brougham, Lester Wallack, Emma Waller, and Fannie Janauschek. After 1878, Elizabeth retired from acting and pursued a literary career. As an author, Elizabeth wrote hundreds of short stories and several novels and adaptations of plays. In her instructions dated 1886, Elizabeth describes her wish to be buried alongside "Artie" who was one of her sons (Arthur Winter passed away in 1886 due to an accident) and for William, when he passes, to be buried on the other side of Arthur's grave. She also describes the attire she wishes to be buried in and what she wants on her gravestone (she wishes for a simple gravestone with her name, life dates, and a brief epigram). In her 1891 instructions, Elizabeth has changed her burial wishes. She writes that she prefers to be cremated if it is without "unnecessary expense or trouble" and for her ashes to be "buried in the ground over Artie's grave." In the event she cannot be cremated, Elizabeth has requested that "particular precautions be taken to prove that death has certainly taken place" amid her fears of being buried alive. She elaborates how writing on the subject with said instructions has helped relieve her mind of this concern. Elizabeth passed away on April 7, 1922 in Los Angeles, California. At least one newspaper wrote of her passing. One obituary confirms that Elizabeth was to be cremated and her ashes sent to relatives on Staten Island, New York. She is buried in Silver Mount Cemetery in Sunnyside, Richmond County, New York.. Manuscript. Book Condition: Very Good. Binding: No Binding

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