M'Liss, a Child of the Sierras advertising card: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Advertising card for the play M'Liss, a Child of the Sierras. The card features a scene from the play, with M'Liss, a child, clutching a doll and turning away from a man with outstretched, pleading arms. The caption, printed below, reads "I will never touch another Drop of Liquor again as long as I live!" The pair is depicted standing amongst pine trees with mountains in the background. Their faces and clothes have been tinted. The card's verso reads "'M'LISS' REDEEMING HER FATHER FROM A DRUNKARD'S LIFE / "I WILL NEVER TOUCH ANOTHER DROP OF LIQUOR AS LONG AS I LIVE!'"

An adaptation of Bret Harte's short story "Luck, of Roaring Camp," M'Liss, a Child of the Sierras was a drama about the life of the eponymous girl. Set in a small mining village of Smith's Pocket, the play tells the story of the intemperate, failing miner George Smith and his daughter M'Liss. Orphaned after her father is murdered for his inheritance, the intelligent M'Liss overcomes adversity and learns to be a strong and independent woman. Although the original production, staring Kate Mayhew, opened at Niblo's Garden in New York City in 1878, a competing production of M'Liss starring Annie Pixley was better-received and became more popular. The story was adapted for film several times, including 1915, 1918, 1922, and 1936 releases, the most popular of which was the 1918 movie M'Liss, starring Mary Pickford.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: ca. 1878-1880
• Object Name: card
• Object Name: advertising card
• Physical Description: paper (overall material)
• Physical Description: printed (overall production method/technique)
• Measurements: overall: 4 1/2 in x 2 5/8 in; 11.43 cm x 6.6675 cm
• Subject: Entertainment
• Subject: Theater
• Subject: West
• Subject: Temperance
• Subject: Gender
• Subject: Children
• ID Number: 2017.0130.01
• accession number: 2017.0130
• catalog number: 2017.0130.01
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.