Mary Fox apparently assembled and illustrated this memory album of her original work in about 1863. She included song lyrics (some published in a newspaper under a pseudonym, Dan Bryant), 24 watercolor and 6 pencil illustrations, and 5 photographs. Mary Fox's illustrations depicted well-known actors in familiar roles, though two are illustrations of neo-classical sculptures (Powers' Greek Slave and Copland's Ino and Bacchus), and other sketches with classical themes.
Fox's songs are typical of popular songs of the era. The printed songs were published under the name of Dan Bryant. In the book, Mary Fox has crossed out "Dan Bryant" and written her own name: Mrs. C.K. Fox. The printed songs include "Oh, My Love's Gone," "The Female Smuggler," and "My Johnny was a Shoemaker." The hand-written songs include "Lager Beer Song," "The Irish Sutler Girl" (possibly inspired by the Civil War), and "The Gal not Sports."
Mary Hewins Fox (later Mary Hewins Fiske, 1842-1889) was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1842. Mary became a well known actress and also wrote poetry and contributed to numerous periodicals. She first appeared on stage at the old Museum in Troy, then later at Laura Keene's Varieties in New York City. She also wrote poems, dramatizations that were produced for stage, and, under the pen name Giddy Gusher, prose sketches for the New York Dramatic Mirror. She married the actor/comedian Charles K. Fox (1833-1875), who was born into a "theater" family. His father George Howe, mother Emily, and siblings, George, Caroline, and James were all involved in acting and theater productions. Their marriage did not last and Mary went on to wed a Mr. Burnham of New York, then journalist Stephen Fiske.
