Gay, Getty Actor, Journalist. <p>Getty Gay, born Gertrude Louise Vultee, was an actress as well as a major contributor to the <em>Saturday Press </em>(Gunn 11.162, 14.16-7). Although not much is known about her artistic career, the obituary of Henry Clapp calls Gay &quot;a talented bit of womanhood&quot; (7). A. L. Rawson connects Gay to the scene at Pfaff&rsquo;s through Ada Clare and Charles Gayler: &ldquo;Ada [Clare] was never without a woman companion, and one of them was Getty Gay, who was pretty, bright and witty. Her lithe and petite figure and sweetly sad face were ever welcome among the Pfaffians&rdquo; (103).</p><p>While Rawson goes on to assert that Gay &ldquo;became the wife of Charles Gaylor,&rdquo; the diaries of Thomas Butler Gunn clarifies that she was Gayler&rsquo;s mistress and that the two lived together. Gunn writes that Gayler &ldquo;was not constant to his mistress nor &ndash; in all probability &ndash; is she faithful to him (10.35). Writing disparagingly of Gay as one of several &ldquo;Unfortunate Literary Females,&rdquo; Gunn also accuses Gay of &ldquo;add[ing] direct prostitution to her &lsquo;literary&rsquo; pursuits&rdquo; (11.161) and suggests that she was romantically involved with Cahill, Wilkins, and possibly Ada Clare. However, Gunn admits that he never met Gay. Gay was married to a Mr. Wilmshurst, both of whom lived with Clare at one point, and died around the age of twenty of consumption (Gunn 14.16-17).</p> References & Biographical Resources\n"; <div class="view view-works-related-to-people view-id-works_related_to_people view-display-id-default"> <div class="view-content"> <ul id="views-bootstrap-works-related-to-people-default"class="views-bootstrap-list-group views-view-list-group"> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="55733" about="/node/55733" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/55733">Browne, Junius Henri. <em>The Great Metropolis; A Mirror of New York</em>. Hartford: American Publishing, 1869.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"><p>She is mentioned as one of the Bohemians' "female companions" at Pfaff's.Browne describes her as "a pretty little creature," and guesses that "Getty Gay" is an assumed name.She was an actress (157).</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content">[pages: 157]</div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="56016" about="/node/56016" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/56016">Clare, Ada. "Matilda Heron in &#039;Geraldine&#039;." <em>New-York Saturday Press</em>, August 27, 1859, 2.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="57815" about="/node/57815" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/57815">Clare, Ada. "Thoughts and Things No. IV." <em>New York Saturday Press</em>, November 12, 1859, 2.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="57690" about="/node/57690" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/57690">Gay, Getty. "The Royal Bohemian Supper." <em>New York Saturday Press</em>, December 31, 1859, 2.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"><p>Referred to as "Lady Gay."</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="60712" about="/node/60712" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/60712">Gunn, Thomas Butler. "Diaries, Vol. 10." <em>Diaries, Vol. 10</em>(1858).</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="60713" about="/node/60713" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/60713">Gunn, Thomas Butler. "Diaries, Vol. 11." <em>Diaries, Vol. 11</em>(1859).</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="60714" about="/node/60714" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/60714">Gunn, Thomas Butler. "Diaries, Vol. 12." <em>Diaries, Vol. 12</em>(1860).</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="60724" about="/node/60724" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/60724">Gunn, Thomas Butler. "Diaries, Vol. 14." <em>Diaries, Vol. 14</em>(1860).</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="58940" about="/node/58940" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/58940">Haynes, John Edward. <em>Pseudonyms of Authors: Including Anonyms and Initialisms</em>. New York, 1882.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"><p>This text identifies the following pseudonym: Mrs. William Bennett (39).</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content">[pages: 39]</div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="60173" about="/node/60173" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/60173">Lause, Mark A. <em>The Antebellum Crisis and America&#039;s First Bohemians</em>. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2009.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="55929" about="/node/55929" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/55929">Miller, Tice L. <em>Bohemians and Critics: American Theatre Criticism in the Nineteenth Century</em>. Metuchen, NJ: The Scarecrow Press, 1981.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"><p>One of several women who frequented Pfaff's.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content">[pages: 16]</div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="55769" about="/node/55769" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/55769">"Obituary: Henry Clapp." <em>The New-York Times</em>, April 11, 1875, 7.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"><p>She was a regualar at Pfaff's and described as "a talented bit of womanhood."According to the "Obituary" she "died long ago." </p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content">[pages: 7]</div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="55763" about="/node/55763" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/55763">Rawson, A. L. "A Bygone Bohemia." <em>Frank Leslie&#039;s Popular Monthly</em>, January 1, 1896, 96-107.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content">[pages: 103]</div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="55879" about="/node/55879" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/55879">Sentilles, Renee M. "Performing Menken: Adah Isaacs Menken and the Birth of American Celebrity." <em>Performing Menken: Adah Isaacs Menken and the Birth of American Celebrity</em>(2003).</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"><p>A regular at Pfaff's.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content">[pages: 142]</div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="56761" about="/node/56761" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/56761">"The Queen of Bohemia [From the Philadelphia Dispatch]." <em> New-York Saturday Press</em>, November 10, 1860, 1.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> </ul> </div> </div>