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Agnes Egan Cobb

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Agnes Egan Cobb
A white woman with dark hair, wearing a buttoned-up jacket over a white blouse
Agnes Egan Cobb, from a 1913 publication
Born
Agnes Veronica Egan

October 19, 1877
Brooklyn, New York
DiedNovember 16, 1963 (age 86)
Trumbull, Connecticut
OccupationBusinesswoman

Agnes Egan Cobb (October 19, 1877 – November 16, 1963) was an American businesswoman based in New York City. Working with and running several companies in the 1910s and 1920s, she bought and distributed silent films to theaters across the United States, and supplied exhibitors with promotional materials such as posters.

Early life and education

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Agnes Veronica Egan was born in Brooklyn, the daughter of Francis Michael Egan and Josephine Kingston Egan. Her father was a harbor pilot, born in Ireland. She attended Mount Holyoke Seminary, but left before graduation, after her father died.[1][2]

Career

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Cobb worked as a stenographer, and as the secretary of a copper mining promoter in Mexico, as a young woman. She also made forays into publishing and film production.[1] She was a sales agent and manager of the features department of the Leading Players Film Corporation,[1] and American sales manager of the Eclair Film Company.[3][4] Her work involved extensive travel,[5][6][7] booking feature films into theaters across the United States, and supplying exhibitors with promotional materials such as posters.[8]

In 1913, she and her second husband founded the Cobb Motion Picture Bureau, to sell films to regional and state-level exchanges.[9] In 1915 she also managed the Egan Film Company, taking charge when her brother fell ill.[10] In 1916 she became vice-president and general manager of Claridge Films.[11][12] She also wrote and produced a film, America Preparing (1916).[13][14]

In 1919 she became a sales manager for Schomer and Ross Productions.[15][16] In 1922, she became sales manager for Concord Film Company.[17]

Publications

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  • "Parisian Fashions in Motion Pictures" (1914)[18]

Personal life

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Agnes Egan married William Hoffman in 1898, and had a daughter, Josephine. Her first husband died in 1901.[2] She married again in 1912, to fellow sales agent Charles Lang Cobb Jr.[19] Cobb retired in the 1930s, lived in Larchmont, New York for a time.[20][21] Her daughter died in 1953;[22] she lived with her daughter's family in her later years. She died in 1963, at the age of 86, in Trumbull, Connecticut.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Brooklynite Occupies Unique Post in Motion Picture Business Circles". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1914-07-19. p. 16. Retrieved 2023-08-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b "Who's Who in the Film Game". Motography. 10 (13): 485–486. Christmas 1913 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ Slide, Anthony (2022-03-15). The Silent Feminists: America's First Women Directors. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-5381-6553-9.
  4. ^ "Eclair's New Home". Motography. 11 (6): 209. March 21, 1914 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ "Agnes Egan Cobb Returns from Trip". The Moving Picture World. 18 (6): 618. November 8, 1913.
  6. ^ "The Cobbs are Back". The Moving Picture World. 19 (3): 299. January 17, 1914.
  7. ^ "Film Pirate Busy". Motography. 11 (5): 152. March 7, 1914 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ "New Era in State Right Features" The Moving Picture World 27(February 26, 1916): 1279.
  9. ^ "What Next?". Pittsburgh Daily Post. 1913-06-01. p. 19. Retrieved 2023-08-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Resigns from Position". Motography. 13: 270. February 20, 1915.
  11. ^ "'Claridge for Quality" The Moving Picture World 27(February 5, 1916): 764.
  12. ^ "Woman Heads New Company". Motography. 15 (10): 514.
  13. ^ "America Preparing". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  14. ^ Mahar, Karen Ward (2008-08-25). Women Filmmakers in Early Hollywood. JHU Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-8018-9084-0.
  15. ^ Dudley, Bide (1919-12-27). "About Plays and Players". The Atlanta Journal. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-08-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "She Seeks Film Data". El Paso Herald. 1920-04-30. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-08-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Mrs. Cobb Joins Concord Film". Exhibitor Trade Review. 11: 899. January 25, 1922.
  18. ^ Cobb, Agnes Egan (January 10, 1914). "Parisian Fashions in Motion Pictures". The Motion Picture News. 9 (1): 18 – via Internet Archive.
  19. ^ "Wedding Bells". Motion Picture News. 5 (7): 31. February 17, 1912.
  20. ^ "Rug Mishap Victim Recuperates at Home". The Standard-Star. 1936-03-26. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-08-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "About Town". The Standard-Star. 1938-01-28. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-08-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Mrs. Joaquin P. Rodriguez, Lyncroft Road Resident". The Standard-Star. 1953-04-15. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-08-05 – via Newspapers.com.
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