Agnes Egan Cobb Explained

Agnes Egan Cobb
Birth Name:	Agnes Veronica Egan
Birth Date:	October 19, 1877
Birth Place:	Brooklyn, New York
Death Date:	November 16, 1963 (age 86)
Death Place:	Trumbull, Connecticut
Occupation:	Businesswoman

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

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

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. She was a sales agent and manager of the features department of the Leading Players Film Corporation, 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

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

Personal life

Agnes Egan married William Hoffman in 1898, and had a daughter, Josephine. Her first husband died in 1901. 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.

External links

• "Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Women Played Key Roles in Early Film Sales" The Daily Mirror (November 14, 1922); a blog post about Cobb and Edna Williams as women in the film distribution business in the 1910s and 1920s

Notes and References

1. News: 1914-07-19 . Brooklynite Occupies Unique Post in Motion Picture Business Circles . 16 . The Brooklyn Daily Eagle . 2023-08-05 . Newspapers.com.
2. Christmas 1913 . Who's Who in the Film Game . Motography . 10 . 13 . 485–486 . Internet Archive.
3. Book: Slide, Anthony . The Silent Feminists: America's First Women Directors . 2022-03-15 . Rowman & Littlefield . 978-1-5381-6553-9 . 5 . en.
4. March 21, 1914 . Eclair's New Home . Motography . 11 . 6 . 209 . Internet Archive.
5. November 8, 1913 . Agnes Egan Cobb Returns from Trip . The Moving Picture World . 18 . 6 . 618.
6. January 17, 1914 . The Cobbs are Back . The Moving Picture World . 19 . 3 . 299.
7. March 7, 1914 . Film Pirate Busy . Motography . 11 . 5 . 152 . Internet Archive.
8. https://books.google.com/books?id=saMbAQAAMAAJ&dq=Agnes%20Egan%20Cobb&pg=PA1279 "New Era in State Right Features"
9. News: 1913-06-01 . What Next? . 19 . Pittsburgh Daily Post . 2023-08-05 . Newspapers.com.
10. February 20, 1915 . Resigns from Position . Motography . 13 . 270.
11. https://books.google.com/books?id=saMbAQAAMAAJ&dq=Agnes%20Egan%20Cobb&pg=PA898 "'Claridge for Quality"
12. Woman Heads New Company . Motography . 15 . 10 . 514.
13. Web site: America Preparing . 2023-08-05 . Turner Classic Movies . en.
14. Book: Mahar, Karen Ward . Women Filmmakers in Early Hollywood . 2008-08-25 . JHU Press . 161. 978-0-8018-9084-0 . en.
15. News: Dudley . Bide . 1919-12-27 . About Plays and Players . 5 . The Atlanta Journal . 2023-08-05 . Newspapers.com.
16. News: 1920-04-30 . She Seeks Film Data . 6 . El Paso Herald . 2023-08-05 . Newspapers.com.
17. January 25, 1922 . Mrs. Cobb Joins Concord Film . Exhibitor Trade Review . 11 . 899.
18. Cobb . Agnes Egan . January 10, 1914 . Parisian Fashions in Motion Pictures . The Motion Picture News . 9 . 1 . 18 . Internet Archive.
19. February 17, 1912 . Wedding Bells . Motion Picture News . 5 . 7 . 31.
20. News: 1936-03-26 . Rug Mishap Victim Recuperates at Home . 2 . The Standard-Star . 2023-08-05 . Newspapers.com.
21. News: 1938-01-28 . About Town . 10 . The Standard-Star . 2023-08-05 . Newspapers.com.
22. News: 1953-04-15 . Mrs. Joaquin P. Rodriguez, Lyncroft Road Resident . 2 . The Standard-Star . 2023-08-05 . Newspapers.com.