Mrs. Custer at the Movies

Elizabeth Bacon Custer—keeper of the flame for George Armstrong Custer, her husband who famously died at the Little Big Horn in 1876—was also an actress. Of course, you’ve probably never seen the film she starred in, a 14-minute “how-to” called The Pottery Maker. Here’s how it came about. Libbie had studied art when she was growing up in Michigan. She had sketched scenes on her travels with husband George, and her personal journals feature drawings of clothing and landscapes