This is an image of a beautiful actress posing for her portrait holding a stringed instrument. Note her fashionable appearance highlighted by a terrific hat. The image comes from a collection of theatrical actresses. The photographer is Falk, famed theatrical photographer, of New York City. Perhaps a visitor to this blog will know this actresses last name. Her first name is Gladys. In addition, it is hoped that someone may be able to identify the type of stringed instrument she is holding.
BEAUTIFUL THEATRICAL ACTRESS: GLADYS (WHATS-HER-NAME?)
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THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 
I think it’s Gladys Cooper
http://www.gladyscooper.com/Postcards/Postcards.html
Gladys Cooper was born in 1888, and I believe that this cabinet card is from the 1890’a or early in the first decade of the 1900’s. I think Gladys Cooper was likely too young to be the subject of this photograph. I appreciate your thoughts and i enjoyed visiting your Gladys Cooper web site. She was a real stage beauty. I have collected dozens of postcards that capture her glamour and good looks..
The instrument appears to be a mandolin, due to the number of tuning pegs. But it is likely it is just a prop because of the crooked condition of the strings. It is interesting to note that the shape of the mandolin is one you commonly see in connection with resonator mandolins–the pear shape is seldom utilized nowadays for anything else.
More pear-shaped mandolins: http://www.mandolincafe.com/archives/builders/resonator.html
This is Gladys Wallis. You posted a similar card in May 2014 with a long note about her stage career and subsequent marriage to energy mogul Samuel Insull, whose spectacular rise and fall is summarized in a New York Times article entitled, “Before There Was Enron There Was Insull.” [ http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/business/yourmoney/before-there-was-enron-there-was-insull.html ]
Ms. Wallis, in this photo and many others, was a popular subject for post card and tobacco card publishers, as a Google images search will show.
Thank you for the identification. I appreciate your visiting the gallery and leaving your interesting and helpful comment