Marie Jansen (1857-1914) was an American actress and vocalist. She was a well known star of comic operas. She was born in Boston and her birth name was Hattie Johnson. Jansen made her theatrical debut in Boston at the Park Theatre in 1881. Her first major success occurred in 1883 with her appearance in “The Beggar Student”. In 1884 she was engaged by Charles Wyndham to create the title role in “Featherbrain” which ran in London, England. She then appeared in the United States for several years as the leading woman in Francis Wilson’s comic opera company. In 1901, Jansen formed her own company that she took on tour. The top image was photographed by famed celebrity photographer Falk of New York City. This image shows Jansen in costume for the play, “The Oolah”. “The Oolah” was a comic opera produced by the Francis Wilson Company in 1887. The music was written by Charles Le Cocq and the libretto was written by Sydney Rosenfeld. The second image of Jansen was also photographed by Falk. This cabinet card is dated 1888 and is a bit risque for that time in history. The third image of Jansen also captures her in a bit risque costume. It was photographed by Falk in 1892 and the cabinet card was used as a premium for Newsboy tobacco products. The fourth image of Jansen features her in costume and sitting on a wicker chair. She is holding a cane and wearing gloves. This undated photograph is also by Falk. To view other photographs by Falk, click on the Cabinet Card Gallery category “Photographer: Falk”.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 
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