The pretty subject of this vintage real photo postcard is actress and opera singer, Violet Essex (1893-1941). The English born Miss Essex appears in a web site entitled “Forgotten Opera Singers” which is written by Ashot Arakelyan. Essex sang during World War I when there was a demand for “lighter music”. Essex, a soprano, fulfilled that need. She recorded under her own name as well as under “Vera Desmond”. Miss Essex was known for her performances in Gilbert and Sullivan’s operas. She starred in the comic opera “Chu Chin Chow” during its five and a half year run in London. She was married to Charles Tucker, an English theatrical producer. She died just six months after moving with her family to Beverly Hills, California. This postcard portrait shows Miss Essex as Emmeline in the Edwardian musical comedy “The Sunshine Girl”. The show was first produced by George Edwardes at London’s Gaiety Theatre. The musical opened in 1912 and ran for 336 performances. The show introduced the tango to British audiences. Violet Essex was in the original cast. The play also had a Broadway run in 1913 at the Knickerbocker Theatre. The photographer who took this photograph of Miss Essex is Alexander Bassano (1829-1913). He was a leading royal and high society London photographer and more of his images can be seen by clicking on Cabinet Card Gallery’s category “Photographer: Bassano”. This postcard was produced around 1912 and is part of a series (41243 8). To hear a recorded performance (Dear Heart) by Violet Essex, click on the link below.
On September 1, 2019 at 9:20 am Elizabeth Berman said:
So glad to see this well researched site. Violet Essex was my grandmother (my dad: Jolyon Tucker’s mum). We have a collection of her recordings (on cylinders, records on vinyl, and reel to reel and pictures ) that my cousin has digitized. By all accounts she was a lovely person and much beloved.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 
So glad to see this well researched site. Violet Essex was my grandmother (my dad: Jolyon Tucker’s mum). We have a collection of her recordings (on cylinders, records on vinyl, and reel to reel and pictures ) that my cousin has digitized. By all accounts she was a lovely person and much beloved.