This is a wonderful 1890s theatrical cabinet card photograph by the Stein Studio of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The photo shows a costumed actress identified on the reverse as “The Widow.” This refers to the role of Mrs. Guyer, the fashionable widow character from Charles H. Hoyt’s smash-hit musical farce A Trip to Chinatown, one of the great Broadway successes of the Gilded Age. A Trip to Chinatown opened in New York in 1891 and became the biggest theatrical hit of its era, running for a record-breaking 657 performances. Its success led to multiple touring companies traveling throughout the United States, including major Midwestern theater cities such as Milwaukee. The character identified here as “The Widow” was one of the central figures in the play. Her full character name was Mrs. Guyer, a wealthy, stylish, independent widow from Chicago whose presence helps drive the comic plot. The role was originally created by Anna Boyd, a noted Gilded Age stage actress and comedian. While this photograph is not conclusively identified as Boyd, the connection is very intriguing: Boyd was the actress most closely associated with the role, and she is known to have performed with touring companies of the play during its period of national popularity. In comparing the appearance of the actress in this photo to confirmed photographs of Anna Boyd, I am unable to confirm or deny that it is Miss Boyd in this image. The photographer, Simon Leonard Stein, further supports the theatrical connection. Stein Studio was a prominent Milwaukee photographic studio, and visiting actors, singers, and performers often sat for local studio portraits while appearing at major theaters such as the Davidson Theatre or Grand Opera House. Stein operated from the address on the mount from 1880 through 1895. This cabinet card likely dates from the period when A Trip to Chinatown was touring nationally, approximately circa 1892–1895. SOLD
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 
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