PORTRAIT OF GRACE BOWMAN, PERFORMER AT THEATRE DU CHATELET IN PARIS, FRANCE (BY PAUL BOYER)

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This vintage real photo postcard features a costumed stage actress named Violet Bowman. Her clownish costume’s pattern includes men in tuxedos and blackface. Preliminary research yielded little information about Miss Bowman but it appears from the postcard that she performed at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris France. The theatre was designed by Gabriel Davioud after it was requested by Baron Haussmann between 1860 and 1862. Although it has been remodeled, the theatre is still in operation and currently seats 2,500 people. Violet Bowman is quite pretty in this portrait by celebrated Paris photographer, Paul Boyer (1861-1908). He photographed many famous people during his career. This postcard is published by Societe Industrielle de Photograpie (SIP) of Rueil, France and was part of a series (no. 1264). The postmark of this French stamped postcard is from Castelnaudary, France and is dated 1905. It is addressed to Mazamet, France.

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Published in: on February 17, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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THE MULTI TALENTED ACTRESS ULLIE AKERSTOM PHOTOGRAPHED BY MULTI TALENTED PHOTOGRAPHER CHARLES EISENMANN

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Ullie Akerstrom had a professional career as a dancer, pantomimist, actress, playwright, and poet. Among her accomplishments was writing the play “Miss Roarer”. The production was written for Miss Annie Oakley and the famous wild west star appeared in the play on a London stage in 1894. The Swedish-American Miss Akerstrom was at one point known as “The Winsome Little Actress” and this photograph confirms her attractiveness. The cabinet card comes from the studio of Charles Eisenmann (1855-1927). He was German born and a well known celebrity photographer during the 1880’s and 1890’s in New York City’s Bowery District. Not only did he photograph celebrities (ie Mark Twain and Annie Oakley) but he also was known for his portraits of “human oddities” (ie. side show acts and people with birth defects). His son in-law, Frank Wendt, took over his studio in 1898. He later became the director of photography for Dupont. His work is very collectible. To view more of his images, click on the category “Photographer: Eisenmann”.

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Published in: on February 14, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF HARRIET BOSSE: SCANDINAVIAN ACTRESS PHOTOGRAPHED BY FERDINAND FLODIN

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This vintage real photo postcard features Harriet Sofie Bosse (1878-1961) who was an actress of Swedish/Norwegian background. Her father was a German publisher who for business reasons moved his family a number of times back and forth between Oslo (Norway) and Stockholm (Sweden). Harriet was the thirteenth of fourteen children in her family. Two of her sisters were performers. She was well known for her acting but also for being the third wife of playwright August Strindberg. Bosse began her acting career in a company run by her older sister in Oslo. She developed a problem with this sister (Alma) when the sister discovered that Harriet was having an affair with her husband.  Harriet clearly had a boundary problem. After appearing at the Royal Dramatic Theater in Stockholm, she was noticed by Strindberg. He was enamored with her acting ability as well as her exotic “oriental” appearance. The pair were married in 1901; he was 52 years old and she was just 21. The marriage was short and volatile. Strindberg had a history of a jealousy problem that some considered to be actual paranoia. In 1908 Bosse married Swedish actor Anders Gunnar Wingard and later had a third marriage to movie idol Edvin Adolphson in 1927. Her second and third marriages both ended in divorce after just a few years. After retiring from acting, in the midst of World War II, she returned to Oslo. This postcard photograph was taken by Ferdinand Flodin (1863-1935). He was a Swedish photographer who operated a studio in Stockholm. He was well known for his portrait work, especially of theatrical performers. He was educated in the United States from 1883 to 1887. For the next two years he ran a photography gallery in Worcester, Massachusetts. He then returned to Sweden. In 1906 he became secretary of the Swedish Photogaphers Association, a post he held nine years. This postcard was published by Axel Eliasson’s Art Publishers. The publishing house was founded in 1890 and the Stockholm company was the leading producer of postcards in Sweden for many years. A number of Ferdinand Flodin’s cabinet card photographs that were produced at his Massachusetts studio can be seen in the Cabinet Card Gallery. To view these images click on the category “Photographer: Flodin”.  SOLD

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                                                                                                                                                                 Self-Portrait of Ferdinand Flodin

Published in: on January 4, 2016 at 7:24 pm  Comments (1)  
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STAGE ACTRESS LOUISE LEWIS IN SHAKESPEARE’S “AS YOU LIKE IT” (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

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This vintage real photo postcard features actress Louise Lewis who played in Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”. Miss Lewis did not reach stardom in her career but her stage experience did merit an appearance on this theatrical picture postcard. Preliminary research found meager biographical material about this actress, but an article in the Los Angeles Herald (1898) reports that the Calhoun Opera Company at the Los Angeles Theater was presenting “La Grande Duchesse” and that Louise Lewis was a member of the ensemble. It is not certain that the Louise Lewis pictured on this postcard is the same one referenced in the Herald article. This postcard appears to have an American origin and is part of a series (no. 13). This particular postcard was distributed by the Souvenir Post Card Shop in Cleveland, Ohio.

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Published in: on December 30, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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MABELLE ADAMS: A PRETTY BROADWAY ACTRESS

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This vintage real photo postcard features actress Mabelle Adams (1880-1935). Mabelle Adams was her stage name but her real name was Mabelle Humberstone. She is known for her stage career but also for being the mother of director Bruce “Lucky” Humberstone whose work included Film noir “I Wake Up Screaming” (1941) as well as some “Charlie Chan” and “Tarzan” films. Interestingly, Mabelle was a niece of Edwin Booth. She was the understudy on Broadway for actress Maude Adams in “Peter Pan”. She was in a number of Broadway productions including occupying a starring role in “Two Orphans” (1933). Adams was an active member of the Stage Women’s War Relief which raised money for medical supplies for Allies wounded in World War I. A brief biography of Adams can be found in “The Stars of Hollywood Forever” (2014), This postcard was published pre 1907 by the Rotograph Company and part of a series (no. B1998). Rotograph was located in New York City.  (SOLD)

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Published in: on December 26, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  

GISELLA POZZI: BEAUTIFUL SILENT FILM ACTRESS WEARING A BUTTERFLY DRESS

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One thing is for certain is that Gisella Pozzi is a very pretty woman. However, my knowledge about the details of her life is very uncertain. Preliminary research indicates that she was an Italian silent film actress. Some sources report that she was also a theater actress. I have just written everything I know about Gisella Pozzi. More research is needed. What do you think of her dress and hat? I think she looks terrific. I especially like the butterfly on front of her dress. This vintage real photo postcard was made in Italy and produced by Fotocelere. Fotocelere was active between 1915 and 1942 and published postcards across a wide range of genres. The company must have decided it would be attractive to include her faux autograph across her image. I respectfully disagree.

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Published in: on December 16, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (3)  
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MABEL MAY-YONG : GERMAN FILM ACTRESS AND DANCER : RISQUE : MATA HARI TYPE

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Mabel May Yong (1883-1945) was an Australian born actress and dancer. She appeared in German films. The IMDB reports that she had 21 film appearances between 1920 and 1925. In some of the early films she was billed as Mabel May. She portrayed the exotic, sexy,  scantily clad Mata Hari or Salome type. She is often considered the German equivalent of Theda Bara. She had the lead in a vampire film “What the Skull Tells” (1921). Interestingly, she appeared in a film called “Women Who Commit Adultery ( 1922). Mabel May Yong was quite prolific in regard to her numerous film appearance in the early 1920’s. However, her success was short lived. Perhaps a cabinet card gallery visitor can explain what happened to Miss Yong personally and professionally after her early success. This rare vintage real photo postcard was published in Munich, Germany by Percy Hein.  (SOLD)

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Published in: on December 4, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (9)  
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MYSTERY CHANTEUSE PHOTOGRAPHED BY NADAR

ILBERT_0002This Cabinet Card presents a bit of a mystery.  The photograph is by famed French photographer, P. Nadar of Paris. The subject of the photograph is a mystery. The reverse of the card has the name “Ilbert”  written in two places. In addition the word “Chanteuse” also appears. Is she an opera singer? Is she a nightclub singer? The woman is very stylish and is wearing a fur and interesting hair clip. Hopefully, a viewer will leave a comment with some identifying information.                                                    ADDENDUM: This photograph entered into the cabinet card gallery in 2009. Since then there have been a number of cabinet card gallery visitors that have left comments concerning the identity of the subject of this  image. There has been some disagreement, but at least two visitors have identified this performer as being Yvette Guilbert (1867-1944). To follow the discussion about identification, check out the comment section below. Now back to Mlle Guilbert. Born as Emma Laure Esther Guilbert, she began singing as a child but worked at a Paris department store model when she turned sixteen. She also took acting and voice lesson and in 1886 she began working as an actress. She debuted at the Variette Theatre in 1888. She was soon singing at a number of popular clubs before starring in Montmartre at the Moulin Rouge in 1890. Over time she began to sing a lot of  monologue “patter songs”. Often the lyrics were risque, even raunchy. Her song frequently featured tragedy and poverty. Guilbert was audacious and audiences ate it up. She was celebrated in France, England and the United States. She was a favorite subject of artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who made many portraits and caricatures of Guilbert. Later in her career, she appeared in silent movies, talkies and made recordings. She also wrote books about the Belle Epoque. It is interesting to note that Nadar, the photographer of the mystery chanteuse also photographed Yvette Guilbert. A Nadar photograph of Mlle Guilbert is part of the collection at the National Library of France. A copy of that image can be found below.

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Published in: on December 1, 2015 at 12:01 pm  Comments (7)  
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BRITISH STAGE ACTRESS CISSY GRAHAME PHOTOGRAPHED BY W and D DOWNEY IN LONDON, ENGLAND

CISSY GRAHAMEBritish stage actress, Cissy Grahame is the subject of this portrait by the famed London photographic studio W. & D. Downey. She looks quite beautiful in her lace scarf and feathered hat. Grahame was born in 1862. She was the daughter of an actress and she took her first stage role at the age of thirteen. Three years later she was  hired to the stage by Mr. Wilson Barrett and soon thereafter by the Kendal’s. As she progressed in her theatrical career she added theatre management to her repertoire. To view other photographs by the Downey studio, click on the category “Photographer: Downey”.

Published in: on November 21, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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ROMANTIC SCENE FROM THE PLAY “HAVANA” (1908): VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD

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This vintage real photo postcard captures a scene from the the stage production of “Havana” which appeared in 1908 at the Gaiety Theatre in London. The play ran for 221 performances before going on the road around England. The show later played in Berlin, Philadelphia and New York City (The Casino Theatre). Interestingly, future star, Gladys Cooper appeared in the chorus. The play’s plot was that Evie Greene was the daughter of a cigar store owner who also happened to be the mayor of Havana. She was promised to her cousin in marriage but was in love with an English yachtsman (McKay). To complicate matters, the McKay was suspected of being a revolutionary. The actors in this image are Evie Greene and Leonard McKay. Edith Elizabeth (“Evie”) Greene (1875-1917) was an English actress and singer who played in Edwardian Musical Comedies in London and on Broadway. She was quite beautiful and was often photographed. She was most known for starring in the international hit musical “Florodora” (1899). She sang in the cast album of the show which was historic because it was the world’s first original cast album. This postcard was published by Rotary Photo as part of a series (no. 7431 F). It was printed in England. The photograph itself is by “Play Pictorial”. “Play Pictorial” was an English theatre magazine published in London between 1902 and 1939. The publication provided a pictorial presentation of West End theatrical productions with each issue focusing on just one play.  (SOLD)

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Published in: on November 13, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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