STAGE ACTRESS CHRISTINE BLESSING IN COSTUME PLAYING A RISQUE CUPID

CHRISTINE BLESSING_0004This cabinet card features a portrait of actress Christine Blessing. The cabinet card was produced by Newsboy (#124 of a series) as a tobacco product premium. For some unknown reason, a previous owner of the photograph apparently attempted to erase the Newsboy logo from the photograph. Miss Blessing is captured in this image playing the role of cupid. She is holding a bow and arrow. This cabinet card is risque for its era. The actress is wearing a dress so short that it looks like the dressmaker ran out of material just after beginning her work.  Miss Blessing is known for her theater work but also for her role in an early film titled “Dope” (1914). Her theatrical performances are the subject of a number of New York Times articles. These productions include “The Merry World” (1895), “The Maid in the Moon” (1899), “The County Chairman” (1904), and “The Bachelor” (1909), The New York Times (1893) was critical of her performance at Koster & Bials Music Hall. The newspaper stated that she had performed ballads and that Christine Blessing was “undoubtedly a blessing in disguise”. She was clearly part of a vaudeville performance that night as one of the other acts was a boxing kangaroo. The reviewer bemoaned that vaudeville performances had adverse effects on legitimate theater.

Published in: on January 14, 2014 at 11:38 am  Leave a Comment  
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PRETTY ACTRESS WITH POOR POSTURE IN LONDON, ENGLAND (LILIAN CARLYLE)

LILLIAN CARLYLE_0004A pretty actress exhibits poor posture as she poses in London, England, at the studio of Ellis & Wallery. The performers name is Miss Lilian Carlyle, and she appears to be pushing her chest out, possibly to amplify her ample bust. Is there a chiropractor in the house? Printing on the reverse of the photograph states that the studio was established in 1884.  The backdrop employed in this portrait is not particularly realistic but at least it doesn’t detract from the portrait and allows Miss Carlyle to be the major focus. Alfred Ellis (1854-1930) was an active photographer between 1884 and 1899. He operated a studio on Upper Baker Street in London. He was an original member and served in a number of offices for the Professional Photographers Association. He specialized in theatrical photography and sometimes photographed whole scenes inside his studio. He later went to theaters to photograph performers and play scenes. Ellis was very involved in working for copyright protection in the high courts. Between 1890 and 1900 Stanislaw Julian Ignacy, Count Ostrorog (1863-1935) joined Ellis in a studio partnership. Ostrorog had followed in the footsteps of his father Stanislaw Ostrorog (1830-1890). He also kept his father’s “photographer name”. The senior Ostorog had changed his name to “Stanislaw Walery” for professional purposes. The last name of “Walery” was derived from his wife’s name, “Waleria”. The elder Walery had set up his London studio in 1883. To view other photographs by Walery, click on the category “Photographer: Walery”.

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Published in: on December 31, 2013 at 5:42 pm  Comments (3)  
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ADELE PURVIS ONRI: BURLESQUE PERFORMER (NEWSBOY ACTRESS SERIES)

onri_0006Newsboy published this cabinet card portrait of stage performer Adele Purvis Onri. The photograph was produced to be utilized as a premium with the sale of tobacco products. It was number 110 in a series. This somewhat risque portrait captures Miss Onri in action, but what kind of action? Research reveals that she was a burlesque performer.  Her name appears in a number of sources but generally articles containing her name provide little information about her. Apparently she was not a major theater personality. The New York Times (1893) announced her appearance as part of the cast of “Lovely Meteor” at the Eden Musee. Onri makes another appearance in the N Y Times (1897) and in this article the reporter describes her appearance at Koster & Bials Theater. The writer asserts that “one of the most attractive features of the long and interesting bill was the performance of a graceful young woman called Adele Purvis-Onri who did some difficult posing on the slack wire, and intricate juggling and serpentine dancing or a revolving  globe”.  Reading between the lines, it is clear that Onri was performing burlesque acts of a risque nature. The New York Times (1902) notes that she appeared in vaudeville at the Twenty-third Street Theater and was a “sensational dancer”.  The reverse of this cabinet card is stamped indicating it was owned by “Culver Pictures” of New York City. The Culver company charged newspapers and magazines for the use of photographs owned by Culver. To view more photographs by Newsboy, click on the category “Photographer: Newsboy”. To view more images of stage actresses, click on the category “Actresses”.

Published in: on December 20, 2013 at 4:21 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF THEATER ACTRESS MAY GALLAGHER ON A BAD HAIR DAY

MAY GALLAGHER_0001This cabinet card portrait features stage actress May Gallagher. The photograph was taken by New York City celebrity photographer D. H. Anderson. To view more photographs by the Anderson studio, click on the category “Photographer: Anderson (New York)”. Miss Gallagher’s hair appears to need a little work. Her curls are quite flat. In fact her hair looks glued down to her head. She is wearing a fancy lace dress. May Gallagher was not a major actress but she received some attention in the theatrical news of her time. Music and Drama (1882) refers to her as “the charming May Gallagher” in their reference to her appearing as Esmeralda at the Madison Square Theater in New York City. The New York Times (1884) mentions Miss Gallagher in their story about the traveling company of the play “Private Secretary”.

Published in: on December 7, 2013 at 12:06 pm  Comments (1)  
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THEATER ACTRESS: MABEL POTTER PHOTOGRAPHED BY SCHLOSS IN NEW YORK CITY

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Celebrity photographer Jacob Schloss captures actress Mabel Potter in this cabinet card portrait. For the time period, Miss Potter is assuming a rather risque position. Schloss operated his studio in New York City. This cabinet card holds a copyright from 1894. To view other photographs by Schloss, click on the category “Photographer: Schloss”. The New York Times (1892) has a brief article with the theatrical news that Miss Potter was about to appear in “The Vice Admiral” which was a “nautical comedy” scheduled to run at the Casino Theater. A photograph of Potter, very similar to the one above (likely taken at the same sitting), appears in Munsey’s Magazine (1895). Schloss is given credit as the photographer. It is announced that she was appearing in “Little Christopher Columbus” as one of Captain Slammer’s daughters. The article adds that she first appeared on the stage four years earlier with the McCaull Company in “Boccaccio” at Palmer’s Theater.

Published in: on November 30, 2013 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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JOSIE DITT: MINOR STAGE ACTRESS PHOTOGRAPHED IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

josie ditt_0001The subject of this cabinet card portrait is stage actress Josie Ditt. Research indicates that she was a minor actress with a number of small role appearances in a number of major theater shows. The New York Dramatic Mirror (1892) announced her appearance in a “10,000 dollar production”, adding “No more, No less, No Bluff”. Will Wilson’s play, “The Man About Town” was playing at the Lyceum Theater. The show was a “Comedy, Vaudeville, Farce”. The New York Times (1894) advertised her appearance in the cast of “Little Christopher Columbus”. The Cornell Daily Sun reports her appearance in “Circus Girl”. This cabinet card was produced by the Conly studio in Boston, Massachusetts. To view other photographs by Charles F. Conly, click on the category “Photographer: Conly”. This particular photograph was once owned by Culver Pictures, a business that supplied celebrity images to the mass media for a fee. A stamp on the reverse of the photograph attests to Culver’s ownership.

Published in: on November 2, 2013 at 12:20 pm  Leave a Comment  
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ADA SIDNEY: PROBABLE STAGE ACTRESS OR OPERA SINGER

ada sidneyThe reverse of this cabinet card identifies the subject as Ada Sidney. Judging by her costume, she appears to have been an opera or stage actress. This photographic portrait was taken by the Marc & Schlum studio in New York City. Research revealed no information about Miss Sidney or the studio photographers.

Published in: on October 24, 2013 at 12:05 pm  Comments (7)  
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THEATER ACTRESS MARIE BOCKEL IN COSTUME FOR “LA VIE” IN NEW YORK CITY (1884)

BOCKEL_0001This cabinet card features Miss Marie Bockel dressed in costume for her performance in “La Vie”. She was photographed by celebrity photographer Moreno. Moreno’s gallery was located in New York City. To view other photographs by Moreno, click on the category “Photographer: Moreno”. A stamp on the reverse of the image states “Russell Brothers, 126 Tremont Street, Boston”. Miss Bockel’s appearance in La Vie was announced in the New York Times (1884). “La Vie” was H. B. Farnie’s adaptation of Offenbach’s “La Vie Parisenne”. Marie Bockel also appeared in the New York Times (1884) when she appeared with the W. A. Mestayer Company in the performance of “We, Us, and Company of Mud Springs”. The show was described as a “wild musical farce” concerning the establishment of a sanitarium. The newspaper’s review of the show was favorable and it mentions that Miss Bockel sang the soprano parts in some of the quartets “very well”.

Published in: on October 11, 2013 at 12:04 pm  Leave a Comment  
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WOMAN ON A PEDESTAL: LOTTIE GILSON (THE LITTLE MAGNET)

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This cabinet card portrait of actress Lottie Gilson was produced by celebrated New York City photographer, Aime Dupont. Gilson  is perched on a pedestal and this image is a bit risque for its era. Note Miss Gilson’s coy smile, her exposed neck, relativesly low cut dress, the straps on her arms, and the leggy view. Gilson’s nickname, “the little magnet” is written on the reverse of the photograph. Also on the back of the cabinet card is a stamp from “Culver Pictures” which was a company that supplied photographs to the media for a price. Lottie Gilson (1871-1912)  was a popular comedienne and vaudeville singer born in Basil, Switzerland. She was called “the little magnet” because of her popularity with audiences and her ability to propel the sales of sheet music. Her musical hits included “The Sunshine of Paradise Alley” and “The Little Lost Child”. The date of her theatrical debut is unknown but it is certain that she performed at the Bowery’s Old National Theatre in 1884. She later performed in many of New York’s theaters and was the top soubrette of her day. She is noted as the originator of the stunt of having a boy come out of the balcony singing along with one of her songs. This became a common vaudeville routine. The San Francisco Call (1900) reported Gilson’s third wedding (she was only twenty nine at the time). The article also mentioned that her first husband was sent to the penitentiary for setting her hat on fire. The New York Times (1912) printed an obituary for Gilson. They reported that she had been out of the public eye for five years prior to her sudden death. Another source states that she died after years of self destructive behavior, illness, and depression. To view other photographs by Dupont, click on the category “Photographer: Dupont”.

Published in: on September 18, 2013 at 12:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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ANNIE SOMERVILLE: STAGE ACTRESS PHOTOGRAPHED BY BENJAMIN FALK

SOMMERVILLE_0001Stage star, Annie Somerville is featured in this cabinet card portrait by celebrity photographer Benjamin Falk in New York City. The curly haired actress is pretty and thin waisted. She is wearing a velvet type costume and has a sword at her side. Research yielded little information about Miss Somerville. She appeared in a number of actress series issued by tobacco companies. Her named is listed as part of the cast of Evangeline when the play appeared at the Fourteenth Street Theater in New York City. The reverse of the photograph has the stamp of photographer J. M. Russell, 126 Tremont Street, in Boston, Massachusetts. Russell was a well known music publisher in Boston and it is possible that he also was involved in the sale of celebrity cabinet  cards.  To view other photographs by Falk, click on the category “Photographer: Falk”.

Published in: on September 1, 2013 at 12:01 am  Comments (2)  
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