PORTRAIT OF A BRITISH BEAUTY WITH A FANTASTIC SMILE

This vintage real photo postcard is a member of the Rotary Photo  “British Beauty” series   (no. A.141-6). The Cabinet Card Gallery has a number of “British Beauty” cards in it’s collection. This postcard was printed in Britain and is hand tinted. This postcard is in very good condition (see scans).

Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #2982

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$21.50

Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) #2982

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$30.00

 

ALICE DE WINTON : SOPHISTICATED AND BEAUTIFUL ENGLISH ACTRESS (C. 1905)

This vintage real photo postcard features British actress, Alice de Winton (1870-1941). She was born and died in the city of London. Her sister, Dora de Winton was also an actress. Alice de Winton was a very popular stage actress. She appeared on Broadway in “The Man from Blankley’s” (1903). De Winton was beautiful and sophisticated. She also had a film career. She appeared in many drama films. In 1912 she played a role in Cecil Hepworth Film Companys “The Fairy Doll’. Other notable appearances included “Lady Windermere’s Fan” (1916) and “The Bachelor’s Club (1921). De Winton also was a film script writer. The IMDB credits her with 24 film appearances between 1913 and 1921. The National Portrait Gallery has two cabinet card photographs of Miss de Winton in their collections. Both images were photographed by the Elliott and Fry studio in the 1890’s. This vintage postcard was published by Frederick Hartmann. His postcard publishing company was headquartered in London. He was active in the UK between 1902 and 1909. It is thought that he produced the first divided back card in the world. His postcards were printed in Saxony (Germany) because of the country’s advanced printing industry. He produced view cards from all over England and imported glamour cards from the European continent. He was the English distributor for Trenkler & Company postcards. In 1907, Hartmann partnered with Christian Linck. The business went bankrupt that same year (1907). This vintage portrait postcard is in very good condition (see scans).

Buy this Real Photo Vintage Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #2974

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$21.50

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$30.00

TWO BEAUTIFUL HOUND DOGS JUST CHILLIN IN THE GRASS (1930)

This vintage real photo postcard captures two beautiful hound dogs relaxing in a field. Although they are at rest, they are alert and observing their environment. Maybe they are hoping that a rabbit may have the misfortune of hopping into their line of vision. The postcard has a cute caption, The card was published by Valentine and Sons. The printing company was founded in Dundee, Scotland in 1851. The founder was James Valentine (1815-1879). The company became the leading manufacturer of picture postcards in Scotland. After James died, his two sons operated the business. The company was purchased by John Waddington Limited in 1963, In 1980, the Valentine business was bought by Hallmark Cards. In 1994, the company ceased operations. This postcard is part of a series (no. 574-9). The postmark indicates that it was stamped in 1930 in Haltwhistle, England and the card was sent to Darlington, England. The postcard has a light crease in the bottom right hand corner (only seen on close inspection) and is in overall good condition.   

Buy this Real Photo Vintage Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #2972

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$22.00

Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) #2972

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$30.50

MISS MARGARET LEAHY : THE SAD STORY OF THE “DAILY SKETCH” GIRL

Margaret Leahy (1902-1967) was a British actress. She was born in London. At the age of eighteen, she set up a costume shop and designed women’s clothing. She also modeled her designs for her customers. The story of how she got her start in acting is an interesting one. After winning a beauty contest, she seemed destined for stardom. Unfortunately, despite her rapid launch into filmdom, her career quickly crashed.  She made only one film in her short-lived career. The beauty competition occurred in 1922. Actresses, Constance and Norma Talmadge, Joseph Schenck (film studio executive), and Edward Jose (film director) held a beauty contest in England. It’s purpose was to find a new leading lady. The “Daily Sketch”, an English newspaper, offered a starring role in a major Hollywood film to the winner of the contest. Eighty thousand women entered the contest and three girls were chosen to the final competition. The finals were held in Hollywood and Miss Leahy was the winner.  Norma Talmadge described Leahy as “the most ravishing girl in England”. Leahy’s start in films was a disaster. She was dismissed from “Within the Law” (1923). The film’s director found her acting talent was nearly non-existent. He threatened to quit unless Leahy was terminated. The year 1923 wasn’t all bad for Miss Leahy. She was named one of thirteen WAMPAS Baby Stars. Evelyn Brent, Eleanor Boardman, and Laura La Plante were among the thirteen. All but Leahy became successful film actresses. Between 1922 and 1934, WAMPAS association supported a promotional campaign that named thirteen young actresses thought to be destined to become stars. Margaret’s next stop was an appearance in a Buster Keaton comedy, “Three Ages” (1923). Leahy received little attention for her role in the movie and her career was stopped in it’s tracks. Leahy did not return to England. Instead she got married and remained in California. She became an interior decorator and was known to despise the movie industry. In fact, she burned all her movie related scrap books. Sadly, Leahy committed suicide at the age of sixty-four in California. This vintage postcard was published by Rotary Photo and printed in England. The postcard is part of a series (no. 5.76.2).  The postcard is in very good condition (see scans).     SOLD

PORTRAIT OF A PLAY IN PROGRESS : THEATRE IN LANCASHIRE, ENGLAND : FEMALE PHOTOGRAPHER (1910’s OR 1920’s)

   

This vintage real photo postcard features a theatrical performance in progress. The name of the theatre, play, and players are unknown. The gentleman leaning on the chair seems very forlorn. The photographer of this image is Marie Podmore. She operated a studio in the town of Colne in Lancashire, England. Preliminary research reveals that she was active at least from the early 1920’s until 1938. The stamp box indicates that the postcard was made by Crown Studios sometime between 1913 and 1929. This vintage theatrical postcard is in excellent condition.

Buy this Vintage Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #2956

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$15.50

Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) #2956

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$24.00

 

 

KATHLEEN COURTNEY AT SEVENTEEN YEARS OF AGE: PRETTY STAGE ACTRESS (1905)

This vintage real photo postcard features stage actress Kathleen Courtney. Preliminary research yielded little information about this pretty theatre actress indicating that she was likely a minor player. However, Britain’s National Portrait Gallery has five photographs of Miss Courtney in their collection. Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News (1901) mentions that Kathleen Courtney, at age thirteen, understudied for adult actress, Ellaline Terriss in a theatre production. Tattler: An Illustrated Journal of Society Drama and Sport (1917) reports that Courtney was appearing in “Maid of the Mountains” at Daly’s theatre. These two articles disclose that Kathleen Courtney began as a child actress and that her career lasted at least 16 years. Given that we know that Kathleen Courtney was thirteen years of age in 1901, we can extrapolate that she was about seventeen years old at the time of this photo. More extensive research is required to illuminate the details of Courtney’s personal and professional life. This postcard was published by the Rapid Photo Company as part of a series (no. 1363). The company existed between 1901 and 1910. It was located in London. The company is best known for their portraits of actresses. The card was printed in London, England. The 1905 postmark is from the town of Milnrow, which is located in Greater Manchester, England. The recipient of the card lived in Blackpool, a seaside resort on the Irish Sea coast of England.   SOLD

JEAN RUTHERFORD : WINNER OF THE “DAILY MIRROR” BEAUTY CONTEST AND CHAMPION OF MANUAL WORKERS

This vintage press photo features Miss Jean Rutherford, winner of a beauty contest sponsored by the Daily Mirror, a newspaper in Great Britain. The contest had 22,000 entrants. Miss Rutherford was from Perth, a city in Scotland. Besides choosing a winner of the beauty pageant, the contest was supposed to determine whether manual or “brain workers” were the most beautiful. I guess this silly question was supposed to increase interest and excitement about the contest among the newspaper’s readers. Manual workers were determined to be the prettiest because Miss Rutherford worked as a domestic servant. Before I began researching Miss Rutherford, I was hoping that she went on from this contest and has a successful career as an actress, or some other profession. Unfortunately, my preliminary investigating did not reveal any information about what happened to Miss Rutherford after her victory. This press photo was formerly part of the collection belonging to Victor Forbin (1864-1947), accomplished French writer. This photograph measures about 6″ x 8″ and is in good condition (note staining near the upper right hand corner).    (SOLD)

A PORTRAIT OF ACTRESS ISLA GARNET-VAYNE BY ALEXANDER BASSANO (1910)

This vintage real photo postcard features pretty theater actress, Isla Garnet-Vayne. I just can’t refrain from saying “Isla, you’re so vayne. You probably think this blog entry is about you”. I couldn’t resist. My apologies to singer/song-writer Carly Simon. England’s National Portrait Gallery has four portraits of Miss Garnet-Vayne in their collection. One of the portraits is identical to the one seen on this photo postcard. The National Portrait Gallery reports that this photograph was taken in 1910 by Alexander Bassano. The website, Theatricalia, reports on three productions in which Miss Garnet-Vayne performed. The plays listed are ” The Prince and the Beggar Maid (1908-1909), “A Girls Temptation” (1909-1910), and “From Mill Girl to Millionairess” (1910-1911). All of the aforementioned plays were performed in Southampton, England. Further research is needed to learn more about this pretty stage actress. Postcard portraits of Miss Garnet-Vayne are rare and this is one of the nicer ones I’ve seen. It is in very good condition (see scans).                                               

Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #2926

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$23.50

                 

Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) #2926

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$32.00

                            

DOROTHY MINTO : PRETTY, COY AND TALENTED ENGLISH STAGE ACTRESS

This vintage real  photo postcard features a pretty and coy looking English actress named Dorothy Minto (1886-1957). She was born in Scotland. She was an actress known for “Once Upon a Time” (1918), and  “A Little Bit of Fluff (1919), and “Raise the Roof” (1930). She was a popular actress on the London stage between 1905 and the mid 1930’s. Her early stage career was focused on classical plays and serious new theater but from 1912 and beyond, she concentrated more on musicals and comedies. It is notable that se appeared in the first runs of several of George Bernard Shaw’s plays. She also performed in plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Barrie, and Tolstoy, Minto’s career included appearances in ten films between 1916 and 1936. Interestingly, Minto appeared “Votes for Women” (1907) which was the first suffragist play performed on the London stage. She later became of member of the Actress Franchise League, part of the suffragist movement. She had two marriages and one child. Her infidelity led, or at least contributed to the end of both of her marriages. The National Portrait Gallery has 33 portraits of Miss Minto in their collection. Most of the images are by Alexander Bassano and Rita Martin.This postcard was published by Rotary Photo as part of a series (no.4072 B). Minto’s portrait was done by Foulsham & Banfield. Foulsham & Banfield were well known celebrity photographers. Frank Foulsham and A. C. Banfield operated a studio from the 1900’s through the 1920’s.    (SOLD)

MISS WINIFRED EMERY : AN ENGLISH “STAGE FAVOURITE”

Miss Winifred Emery (1861-1924) is the subject of this vintage real photo postcard. She was an English actress and actor-manager during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was married to actor Cyril Maude (m. 1888). It is not hard to imagine that the fact that she was born into a family of actors, played a role in her career choice. She began as a child actress and during the 1880’s and 1890’s her career blossomed as she played many leading roles in London’s West End theatres. Interestingly, her first London appearance was in 1874 in the pantomime,”Beauty and the Beast”. She later joined Marie Litton’s company, Herbert Beerbohm Tree’s theatre company, Henry Irving’s theatre company, and Wilson Barrett’s company. She eventually started her own touring theatre company with her husband. In 1896, her husband became actor-manager of the Haymarket Theatre and Emery became his leading lady. Among the plays that Emery appeared in are number of productions of Shakespeare. Emery had a successful stage career that spanned over forty years. This postcard was published circa 1910 by Raphael Tuck & Sons’ as part of the “Stage Favourites” Series (No. 5062). The photographer of this portrait of Miss Emery was Alexander Bassano, a very respected celebrity photographer. (SOLD)