Yolande Wallace is the subject of this Cabinet Card photographed by J. H. Melrose of New York City, New York. Wallace was a stage actress and singer whose early appearances included a period with actor Henry E. Dixey. Her appearances on Broadway included “Little Christopher Columbus” (1894), “The French Maid” (1897), and “The Show Girl” (1902). In 1894 the New York Times critic panned “Little Christopher Columbus” and stated that he wished Sherlock Holmes was still alive so he could find out who could have been clapping at the shows dreadful first performance. The critic also penned that Wallace, in her role of “Guinevere”, offered only one redeeming quality and that was her “good looks”.
YOLANDE WALLACE: THEATER ACTRESS WHOSE ONLY REDEEMING ACTING QUALITY WAS HER “GOOD LOOKS”
LETTICE FAIRFAX: THEATRE ACTRESS (PRETTY THE WAY AN ENGLISH GARDNER’S DAUGHTER IS PRETTY)
Lettice Fairfax, an English actress, is the subject of this cabinet card. Her first stage appearance in America was at Daly’s Theater in New York City. She had a role in “Number Nine” in December of 1897. The reviewer in the New York Times wrote that she was “a pretty, fragile and very nervous” actress. He also labelled her the “new ingenue” and reported that she was pretty the way an English Gardner’s daughter is pretty. I guess that means that she was pretty in “the girl next door” kind of way. The photographer of this cabinet card was famed theatre photographer, B. J. Falk and the photograph is copyrighted in 1898. The reverse of the cabinet card is stamped “Charles L Ritzmann” of Broadway, New York.
ADELE BELGARDE: THEATRE ACTRESS WITH QUESTIONABLE TALENT
This cabinet card portrait captures Adele Belgarde, an actress of the theatre. On August 22, 1879, the New York Times critic reviewed her performance in “Julia” The critic clearly was not impressed when he wrote “there is so much she attempts that she cannot do, and possibly would never be able to do.” The critic also writes that her acting “was not sufficiently good” or warrant much praise. More information about this feather clad actress will be sought. The photographer of this cabinet card is Myers located on Broadway in New York City.
Fashionable Sisters Embrace on Broadway
This Cabinet card captures the image of two sisters. At least, they certainly look like sisters.The girls are beautifully dressed and are photographed by the Coe studio on Broadway in New York City.
Fashionable Ladies on Broadway (Sarony)
These wonderful Cabinet cards are of very fashionable women photographed by the celebrated Sarony studio located on Broadway in New York City. These “Imperial Portraits” offer very clear and detailed images. Note the ladies stylish jewelry.
Agnes Ethel: Broadway Stage Actress
Agnes Ethel (1853-1903) was briefly one of the more popular and promising actresses of her time. She made her debut in New York in 1869 playing Camille. Augustin Daly signed her and she appeared in Play (1869). Daly’s biographer described Ethel as “a slender figure, candid eyes, flowing auburn hair, an oval face, and regular features always lit up by an expression of childish appeal.” Her biggest success was in Daly’s Frou-Frou (1870). In 1873, he retired at the height of her career when she married Francis Tracy, a millionaire from Buffalo, New York. She stated her reason for leaving the stage was to aim “for quiet domesticity”. She spent post retirement supporting charities and helping struggling actors and actresses. When her husband died, she was involved in a nasty legal dispute about his will. She was eventually awarded his entire fortune. The photographer of this Cabinet card is the well known studio of Gurney & Son.
Jessie Bartlett Davis: American Actress and Opera Singer
Jessie Bartlett Davis (1859?-1905) was an American actress and operatic singer from Illinois who was billed as “America’s Representative Contralto”. Her father was a farmer and country school master and she was one of ten children. She was discovered when she was performing locally and was taken by traveling managers to perform on the west coast. In 1879 she made her debut in the opera H.M.S. Pinafore. She performed with several opera companies before joining the new Boston Ideal Opera and remained with this troupe until 1901 performing as their prima donna. She is most well known for her role as Alan a-Dale in the 1890 opera Robin Hood. She also toured performing opera in Europe one season and in 1897 she opened on Broadway in The Serenade. She played Broadway again in 1903 in Jakobowski”s operetta Erminie. This versatile performer also performed vaudeville, wrote songs, stories and poems. She had a home in Chicago and summer home in Indiana where she raised horses, collies and fox terriers. In 1905 she died of Brights disease and is buried in Chicago. The photographer of this portrait is renowned theatrical photogarpher Benjamin J Falk of New York City.
Rose Coghlan: Stage Actress
Beautiful stage actress, Rose Coghlan (1851-1932) is the subject of this photographic portrait by celebrity photographer, Jose Mora. Coghlan was an Irish actress who began her theatrical career in both England and the United States in the 1870’s. The IBDB reports that Coghlan appeared in 21 Broadway productions beginning in 1872. These plays included The School for Scandal (1909) and Vanity Fair (1911). She also appeared in Oscar Wilde’s A Woman of No Importance (1893) which was not on Broadway. In 1902 she became a naturalized American citizen. In addition to theater, Coghlan raised livestock on her ranch in Montana. The reverse of this card has a pencilled note indicating that this photograph was taken while Rose Coghlan appeared in “Jealous Wife” (1878).
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 