ROSALBA BEECHER : PRETTY OPERA DIVA : OWL ON A CRESCENT MOON : SARONY CABINET CARD

The celebrated Sarony studio of New York City, famed theatrical photographer, published this cabinet card portrait of Rosalba Beecher. Ms Beecher is wearing a very  ornate and dramatic dress. Note the design of an owl sitting on a crescent moon. She is wearing a great deal of jewelry. Her clothing is likely a costume from an opera that she was appearing in. Beecher’s magnificent piercing eyes are evident in this portrait. During her stage career, Beecher appeared in one Broadway play, “Prince Methusalem” (1884). Miss Beecher is mentioned in a New York Times (1900) article concerning her divorce from Clarence Lyman Collins of the dry goods commission firm of  Whitin Collins. Mr. Collins had filed for divorce because he alleged that his wife, whom he married in 1886 (She was 23 and he was 38 years-old), was causing him financial ruin with her excessive extravagant spending. It was alleged that her spending was creating a grave economic problem for Collins and she agreed to return to her pre marital profession of being an opera singer. She moved to Paris to get experience before executing her plan to return to singing on the American stage. She stayed in Europe for several years. While there, she continued her incessant spending and Collins found himself forty thousand dollars in debt. An interesting side note is that Collins’s first wife was a Vanderbilt. This particular cabinet card has been well travelled. The reverse of the cabinet card has “Property Of” stamps from Culver Service (New York), Frederic Hilton (New York), and Charles Ritzman (New York). Culver Pictures was a service that collected photographs that for a fee could be used by the media to accompany the stories appearing in their publications. Culver Service was established in 1926. Research yielded no information concerning the identity of Frederic Hilton. Charles L. Ritzmann was a well known purveyor of photographs of stage actors and actresses. To view other cards formerly owned by Culver or by Ritzmann, type Culver of Ritzmann in the search box.   (SOLD)

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Published in: on October 3, 2021 at 12:01 pm  Leave a Comment  
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VIOLET LLOYD: ENGLISH STAGE ACTRESS AND A PIQUANT SOUBRETTE

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 Photograph 1 features stage actress Violet Lloyd posing for celebrity photographer Benjamin J. Falk at his New York City studio. Ms. Lloyd is adorned with flowers in her hair and looks quite beautiful as she poses with her rather large fan. Violet Lloyd was an English actress and singing comedienne. The New York Times (1896) published a favorable review of  “The Geisha”, a play appearing at Daly’s Theater. The critic wrote that  “The greatest individual hit last night was made by Violet Lloyd, an English Soubrette (female stock character in opera and theater)……….She is a piquant (engagingly provocative)  little person, with a droll (amusing in an odd way) but pretty face, sufficient voice, a sense of humor, and plenty of agility”.  It is clear that turn of the century newspaper writers were either better writers than today’s journalists, or else, their editors were more likely to  encourage and expect higher quality writing.  As a result, newspaper articles had a more literary style and used advanced vocabulary. Please forgive me for providing the definitions of some of the words in the quotation; I couldn’t stop myself. A stamp on the reverse of this cabinet card indicates that it was once part of the collection of Charles L. Ritzmann. Other photographs from Ritzmann can be viewed by clicking on the category “Charles Ritzmann Collection”.

The second photograph (PHOTO 2) was also done by a well known New York City celebrity photographer. Aime Dupont was of Belgian origin and he captured Miss. Lloyd wearing clothing that was likely costume from a play. Note the fan she holds above her head. Her pose, with her hand on her hip, likely reflects feigned shock or dismay. This cabinet card is also part of the Ritzmann collection. To view more photographs by Dupont and to learn more about him, click on the category “Photographer: Dupont”.                                                                                                                                                                     Photo 3  is a vintage real photo portrait of Violet Lloyd. It is interesting to note that the squiggly lines on Miss Lloyd’s dress are textured with sparkles. The postcard was published by Philco (no.3026F). The Philco publishing company was located in London, England. This vintage postcard is in good condition (see scans).

Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #3065

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Published in: on May 7, 2020 at 12:01 pm  Comments (2)  
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ZOE TUTTLE: PRETTY STAGE ACTRESS

zoe tuttle_0001The Boston Globe of 1880 in a play review of Uncle Toms Cabin, writes that Little Miss Zoe Tuttle played Eva in a “perfect” performance. Ms Tuttle appears to have begun as a child actress but little more information has been discovered. Additional research will be done and any facts concerning Ms Tuttle or additional comments from blog visitors would be appreciated. The photographer of this cabinet card is Myers of New York City.  This photograph is back stamped with the name of Charles Ritzmann, a well known purveyor of photographs of stage actors and actresses.

Published in: on November 14, 2009 at 1:05 am  Comments (3)  
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THEODOR MOMMSEN: GERMAN CLASSICAL SCHOLAR, NOBEL PRIZE WINNER AND MAN FOR ALL SEASONS

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Theodor Mommsen (1817-1903) is pictured in the Cabinet card photographed by Giacomo Brogil in Firenze, Italy. Mommsen was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician, archaeologist, and writer.  He is considered the greatest classicist of the 19th century. He was a great scholar of Roman History. He won the Nobel Prize in 1902. He was a member of the German and Prussian Parliaments. Mark Twain wrote of meeting him on his European tour of 1892. The photograph is from the Photographs of Celebrities collection of Charles L Ritzmann.

Published in: on June 6, 2009 at 12:03 am  Comments (2)  
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EFFIE ELLSLER: STAGE ACTRESS

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This is a Cabinet card portrait of stage actress Effie Ellsler (1855?-1942). She was born in Cleveland, Ohio where her parents were actors and ran a leading playhouse. She made her debut as a child and as an adult had opportunities to act with Edwin Booth, Lawrence Barrett and other celebrities during their Cleveland tours. Ellsler came to New York in 1880 and was a sensation in her first part in the title role of Hazel Kirke. She played that role for three years but than made a series of poor starring role choices in a number of melodramas. For most of the 1890’s she toured in road companies. She later played with Maxine Elliott in the Merchant of Venice.  Ellsler’s last hit was in the Bat (1920). This Cabinet card portrait is from the esteemed studio of Charles Ritzmann of  New York City.

Published in: on January 13, 2009 at 12:42 am  Comments (2)  
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