ALICE RUSSON : IRISH STAGE AND SILENT FILM STAR : RPPC (1908)

POSTCARD 1 (SOLD)
POSTCARD 2 (SOLD)

POSTCARD 3

POSTCARD 4 (SOLD)

This vintage real photo postcard (Postcard 1) features Irish actress, singer, and dancer, Alice Russon. She acted in musical comedies and silent films. Russon’s stage work included “The Girl from Kay’s” (1904), “Cinderella” (1907), and “The Arcadians” (1911). In 1906, she appeared in a variety show headlined by Will Rogers. In 1912 and 1913, she performed in Australia. According to IMDb, Russon appeared in three British silent films including “Democracy” (1918) and “All Men are Liars” (1919). Russon was married to actor, Vernon Davidson. It is reported that she was an amateur photographer. This postcard was published by Rotary Photo as part of the Rotary Photographic Series (No. 4139 B). The card has a postmark from Cambridge, England (dated 1908). The message on the reverse of the card, like today’s text messages, is short and sweet. The writer simply writes “Getting on alright”.  (SOLD)

Postcard 2 was published by Rotary Photo as part of a series (No. 1803 O). Russon’s photograph was taken by Sydney Wood.  (SOLD)

Postcard 3 was published by Philco as part of a series (No. 3437 D). Russon’s photograph was taken by Dover Street Studios. The card has a postmark dated 1908. The message on the reverse of the card, states that the writer attended the theatre the night before writing. She reports that she saw actress, Marie Studholme and that Miss Studholme was “very good, pretty and just as nice as she looks on postcards”. This postcard is in good condition (see scans).

Postcard 4 was published by Raphael Tuck as part of a series (No.T160). (SOLD)

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POSTCARD 1
POSTCARD 2

POSTCARD 3

POSTCARD 4

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Published in: on November 28, 2022 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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MISS EDITH FINK : PLAYED CINDERELLA : ACTRESS, SINGER, COMEDIENNE : RPPC

POSTCARD 1 (SOLD)
POSTCARD 2

This vintage real photo postcard features actress, singer, and comedienne, Miss Edith Fink. Information about Miss Fink is sparse. The website “Find A Grave” provides a bit of information about her life and death. She was born in Nottingham, England, in 1884. She died in Poole, England in 1957. At the time of her passing, her full name was Edith Kate Fink Lashwood. She had been married to George Lashwood (1863-1942). Their marriage took place in 1917. George Lashwood has been described as a “handsome and distinguished” well-dressed singer of popular and patriotic songs. He also appeared in pantomimes and made recordings of many of his songs. Note the purple typed message on the reverse of this postcard. The writer, Louise, tells the reader that Miss Fink is playing Cinderella at the “Prince of Wales Theatre” in London. A faded postmark reveals that this postcard was written and mailed in 1906. This card was published by E. C. Osborne & Son. The firm was located in Birmingham, England. SOLD

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POSTCARD 1
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Published in: on August 9, 2021 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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CLARA JECKS : PRETTY AND TALENTED ENGLISH MUSICAL COMEDY ACTRESS

The pretty woman seen in this vintage photograph is English musical comedy actress, Clara Jecks (1854-1951). She was born in London, England. Her father was an actor and theatrical manager (Adelphi Theatre). Her mother was a popular actress. It is unsurprising that Clara began her stage career when she was a baby. She first appeared on the stage as a toddler. Growing up, she received the music, dance, and voice training needed to prepare her for a performing career. Her London stage debut was in 1873, at about the age of nineteen. Clara’s specialty was playing soubrettes (lively flirtatious roles) and boy roles. In fact, she once said, “I am never so really happy as when acting as a lad”. Clara was mentored by talented actress, Miss Nellie Farren. There is a portrait of Clara in Great Britain’s National Portrait Gallery. In fact, the portrait is identical to the photograph seen above. The NPG reports that this image appeared in “The Theatre” magazine in 1892. She was photographed, for this image, playing her role in “Richard II”, written by William Shakespeare. The photographer of the photo was Alfred Ellis (1854-1930). Ellis was an active photographer between 1884 and 1899. He operated a studio on Upper Baker Street in London. He specialized in theatrical photography and sometimes photographed whole scenes inside his studio. He later went to theaters to photograph performers and play scenes. Now, back to Clara’s career. In 1878, she and her mother toured together with the Comedy Opera Company. A few of Clara’s notable performances were in “Formosa” (1877), “The Black Domino” (1893), Cinderella (1893), and “A Merry Madcap” (1896). Her final London performance was in “The Critic” (1911). In an interview appearing in “The Sketch” (1893), Clara was asked the reason why she never toured America. She answered that she received many good offers to appear there, but preferred to perform in London, “Where I am at home with my audiences”. She then added, as if to change the subject, the following observation. She asserted, “You should see what funny letters I sometimes get from little boys in front, who can hardly believe I’m not one of themselves”. During her career, she appeared in over two hundred opera, drama, and pantomime roles. This image features Clara holding a wine pitcher in one hand, and a wine cup in the other. This photograph measures about 4″ x 5″, has excellent clarity, and is in excellent condition.

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Published in: on January 18, 2021 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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MISS HILDA GUIVER : PRETTY ACTRESS AND PRINCIPAL BOY (PHOTO BY GUTTENBERG)

This vintage real photo postcard features theatre actress, Hilda Guiver. She had an active acting career between 1905 and 1917. She sat for one portrait that can be found in the National Portrait Gallery of Great Britain. Interestingly, the portrait owned by the National Portrait Gallery is the very same one as seen in this postcard image. The photographer of this photograph is Percy Guttenberg of Manchester, England. The photo was taken in about 1905. Alexander Percy Guttenberg (1870-?) came from a family that produced a number of photographers. His father, Marcus Guttenberg (1828-1891) began as a daguerreotypist in Hungary, Prussia, Poland and Germany before starting a photography business in England (1851). One source reports that he established 24 studios in England but settled in the Manchester area. Percy, like his father, was also very successful. In fact, there are fourteen of his photographs in England’s National Portrait Gallery. Percy was famous for his work photographing actors and actresses. Finding information about Miss Guiver took some effort. I did learn that she appeared in “Cinderella (1906)” at The Kings Theatre in London. Actress, Ethel Ward, also was part of the cast. Hilda Guiver is also known for her starring in “The House that Jack Built (1916)”. This patriotic show was popular during World War I. The play was written in the tradition of English pantomime so the role of the principal boy needed to be played by a woman. Hilda Guiver took on that role with great swagger and dash. Dressed as a handsome naval officer, she sang patriotic songs and received “enthusiastic reviews”. Guiver was a natural for the role as she was considered one of London’s leading principal boys.   SOLD

Published in: on June 30, 2019 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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KITTY COLYER – ENGLISH TRIPLE THREAT (SINGER, DANCER, ACTRESS) – PLAYED CINDERELLA

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The pretty actress seen in this vintage real photo postcard, is Miss Kitty Colyer (1897-?). Here are some biographical facts that I discovered in preliminary research about the English actress. She started her career at age eleven. In addition to being an actress, she was also a dancer. She has also been described as a music hall singer and a comedian. Her dance routines were varied but her favorites were acrobatic, toe, buck, and national dancing. She performed primarily in the 1920’s. She played the role of Cinderella in “Cinderella” (1920).  As the roaring twenties came to a close, her career fizzled out and she left the entertainment business. A review of Miss Colyer can be found in John Culme’s “Footlight Notes” (website). A writer from “The Era” (1911) wrote “Miss Kitty Colyer’s sensational dancing reaches its climax in some very energetic handsprings and her lissomness and activity are quite irresistible in her rendering of “By the Light of the Silvery Moon”. Look below to see an example of sheet music (1920) featuring Kitty Colyer. Now, back to the vintage postcard. It was published by Rotary Photo and is part of the Rotary Photographic Series (no. 11522 C). The photographer is unknown. The postcard is in excellent condition (see scans).

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Published in: on May 6, 2019 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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STAGE AND SILENT FILM ACTRESS MABEL TRUNELLE IN FORT WAYNE, INDIANA

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This cabinet card features stage and film actress Mabel Trunnell (1879-1981). The reverse of the photograph is inscribed “Yours Truly, Mabel Trunnell 1898”. Therefore, this image captures Miss Trunnell at about age nineteen. Mabel Trunnell was born in Dwight, Illinois. She began her career as an actress of the stage but at age thirty-two she began to appear in films. In 1911 she appeared in “A Modern Cinderella, In the Days of Chivalry” and in “The Star Spangled Banner”. Her last film was in 1923 when she was in the movie “The Love Trap”. Her filmography on IMDb indicates that she acted in 199 different films. At the age of forty-four she returned to the stage. She was married to Herbert Prior, an early British film star. Trunnell was one of Hollywood’s first movie stars as was identified with Edison Studios. A magazine article in “The Moving Picture World” (1915) reviews one of her performance. The reviewer wrote “Mabel Trunnell becomes more attractive as the course of time silvers her hair”. An interesting sociological comment was also made by the reviewer which was in regard to the admirable strength portrayed by Trunnell’s character. The reviewer notes “most of us are tired of seeing women pictured as incurable weaklings”. The reviewer was certainly a man who was ahead of his time. This cabinet card was produced by the Barrows studio in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It appears that Miss Trunnell was photographed in a costume from one of her performances. She is dressed very much like a maid and seems a bit troubled in her pose. The photographer, Frank Rufus Barrows operated a studio in Fort Wayne between 1880 and 1900. He is considered one of the city’s most prolific photographers and had several locations while in business there. He was born in Sturgis, Michigan in 1854. He came to Fort Wayne in 1880 and partnered with Frank H. Clayton in operating a photographic studio. In about a years time he became the sole proprietor of the studio. He had many photos appear in Fort Wayne Illustrated (1897). He left Indiana for Medford, Massachusetts and operated a studio there until 1910 when he moved to Eugene, Oregon where he died in 1920.

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