POSTCARD 1 (SOLD)
POSTCARD 2 (SOLD)
Postcard 1 is a vintage real photo postcard featuring English stage and film actress and acting coach, Constance Collier (1878-1955). She also wrote hit plays and films. She has another claim to fame. She was the first person to be treated with insulin in Europe. This postcard captures Miss Collier in costume for her role of Cleopatra in “Antony and Cleopatra” (1906). Marc Antony was played by Herbert Beerbohm Tree and the production’s venue was at “His Majesty’s Theatre”. Collier began her stage career at the age of three. She appeared in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. At the age of 15, she became one of the “Gaiety Girls”. This group was a famous dance troupe based in London’s Gaiety Theatre. In 1905, Collier married English actor, Julian Boyle. He was better known as the famous theatrical cross-dresser, Julian L’Estrange. After appearing in “Antony and Cleopatra”, Collier became very popular and seen as a distinguished actress. In 1908, she made the first of several tours of the United States. In her 1916 tour of the US, she made four silent films including in D. W Griffith’s, “Intolerance”. In 1918, her husband died from the Spanish flu while the pair were on a US tour. The influenza epidemic of 1918-1919 killed 650,000 Americans. It was the era’s version of Covid-19. In the early 1920’s, Collier became close friends with actor, Ivor Novello. They acted and co-wrote together. In the late 1920’s, Collier relocated to Hollywood where she became a voice coach. She filled a valuable role because talkies were beginning to replace silent films and many actors were in need of help with the transition. Her most famous students were actresses, Colleen Moore, Marilyn Monroe, Vivien Leigh, and the Hepburn sisters. While teaching, she still performed on Broadway and made films. The IBDb reports that Collier was in 21 Broadway shows between 1908 and 1939. These shows included Oliver Twist (1912), Othello (1914), Camile (1931), and Dinner at Eight (1933). According to IMDb, Collier performed in 29 films, wrote 7, and was in the crew of 4. She performed for Otto Preminger as well as Alfred Hitchcock. She was awarded an American Shakespeare Festival Theatre Award for distinguished service for training actors for Shakespearean roles. This postcard was published by Rotary Photo as part of a series (No.4039H). Miss Collier’s photographic portrait was taken by the Foulsham & Banfield studio. The National Portrait Gallery possesses this same card in their Constance Collier postcard collection. They possess 33 different photographs of Miss Collier. (SOLD)
Postcard 2 was published by Rapid Photo as part of a series (No.1834). Note the size of the buttons on her dress and her hair ornament composed of four leaves. (SOLD)
POSTCARD 1
POSTCARD 2
The pretty woman featured in this real photo postcard is Mable Woods. She was a theater actress. I could find little biographical information about her. I did discover that sometimes her name appeared as “Mabel” Woods rather than “Mable” Woods. I stumbled across a couple of real photo postcards in which Miss Woods made an appearance. Two of these cards were individual portraits of the actress but another postcard paired her with an actress name Rose de Vella. Mable Woods and Miss de Vella toured India together, performing in the chorus line for one of the “Gaiety Girls” touring companies. Irish born, George Edwards (1852-1915) was the theater manage of London’s Gaiety Theater. At one point he had sixteen touring companies. He had a propensity for hiring pretty young women to work as “Gaiety Girls”. These women were the chorus girls appearing in Edwardian musical comedies that began in the 1890’s. These women were an important ingredient for staging a successful musical production. They danced and appeared on stage in bathing attire and in the latest fashionable clothing. Unlike the corseted actresses from earlier musical burlesque shows, Gaiety Girls were viewed as respectable and refined. One writer reports that Gaiety girls “were polite, well-behaved young women”. Many Gaiety girls progressed to very successful acting careers. The list of former Gaiety girls reads like a hall of fame of celebrated actresses. Gaiety girls that catapulted to major roles include Marie Studholme, Mabel Love, Ellaline Terriss, Lily Elsie, Gladys Cooper, Phyllis Dare, and Gabrielle Ray. These and other starring alumni of the chorus, kept the moniker “Gaiety Girls”. The young women performing in Edward’s shows peaked the interest of wealthy gentlemen who became known as “Stage Door Johnnies”. They would wait outside the stage door and invite the actresses to dinner at fine restaurants. A number of women accepted the invitation. Sometimes the women would eventually marry one of these dates. A number of these women married noblemen, while others became the wives of professionals. In the book, “The Gaiety Years”, author Alan Hyman refers to the chorus as becoming “a matrimonial agency for girls with ambitions” to marry titled men. This postcard is in very good condition (see scans).
Miss Agnes Delaporte is looking quite beautiful as she poses in her role as Mercedes in “Monte Cristo Jr”. The production first appeared at the Gaiety Theatre in December, 1886. The Cabinet Card was photographed by the Stereoscopic Company in England. The London Stereoscopic Co. billed itself as “Photographers to the Royal Family”. To view other photographics by the London Stereoscopic Company, click on the category “Photographer: London Stereoscopic Company”.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 