MARJORY DAY : SMOKES A CIGARETTE : A SOCIAL DEVIATE

2020-04-18_103744 smoker actressThis vintage real photo postcard features actress Marjory Day (1887-1940). She was born in New Zealand. She was an actress and was known for “The Woman Who Was Nothing” (1917), “The Life of Lord Byron” (1922), and “The Fighting Marine” (1926). Miss Day was married and divorced from producer/actor George Desmond (1881-1969). The National Portrait Gallery has 15 portraits of Miss Day in their collection. This postcard captures Day exhibiting socially inappropriate behavior. Day’s deviant behavior is the fact that she is smoking a cigarette. She also seems to be wearing pants which is also a violation that could get her in trouble with the fashion police. To top things off, she is rebelliously staring at the photographer as this photo was taken. At first, I thought that Marjory Day was one of those “bad girls” of the theatre (there were also “bad boys”). However, I later learned that this photograph was taken while Day was in costume for playwright George Bernard Shaw’s “Devil’s Disciple” (1897). This postcard was published by Rafael Tuck as part of the “Celebrities of the Stage” series (no. T 790). Raphael Tuck and his wife started their photography business in 1866 in London. Their store sold pictures, greeting cards, and in time, postcards. Their success came from the sale of postcards during the late 1890’s and early 1900’s. In the early 1900’s the firm conducted postcard competitions for collectors of Tuck postcards. These competitions offered cash prizes and they were very popular. The winner of one of these competitions had a collection consisting of over twenty-five thousand cards. Three of Tuck’s four sons participated in the business. The company was devastated by German bombing during World War II. In 1959 the company merged with two other printing companies.     (SOLD)                                                        2020-04-18_104016 smoker actress 2

 

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Published in: on April 19, 2020 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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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)

Published in: on November 17, 2019 at 1:35 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PROLIFIC AMERICAN BROADWAY ACTRESS: GRACE GEORGE

This vintage real photo postcard features American stage actress, Grace George (1879-1961). She appeared on the Broadway stage, as well as in two films. She entertained Broadway audiences for more than fifty years. The Internet Broadway Data Base credits her with appearing in 49 Broadway shows between 1898 and 1952. George was noted for her style of “high comedy”. Grace George was a manager, director, and adapter, in addition to being an actress. George was born in New York City. She was educated at the Convent of Notre Dame in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Her next stop was the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where upon graduation, she appeared in traveling productions for four years. She then began her long string of playing to audiences on Broadway.  She was married (1899) to producer and sports promoter, William A. Brady. She starred in the immensely successful Broadway adaptation of “Ben Hur” (1899). She appeared in the silent film, “Tainted Money” (1915). She also had a role in the film, “Johnny Come Lately” (1943) with James Cagney. In 1950 she received the Delia Austrian Medal, recognizing her as a distinguished performer. Miss George appeared in two plays by George Bernard Shaw. In a review that appeared in the New York Times, Alexander Wollcott wrote; “The life of the party is, of course, Miss George herself, playing with her accustomed vivacity, charm, and precision”. This postcard was published by Souvenir Post Card Co. and printed in Germany. The Souvenir Post Card Company  existed between 1905 and 1914. It was located at 268 Canal Street in New York City. The company was purchased by Valentine & Sons and the combined company became Valentine – Souvenir.

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Published in: on May 19, 2018 at 7:43 pm  Comments (2)  
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NOTED STAGE ACTOR: J. FORBES ROBERTSON

ROBERTSONJohnston Forbes-Robertson (1853-1937) was a celebrated English actor and theater manager. He was considered to be one of the finest actors of his time. He was particularly noted for his portrayal of Hamlet. He did not profess a passion for his acting profession. He was born in London. His father was a journalist and theater critic. He had ten siblings and four of them pursued acting. His original interest was to become an artist, but to support himself financially he entered acting. He worked with Sir Henry Irving for some time as a second lead actor. He then became a lead actor. His starring roles included Dan’l Druce, Blacksmith and The Parvenu (1882). George Bernard Shaw wrote the part of Caesar for him in Caesar and Cleopatra. Forbes Robertson acted in a number of Shakespeare plays and also appeared a number of times with actress Mary Anderson in the 1880’s. In 1900 he married the American actress, Gertrude Elliott (1874-1950). In 1930, Forbes Robertson was knighted. This cabinet card portrait was produced by photographer Benjamin Falk who’s studio was located in New York City. Forbes Robertson is captured in costume in this image. The reverse of the photo is stamped “J. M. Russell 126 Tremont Street, Boston”.

Published in: on February 16, 2013 at 12:01 am  Comments (1)  
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ENGLISH STAGE ACTRESS: ELLEN TERRY (THERE AIN’T NOTHIN LIKE A DAME!)

Dame Ellen Terry (1847-1928) was an English stage actress. The top cabinet card is from the studio of Campbell, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Ellen Terry was the leading Shakespearian actress in Great Britain. She was born into a family that was immersed in the theatre; and future generations continued theatrical pursuits; including grand nephew, John Gielgud (actor, director, producer). Ellen Terry began playing Shakespeare roles as a child and continued to do so. In 1878 she joined Henry Irving’s company. She toured Britain and the United States with great success. In 1903 she took over management of London’s Imperial Theatre and her focus included the plays of George Bernard Shaw and Henrik Ibsen. In 1916 she began acting in films and in 1925 she was made a “Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire”. Terry’s romantic life, including marriages and love affairs, make interesting reading. Research about the photographer of this cabinet card discovered his obituary in the New York Times (1912). The Times reports that Alfred S. Campbell (1839-1912) was a pioneer in the development of art photography. Among his accomplishments was the publication of an edition of the bible that was illustrated with photographs he took in the Holy Land. He emigrated to the United States on the invitation of famed photographer, Napoleon Sarony in 1866. Among his “intimate friends” were Henry Longfellow, Thomas Nast, and William Cullen Bryant . Visitors to the Cabinet Card Gallery can see photographs by Sarony under the category of “Photographer: Sarony” and can see a portrait of William Cullen Bryant under the category of “Journalist”. To view other photographs by Campbell, click on the category “Photographer: Campbell”.

The second cabinet card features Ellen Terry in the role of “Beatrice” in William Shakespeare’s play, “Much Ado About Nothing”. The Window & Grove studio of London,England, published this photograph. The studio operated in London from the 1870’s to at least 1908.

Published in: on August 5, 2012 at 12:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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HOPE BOOTH: “FETCHING BUT HOPELESS THEATRE ACTRESS”

HPOEBOOTH_0002This Cabinet Card is a portrait of theatre actress, Hope Booth. This actress seems to have had a propensity for trouble. The New York Times (1896) reported that at age 23, after appearing at the “Casino Roof Gardens” in a sketch entitled “Ten Minutes in the Latin Quartier; or A Study in the Nude”, she was arrested along with the manager of the theatre. She was charged with violating public decency because of her scant costume and daring poses. Five years later, her husband, actor, James E. B. Earll was arrested after his opening appearance in a vaudeville act at Koster and Bials. Before her arrest, she appeared in George Bernard Shaw’s first play, “Widowers Houses” in 1892. A review described her as a “fetching but hopeless” actress. Shaw had seen her in an earlier show and had described her as a “young lady who can not sing, dance, or speak, but whose appearance suggests that she might profitably spend 3 or 4 years in learning the arts which are useful on stage”. Other news stories and books report that she was born in Canada, was once married to a Canadian member of Parliament, she was a distant relative of the theatrical Booth family, and that she went bankrupt bringing a play to England. She clearly led an interesting life. The Cabinet Card is part of the Newsboy Series and was used as a premium for the sale of Newsboy Plug Tobacco.

Published in: on July 26, 2009 at 2:58 pm  Leave a Comment  
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