Guy Little Theatrical Photographs
1850
photographic
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1850
photographic
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Guy Little Theatrical Photographs is a 1850 photographic by Elliot & Fry, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
These are Victorian-era photos of actors and actresses. You probably know them as “cartes de visite” or later “cabinet cards.” Both types were albumen prints on stiff card, often with the photographer’s name printed underneath. It’s fun to think of these stiff little cards as early social media—people swapped them like today’s Instagram likes. They started in the 1860s and faded out by the 1890s when postcards took over. They’re tucked inside the Victoria and Albert Museum’s collection right now.
A sepia photograph of Kate Terry is accompanied by a separate piece of card inscribed "For Mother." The image is part of a larger collection of 19th-century photographs assembled by Guy Tristram Little, who donated it to the Victoria and Albert Museum in the early 20th century. The photograph was originally produced as a carte de visite, an albumen print mounted on card, a format popular during the 1860s for actor portraits. The collection includes theatrical portraits and other subjects, removed from their original backings and preserved in albums by Little.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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