Guy Little Theatrical Photograph
1850
photographic
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1850
photographic
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph is a 1850 photographic by Ellis & Walery, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This photograph by Ellis & Walery depicts actor Henry Ainley and belongs to a collection of 19th-century theatrical portraits assembled by Guy Little, later donated to the V&A. The image is an albumen print on card, typical of the "cartes de visite" format patented in 1854, which became widely popular for collecting actor portraits alongside scenic views and art reproductions. These small photographs, mounted on stiff backing printed with the photographer’s details, were later replaced by larger "cabinet cards" before declining in favor of postcards and studio portraits by the 1890s. The…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Ellis & Walery were the go-to photographers for London’s theatre crowd in the late 1800s, printing poses of actors mid-scowl or mid-song on cabinet cards you could buy at the stage door.
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