1850
photographic
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph is a 1850 photographic by Frans Francken the Younger, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This photo shows M. Lassouche, a 19th-century actor or actress. It was taken by Franck and printed on card stock, a common way to share portraits back then. Albumen prints from glass negatives gave these photos their warm, paper feel. Victorian fans collected these small portraits like trading cards. They started as “cartes de visite” in the 1860s, then bigger “cabinet cards” took over. Look up another Franck photo at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
This photograph by Franck depicts M. Lassouche and belongs to a collection of 19th-century theatrical portraits assembled by Guy Little. The image is an albumen print from a glass negative, mounted on card as a carte de visite, a format popularized in the 1860s for collecting and exchanging portraits of actors and actresses. The collection, later donated to the Victoria and Albert Museum, includes thousands of such photographs removed from their original backings and preserved in albums.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Frans Francken the Younger (1581, Antwerp – 6 May 1642, Antwerp) was a Flemish painter and the best-known and most prolific member of the large Francken family of artists.
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