J.H. Barnes (1850-1925)
London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company
1850
photographic
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company
1850
photographic
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
J.H. Barnes (1850-1925) is a 1850 photographic by London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This photo shows actor J.H. Barnes in costume, taken by a London studio. It’s a cabinet card—bigger than a visiting card, meant to display in albums. Cabinet cards replaced the smaller cartes de visite around the 1870s. Back then, photography was new and trendy. Studios like this one cranked out thousands of actor portraits. Men and women posed in character for fans and collectors. Check out the studio’s other work at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The photograph depicts J.H. Barnes in character, produced during the Victorian era when studio portraits of actors were commonly made as albumen prints on card mounts. It was created as either a *carte de visite* or *cabinet card*, formats that evolved in popularity from the 1860s to the 1890s before being replaced by postcards and studio portraits. The image is part of a larger collection of theatrical photographs assembled by collector Guy Tristram Little, later donated to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The albumen print was originally mounted on stiff card backing, often bearing the…
Read the full account in the museum source.
They snapped portraits for London’s theater crowd in the 1800s, turning actors and dancers into instant celebrities.
See the richer artist page
