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 Henry Rigge, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This black-and-white photo shows Walter Gordon sitting for his portrait. It was made in the late 1800s when photos were still new and exciting. The technique used then—albumen prints on stiff card—kept images sharp but fragile. The stiff card backing had the photographer’s name printed right on it. These small “cartes de visite” were like calling cards people collected. Look next at Rigge, Henry.
This albumen print by Henry Rigge depicts actor Walter Gordon and belongs to a collection of 19th-century theatrical photographs assembled by Guy Little. The image was originally produced as a carte de visite, a small portrait format patented in 1854 and widely circulated during the 1860s. Later removed from its card backing, the photograph was mounted in an album and later donated to the Victoria and Albert Museum as part of Little’s extensive collection of theatrical images.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Henry Rigge carried a camera like others carry a notebook, snapping London backstage where actors mugged for the lens before shows.
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