1850
photographic
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph is a 1850 photographic by Robinson, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This photo shows George Grossmith in costume. It’s a staged shot from the late 1800s, back when photography was brand new. Actors like Grossmith posed for keepsakes that fans could collect. These photos weren’t just for looks. They doubled as tiny calling cards people traded like baseball cards today. The trend lasted decades before bigger prints took over. Pick a door into the next room: artist Robinson.
This photograph by Robinson depicts George Grossmith and was produced as a carte de visite, an albumen print on card typical of mid-19th-century portraiture. The image belongs to a large collection of theatrical cartes de visite and cabinet cards assembled by Guy Tristram Little, later donated to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Such small-format portraits were widely collected during the 1860s before being replaced by larger cabinet cards in the late 1870s.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Werner Kruse, known by his pen name Robinson, was a German illustrator. In 1967 he produced a book of ink drawings that show New York City's skyline and neighborhoods in intense detail. He described it as "an X-ray"…
See the richer artist page
