Hubert Watkins

Hubert Watkins took black-and-white photographs of Victorian London’s theater world. In 1883 he made the *Guy Little Theatrical Photograph*, freezing actors and sets in stiff poses meant for collectors. His prints are crisp records of costumes, backdrops, and footlight glamour before electric bulbs ruled the stage. Snapshots like this one let us peek at the exact year gas jets still lit the Lyceum or Adelphi behind the scenes. Flip from Watkins’ 1883 plate to the next tile to see how the same playhouse looked under magnesium flash later that decade.