Henry Frederick Van Der Weyde

Henry Frederick Van Der Weyde kept a studio on London’s Strand that looked more like a backstage dressing room than a photographer’s space. He loved catching actors mid-emotion, cameras shutter clicking just as they stepped out of costume or into a new role. His Guy Little Theatrical Photograph series feels like a backstage pass—tight close-ups of faces caught between laughter and exhaustion, or the flicker of a smile before the mask snaps back on. Tap any of these 1880s prints to step into the stalls at the Lyceum or Adelphi without the velvet ropes.