Artwork
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph is a photographic photography by Brady's National Photographic Galleries. It dates from 1850 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The image is a studio portrait of the Victorian actress Patty Chapman, taken by the renowned Brady studio.
About this work
Overview
The image is a studio portrait of the Victorian actress Patty Chapman, taken by the renowned Brady studio. It is a small-format photograph originally produced as a carte de visite, a popular collectible portrait card of the mid‑19th century.
Subject & Meaning
Chapman is depicted in theatrical costume, reflecting the common practice of actors posing in character for these cards. Such portraits served both as personal memorabilia for admirers and as promotional material for the performer’s stage persona.
Technique & Style
The photograph is an albumen print made from a glass negative, mounted on a stiff card bearing the photographer’s imprint. The carte de visite measured roughly the size of a visiting card and was printed on glossy paper, giving the image a smooth tonal range characteristic of the period’s studio work.
History & Provenance
The card formed part of a larger assemblage of cartes de visite and cabinet cards collected by solicitor Guy Tristram Little (d. 1953). Little, an avid collector of ephemera, bequeathed the set to the Victoria and Albert Museum, where it now resides within the Theatre Collections, originally assembled from the estate of Gabrielle Enthoven.
Artist & collection
Artist
Brady's National Photographic Galleries
Brady’s galleries smelled like wet collodion and stale cigars—he’d haul his camera gear through hotel rooms and down muddy roads just to catch a politician or general mid-sentence.
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph
Guy Little Theatrical Photographs
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph
