Artwork
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph is a photographic photography by the Impressionist artist Alfred Ellis. It dates from 1897 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
This black-and-white photo captures actor Arthur Roberts onstage as Dandy Dan in *Dandy Dan the Lifeguardsman* at the Lyric Theatre, taken in December 1897.
This black-and-white photo captures actor Arthur Roberts onstage as Dandy Dan in *Dandy Dan the Lifeguardsman* at the Lyric Theatre, taken in December 1897. It’s part of a series Ellis, Alfred made for publicity.
Albumen prints like this were pasted on cards so fans could collect them. Back then, photos were new and exciting—people loved trading pictures of actors and shows.
Look up the Victoria and Albert Museum to see more.
Overview
The image is a black‑and‑white albumen print depicting Arthur Roberts in the role of Dandy Dan during a performance of *Dandy Dan the Lifeguardsman* at London’s Lyric Theatre in December 1897. Produced as part of a publicity series by photographer Alfred Ellis, the picture was originally mounted on a card for collection and exchange by theatre audiences.
Subject & Meaning
Roberts appears in full stage costume, embodying the comic hero Dandy Dan, a figure that embodied the light‑hearted, breezy entertainment popular in late‑Victorian musical comedies. The photograph captures both the actor’s theatrical persona and the visual spectacle of the production, serving as a visual record of performance culture at the turn of the century.
Technique & Style
The work is an albumen print made from a glass negative, a standard process in the 1860s‑1890s that yielded fine detail and a glossy surface. Printed on paper and adhered to a stiff card, the image retains the characteristic tonal range and sharpness associated with Victorian studio photography, while also reflecting the promotional aesthetic of theatrical publicity.
History & Provenance
The card belonged to a larger assemblage of cartes de visite and cabinet cards that were later removed from their original mountings and bound into albums by Guy Tristram Little (d. 1953). Little, a solicitor and avid collector of ephemera, bequeathed the albums to the Victoria and Albert Museum, where they now form part of the museum’s Theatre Collections.
Context
During the mid‑19th century, cartes de visite—small visiting‑card sized photographs—became a mass‑produced collectible, later superseded by larger cabinet cards. Both formats were widely used for portraiture of actors, allowing the public to acquire images of favourite performers. By the 1890s, such photographic souvenirs had largely given way to postcards, but the Little collection preserves this transitional period in visual culture.
Artist & collection
Artist
Alfred Ellis spent most of his career in a cramped studio above a London tailor’s shop, the smell of wool clinging to his camera lenses.
