Artwork
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph is a photographic photography by Frederick Hollyer. It dates from 1950 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The image is a Victorian-era photograph showing the celebrated actress Ellen Terry alongside an unidentified woman.
About this work
Overview
The image is a Victorian-era photograph showing the celebrated actress Ellen Terry alongside an unidentified woman. It is a studio portrait typical of the period, produced as a small-format print that would have been mounted on a card for personal collection.
Subject & Meaning
Ellen Terry, one of the most prominent stage performers of the late 19th century, is presented here in a pose that suggests a theatrical or social relationship with the companion, whose identity remains unknown. The pairing reflects the era’s interest in documenting famous personalities and their acquaintances for public fascination.
Technique & Style
The picture was created using the albumen printing process on a glass negative, a standard method for ‘cartes de visite’ and later ‘cabinet cards’. After exposure, the paper was adhered to a stiff card bearing the photographer’s imprint, resulting in a glossy, detailed image typical of Victorian photographic practice.
History & Provenance
Originally part of a larger set of cartes de visite and cabinet cards, the photograph was later removed from its original backing and placed in an album by Guy Tristram Little (d. 1953). Little, a solicitor and avid collector of ephemera, donated the assembled album to the Victoria and Albert Museum as part of his bequest.
Context
During the 1860s and 1870s, cartes de visite became a popular collectible, allowing the public to acquire miniature portraits of notable figures. By the late 1870s, the larger cabinet card replaced them, before postcards and studio portraiture took precedence in the 1890s. This photograph exemplifies that transitional phase in photographic culture.
Artist & collection
Artist
Frederick Hollyer made crisp, black-and-white portraits of performers and writers around the turn of the 1900s.
