Artwork
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph is a photographic photography by S. F. King. It dates from 1850 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. This albumen print captures the celebrated tightrope walker Charles Blondin, photographed by S.
About this work
Overview
This albumen print captures the celebrated tightrope walker Charles Blondin, photographed by S. F. King in the latter part of the 19th century. The image originally appeared as a small-format portrait on a carte de visite, a popular Victorian collectible that combined portraiture with the novelty of photography.
Subject & Meaning
Blondin, renowned for his daring crossings of Niagara Falls, is shown in full costume, emphasizing his theatrical persona as an acrobat. The portrait serves both as a personal likeness and as promotional material, reflecting the era’s fascination with celebrity performers and the growing public appetite for visual documentation of fame.
Technique & Style
Printed from a glass negative onto an albumen paper, the photograph exhibits the characteristic glossy surface and fine detail of the medium. The carte de visite format, roughly 2.5 × 4 in., was affixed to a stiff card bearing the photographer’s name, a standard practice that allowed easy exchange among collectors.
History & Provenance
The card was later removed from its original backing and incorporated into a bound album by Guy Tristram Little (d. 1953), a solicitor and avid collector of photographs, greeting cards, and games. Little, who acted as executor for Gabrielle Enthoven, bequeathed his assembled collection to the Victoria and Albert Museum, where it now resides.
Context
During the 1860s cartes de visite proliferated as a fashionable pastime, with subjects ranging from landscapes to theatrical personalities. By the 1870s larger cabinet cards supplanted them, yet the smaller format persisted among enthusiasts of celebrity portraiture, particularly within the theatrical community.
Legacy
The image exemplifies how photography intersected with Victorian popular culture, documenting a famed entertainer while contributing to the broader visual archive of performance history preserved at the V&A.
Artist & collection
Artist
S. F. King took photos of stage performers in the late 1800s, when photography was new and theater was booming. They made a shot called Guy Little Theatrical Photograph that shows an actor posing in costume. It’s a time…
