Artwork
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph is a photographic photography by the Impressionist artist London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company. It dates from 1867 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. This small portrait, taken in 1867, depicts the actor George Belmore in costume for the Adelphi Theatre production of *No Thoroughfare*.
About this work
This photo shows actor George Belmore from the play *No Thoroughfare* at the Adelphi Theatre. Taken in 1867, it’s a carte de visite—those small portrait cards people collected back then.
Photography was brand new in the 1860s, so actors posed for these cards to sell to fans. They printed the photos on stiff card with the photographer’s name.
Look up the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Overview
This small portrait, taken in 1867, depicts the actor George Belmore in costume for the Adelphi Theatre production of *No Thoroughfare*. Produced as a carte de visite, the image measures roughly the size of a visiting card and was originally mounted on a stiff card bearing the photographer’s imprint.
Subject & Meaning
Belmore’s pose captures a moment from the popular mid‑Victorian melodrama, offering a visual record of theatrical costuming and performance practice at the Adelphi. The photograph served both as a personal souvenir for admirers and as a promotional image for the play.
Technique & Style
The carte de visite was created using the albumen printing process on a glass negative, a standard method of the era. The resulting matte image was affixed to a card backing, a format that facilitated easy exchange and collection among the public.
History & Provenance
The card was part of a larger assemblage of cartes de visite and cabinet cards that were later stripped from their original backs and bound into albums by Guy Tristram Little (d. 1953). Little, a solicitor and avid collector, bequeathed the albums to the Victoria and Albert Museum, where they now form part of the museum’s theatre photograph holdings.
Context
During the 1860s, photography emerged as a novel medium for theatrical portraiture. Actors frequently posed for cartes de visite, which became fashionable collectibles alongside scenic views and artworks. By the late 1870s the larger cabinet card superseded the format, before postcards and studio portraits dominated the market in the 1890s.
Artist & collection
Artist
London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company
They snapped portraits for London’s theater crowd in the 1800s, turning actors and dancers into instant celebrities.
