Artwork
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph is a photographic photography by London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company. It dates from 22 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The image is a studio portrait of two performers from the 1870s production of *The Sorcerer* at the Opera Comique: Mr.
About this work
This photo shows actors from the 1870s play *The Sorcerer*. The London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company took it on January 22, 1978. It’s a snapshot of Victorian theater life.
Theater fans collected these small photographs like baseball cards. This one was printed on stiff card with the company’s name.
Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum next time you’re in London.
Overview
The image is a studio portrait of two performers from the 1870s production of *The Sorcerer* at the Opera Comique: Mr. Clifton in the role of the Notary and Mrs. Howard Paul as Lady Sangazure. It was produced by the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company and printed on a stiff card bearing the firm’s name.
Subject & Meaning
The photograph captures the actors in their theatrical costumes, offering a visual record of Victorian stage attire and the characters they portrayed. Such images served both as memorabilia for audiences and as promotional material for the productions.
Technique & Style
Created as an albumen print from a glass negative, the picture follows the standard practice of mid‑Victorian portrait photography. The image was mounted on a card, a format that later evolved from the smaller cartes de visite to the larger cabinet cards popular in the 1870s and 1880s.
History & Provenance
The card was part of a larger assemblage of theatrical cartes de visite and cabinet cards collected by solicitor Guy Tristram Little (d. 1953). Little, an executor of the theatrical collector Gabrielle Enthoven, donated the set to the Victoria and Albert Museum, where it now resides.
Context
During the Victorian era, photographic portraits of actors were widely collected, much like trading cards, reflecting the public’s fascination with theatre personalities. The shift from cartes de visite to cabinet cards in the late 19th century mirrored broader changes in photographic technology and consumer tastes.
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.
