Artwork
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph is a photographic photography by John Jabez Edwin Mayall. It dates from 1850 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
This photograph of Giacomo Meyerbeer is part of a personal collection assembled by Guy Tristram Little, a solicitor and avid collector of visual ephemera.
This photograph of Giacomo Meyerbeer is part of a personal collection assembled by Guy Tristram Little, a solicitor and avid collector of visual ephemera. It was originally produced as a carte de visite or cabinet card—an albumen print mounted on cardstock—common in the mid-to-late 19th century. Little removed these images from their original backings and mounted them into albums, preserving them as a curated archive of theatrical portraiture.
Subject & Meaning
Giacomo Meyerbeer, a leading composer of grand opera in 19th-century Europe, is depicted here in a formal studio portrait. Such images served to immortalize cultural figures for public admiration and personal collection. Though not in costume, the photograph conveys his status as a celebrated artist, aligning with the Victorian practice of honoring public figures through accessible photographic portraiture.
Technique & Style
The image was made using the albumen printing process, which involved coating paper with egg white and silver salts to produce a sharp, glossy finish. It originated from a glass negative, typical of studio photography between the 1850s and 1890s. The format—either a carte de visite or cabinet card—reflects standardized sizing practices designed for easy handling, display, and collection.
History & Provenance
The photograph was once part of a larger assemblage collected by Guy Little, who meticulously mounted these images into albums. After his death in 1953, the collection was bequeathed to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Little, also the executor of Gabrielle Enthoven’s estate, played a key role in transferring her theatrical holdings to the V&A, ensuring the preservation of this visual record.
Context
During the mid-1800s, cartes de visite became a cultural phenomenon, allowing the middle class to collect likenesses of celebrities, royalty, and artists. Theatrical figures like Meyerbeer were popular subjects, bridging performance and print culture. As cabinet cards replaced smaller formats in the 1870s, and postcards later supplanted them, these photographs documented shifting tastes in personal and public memory.
Legacy
Little’s albums represent a deliberate act of archival preservation, transforming mass-produced images into a coherent historical resource. His contribution, alongside Enthoven’s collection, helped establish the V&A’s Theatre and Performance holdings. These photographs now serve as primary evidence of how 19th-century audiences engaged with and memorialized cultural icons.
Artist & collection
Artist
John Jabez Edwin Paisley Mayall was an English photographer who in 1860 took the first carte-de-visite photographs of Queen Victoria.
