Guy Little Theatrical Photograph

Little assembled the collection by removing the photographs from their original backings and mounting them in albums, later donating the material to the V&A.

This photograph of Ellen Terry is an albumen print from a glass negative, mounted on card as part of Guy Little’s collection of 19th-century theatrical portraits. The image belongs to the tradition of cartes de visite and cabinet cards, formats that became widely popular for actor portraits before being replaced by postcards and studio prints. Little assembled the collection by removing the photographs from their original backings and mounting them in albums, later donating the material to the V&A. The photograph is one of many 19th-century images he acquired and presented to the museum in the early 20th century.