Artwork
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph
Guy Little Theatrical Photograph is a photographic photography by the Impressionist artist Window & Grove. It dates from 1886 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The image is a portrait photograph of the Victorian actor William Terriss.
About this work
Overview
The image is a portrait photograph of the Victorian actor William Terriss. Produced as a carte de visite, the small albumen print was originally mounted on a stiff card bearing the photographer’s imprint. The photograph now forms part of a bound album assembled by the collector Guy Tristram Little, whose bequest enriched the Victoria and Albert Museum’s holdings.
Subject & Meaning
William Terriss, a prominent stage figure of the late 19th century, is shown in a pose typical of theatrical portraiture of the era, intended to convey his public persona to admirers and fellow actors. Such images functioned as personal memorabilia and as a means of promoting an actor’s fame beyond the theatre.
Technique & Style
The portrait is an albumen print made from a glass negative, a standard process in Victorian photography. The carte de visite format measured roughly 2.5 × 4 inches, allowing multiple copies to be exchanged and collected. The image’s tonal range and sharp detail reflect the high-quality paper and silver nitrate coating characteristic of the period.
History & Provenance
Originally issued in the 1860s‑70s, the carte de visite was later removed from its original card backing and incorporated into an album compiled by solicitor Guy Tristram Little (d. 1953). Little, a collector of photographs and theatrical ephemera, bequeathed the assembled album to the V&A, where it remains in the Theatre Collections.
Context
During the Victorian era, cartes de visite became a social fad, with millions produced for portraiture, landscapes, and artworks. They were succeeded by larger cabinet cards in the late 1870s, which themselves fell out of favor by the 1890s as postcards and studio portraiture grew popular. Terriss’s photograph exemplifies the earlier, more intimate format.
Artist & collection
Artist
These photos freeze moments from late-19th-century and early-20th-century theater.
