18.00 USD
Wonderful hand-tinted portrait image of Gertrude Elliott (1874-1950), a very successful stage actress of the late 19th, early 20th centuries. Best known for her Shakespearean work with husband Johnston Forbes-Robertson, Miss Elliott was born in Maine, the daughter of a sea captain, and spent much of her childhood, along with her sister, Maxine, aboard his vessels.
Following her sister onto the New York stage at the age of 20, Gertrude debuted in a production of Oscar Wilde's, "A Woman of No Importance" in 1894. Later performing in England, where she met her husband to be, she found great success. When Forbes-Robertson was knighted in 1913, she became Lady Gertrude. Although she performed frequently in the U.S., she did make England her home, and passed away there, much honored, in 1950.
This portrait was probably taken sometime around 1905, by which time she had already been married for nearly 5 years, and was already hailed as a great lady of the theater. The photo was taken by a pioneer woman photographer, Lizzie Caswall Smith (1870-1958), a photographer who specialized in theatrical portraits, but was also known to run in suffragist circles and to take portraits activists in that cause.
Miss Caswall Smith was born in Dalston, Hackney, an area of London, and according to at least one source, would have taken this photo in her studio at 309 Oxford Street, near New Bond Street, Westminster. The studio was called the Gainsborough Studios. It was at number 306 that her brother, John, was reported as having died following a long illness, in 1902, so we are thinking this may have been an adjoining family residence.
At about the time this portrait was made, Miss Caswall Smith appeared in an issue of Young Woman (volume 13 August 1905), in an interview titled "A Chat with Miss Lizzie Caswall-Smith" for the article "Photography as a Profession for Girls." Great stuff, no? We are trying to get a hold of that one, and if we do, we'll definitely post it on our blog :)
A nice card of historical consequence, but with some surface blemishing. Published by the English satellite of the German publisher Rotophot, and posted in Spain, probably in 1905.
Please examine our high res scans for detail.
Postage is for first class shipping in a secure photo mailer, and we happily combine shipping on all paper goods. If you purchase two cards, we will refund the postage on the second card, and when you purchase three or more cards from us at the same time, your shipping will be entirely free, except for international orders which, because of sudden increases in international shipping rates will still be charged one card's shipping fees on orders of three or more.
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redpoulaine.blogspot.com
where we post biographical and historical tidbits, images of cards and photographs for sale, some already sold but remembered fondly, related images of historical interest and sometimes even images of items that have not yet arrived in the shop, but that are expected to arrive soon, as well as coupon codes, links to other related sites, and more!