Manx Giant’s Pillar – Isle of Man – Atlas Obscura
It may look like this cottage gate is waving at you, but the fingers stretching skyward are more than a quirky decoration. It’s an unusual, unexpected memorial to a large … Continue reading
Henry Montague: First Shepherd of the Lambs
Just a quick shout out to honor the natal day of actor Henry James Montague (Henry John Mann, 1843-1878). Montagu came to our attention through that eerie, ghostly portrait above, … Continue reading
The Toy Theatre Publishers Of Old St
These days the vicinity of Old St is renowned for its digital industries but, for over a hundred years, this area was celebrated as the centre of toy theatre manufacture … Continue reading
The Opera of Paris: We Also Procure Our Ballerinas to Wealthy Men | Victorian Paris
The title of this post is not an exaggeration, although the Opera directors would have preferred a more subtle one or, ideally, a complete silence on the subject. The Béraud’s … Continue reading
The History Girls: Victorian Tattooed Ladies: Circus freaks or pioneering feminists? by Katherine Clements
The history of tattooing goes back to prehistory but the English word, in this context, is first attested in the writings of Captain Cook. An entry in Cook’s ship’s log … Continue reading
The Space is the Place; the Museum’s Collection on Theaters | MCNY Blog: New York Stories
With Archtober – New York City’s annual Architecture and Design Month – almost upon us, it has got my theater archivist’s mind turning to the city’s history of theater buildings. … Source: The Space is … Continue reading
On this day: the premiere of Haddon Hall | In Times Gone By…
Haddon Hall, a light opera by Arthur Sullivan and Sydney Grundy, premiered at the Savoy Theatre in London on the 24th of September, 1892. The production was based on a 16th-century … Continue reading
Quote • RANJIT BOLT • Kudos for Playwrights
“Because they’re French, writers often acquire a kudos denied our own dramatists. We don’t call Sheridan ‘maître’ but he was a major genius, in another league from Molière. Just imagine … Continue reading
![Marie Wilton (later Effie Bancroft) [Wikipedia]](https://roguesandvagabonds.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/440px-effie_bancroft.jpg?w=155&h=110&crop=1)
Quote • THE VICTORIAN WEST END
‘Visitors accustomed to dingy, dirty, uncomfortable theatres, as bad, if not worse, than the ordinary Paris theatres of today, were enchanted with the light, bright, joyous little playhouse, always compared … Continue reading
A Victorian Flea Circus: The Smallest Show on Earth – Mimi Matthews
During the 19th century, the flea circus was a popular sideshow attraction. Often billed as the “smallest circus in the world,” it took place in a ring the size of … Continue reading
The History of Pantomime (Christmas History 19) | Windows into History
Yesterday’s Christmas History included a quote from John Bull and his Island, by the fabulous French author Max O’Rell, published in 1883. In the same book he writes about Christmas … Continue reading
The Heavily Judged Female Entertainers Who Crushed Stereotypes In the Old West | Atlas Obscura
Tales of domestic drudgery, rigid dress codes, and a regimented daily life create a bleak portrait of the 19th century woman: she sits tightly corseted in the drawing-room, knitting booties and antimacassars … Continue reading
MABEL MAY-YONG | THE CABINET CARD GALLERY
Mabel May Yong (1883-1945) was an Australian born actress and dancer. She appeared in German films. The IMDB reports that she had 21 film appearances between 1920 and 1925. In … Continue reading
BRITISH STAGE ACTRESS CISSY GRAHAME PHOTOGRAPHED BY W and D DOWNEY IN LONDON, ENGLAND
British stage actress, Cissy Grahame is the subject of this portrait by the famed London photographic studio W. & D. Downey. She looks quite beautiful in her lace scarf and … Continue reading
On this day: Sarah Booth’s Covent Garden Debut
Famous English actress Sarah Booth made her debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on the 23rd of November, 1810. She played Amanthis in the play Child of Nature… … Continue reading
Battersea Arts Centre: a Victorian gem rising from the ashes
Originally posted on Flickering Lamps:
When stepping into the grand entrance hall of Battersea Arts Centre, it’s not obvious that only a few months ago a terrible disaster struck the…
On this day: Ballerina Pierina Legnani in 1891
Originally posted on In Times Gone By…:
Italian ballerina Pierina Legnani photographed in London on the 15th of September, 1891, fifteen days before her twenty-eighth birthday. Legnani was born and…
On this day: The Great Theatre Royal Fire | In Times Gone By…
Originally posted on In Times Gone By…. On the 5th of September 1887, the Theatre Royal in Exeter, England burnt down, killing 186 people. It was not the first time the … Continue reading
Cymbeline; what’s a love story without some scandal? | MCNY Blog: New York Stories
Originally posted on MCNY Blog: New York Stories. It was January 25, 1897, the opening night of William Shakespeare’s romance Cymbeline, based on the legend of an early Celtic British king, … Continue reading
![Buy a Print: Actress Miss Dorothea Baird [1875-1933] © Sarah Vernon](https://roguesandvagabonds.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/rv076blog.jpg?w=155&h=110&crop=1)
Actress Miss Dorothea Baird (1875-1933)
This an original book-plate of the actress Dorothea Baird [1875-1933] from 1899, which I bought from collectors Vintage Views. Miss Baird first appeared on stage in 1894 for the Oxford University Dramatic … Continue reading
On this day: the premiere of Giselle in 1841
Originally posted on In Times Gone By…:
Carlotta Grisi as Giselle the year after the premiere The Paris Opera Ballet (then the Ballet du Théâtre de l’Académie Royale de Musique)…
Sarah Bernhardt and the Dying Costumer: 1880
Originally posted on Mrs Daffodil Digresses:
? Sarah Bernhardt in Phèdre by Racine. An episode from the life of the great actress: I was given, on signing the contract, 100,000…
First Night Design | The Lure of the Archive — Miss Vesta Tilley
Originally posted on First Night Design:
I’ve run out of bandwidth so I’m having to squeeze out a quick post that I prepared at Christmas when I sold 25 postcards…
Napoleon Sarony: Celebrity Photographer
Originally posted on MCNY Blog: New York Stories:
Sarony, Walt Whitman, ca. 1878, Museum of the City of New York, 39.477.10 Before paparazzi and the celebrity media we all…
On this day: John Wilkes Booth was shot and killed | In Times Gone By…
On the 26th of April, 1865, [actor] John Wilkes Booth was cornered and shot dead in Port Royal, Virginia. Twelve days earlier he had assassinated US President Abraham Lincoln in … Continue reading
How to Make Stage Thunder and Lightning: 1829-1900
Originally posted on Mrs Daffodil Digresses:
? Stage thunder machine with cannon-balls. It is raining “cats and dogs” at the Hall—one may take the “April Showers” reference as read—and Mrs…
Roll up, roll up…a visit from the Great United States Circus
Originally posted on Notes from 19th Century Birmingham:
Life in Victorian Birmingham could be a hard slog but scanning the notices in local newspapers of the day reveals a great…
Archive • Ira Aldridge Commemorated • 2007
The Ira Aldridge Bicentenary Project celebrates the life of the most famous and successful black and classical actor of the 19th century. Born in New York in 1807, Aldridge moved … Continue reading
First Night Design | Joseph Grimaldi, Clown 1778–1837
Originally posted on First Night Design:
Joseph Grimaldi, Clown 1778-1837 Prints © First Night Vintage A story is told that in 1806 a man goes to visit a doctor who…
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