MARIE STUDHOLME: BEAUTIFUL STAGE ACTRESS (THREE VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARDS)

POSTCARD 1

POSTCARD 2 (SOLD)POSTCARD 3

POSTCARD 4A   (SOLD)

POSTCARD 4B (CLOSE-UP)  (SOLD)

These vintage real photo postcards feature beautiful stage actress Marie Studholme (1872-1930). The English actress and singer was known for her supporting and starring roles in Victorian and Edwardian musical comedies. Her theater career spanned from 1891 through 1915. Her roles included appearances in “An Artists Model” (1895), “The Messenger” (1900), and “Lady Madcap” (1906). Marie Studholme’s beauty made her one of the most popular postcard models of her time.

Postcard 1 is a wonderful portrait of Miss Studholme in costume for the stage production of “Miss Hook of Holland). The play was an English musical comedy. It opened at the the Prince of Wales Theatre in 1907 and ran for 462 performances. It originally starred Isabel Jay and Harry Grattan. The play also ran on Broadway. Studholme starred in the title role in “Miss Hook of Holland” on a long provincial tour from 1907 to 1910. This vintage photo postcard was published by Rotary Photo (no. 4890 A) and the photo was taken by the Foulsham and Banfield studio. This postcard has an interesting message. Rather than signing the card, the writer left his identity a secret by signing it with one word, “Guess?”. The postcard is postmarked “1908”. The card is in excellent condition (see scans).

Postcard 2 is part of the Rotary Photographic Series (no. 4188 A) and was printed in England. Miss Studholme’s portrait was photographed by the celebrated Foulsham & Banfield studio. Although photo postcard portraits of Miss Studholme are common , this particular photograph is uncommon.  (SOLD)

Postcard 3 is also part of the Rotary Photographic Series (no. 348 K). This photograph highlights the beauty of Miss Studholme. The postcard is also aimed to be erotic judging by the generous view of the actress’s cleavage. The photography studio that produced this image is W & D Downey of London, England. This studio was well known and highly respected in England. They advertised themselves as photographers specially appointed to photograph the imperial and royal families of Europe and they photographed many other celebrities. Although Studholme posed for many postcard portraits, this particular photo postcard is uncommon. The postcard is in excellent condition (see scans).

Postcard 4 is a member of the Rotary Photographic series (No. 24 L), just like Postcard 1 and Postcard 2. In this portrait, Miss Studholme flashes a beautiful smile. The low cut dress that she is wearing is a bit risque for the era. It appears that she was not adverse to the idea of suggestive poses. The photographer who took this portrait photo of Marie Studholme is a well known female photographer named Lizzie Caswall Smith. Smith (1870-1958) was a British photographer who operated in the early 1900’s. She specialized in photographing members of society and celebrities. Many of her photographs were used for postcards. She was involved in the Women’s Suffrage movement and photographed many of the leading suffragettes. She also photographed many actors including Billie Burke and Maude Fealy. She operated the Gainsborough Studio from 1907 through 1920 (309 Oxford Street) and moved to a new location (90 Great Russell Street) where she remained until she retired in 1930 at the age of 60 years-old. Her most famous photograph is a portrait of Florence Nightingale taken in 1910. It was auctioned in 1908 and sold for 5500 pounds which is an equivalent today of nearly 8,000 dollars. The National Portrait Gallery has 84 portraits associated with Lizzie Caswall Smith.  The postmark stamped on this postcard indicates that it was mailed in 1907. The message on the card is written to a 13 year-old girl. The writer of the card apologizes for not sending a letter sooner and explains “but I’m so busy”.  It is interesting to note that “excuses” have not changed much over the last hundred years.   SOLD

Buy this original Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #2800

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$23.50

Buy this original Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) #2800

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$32.00

 

Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #3517

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$31.50

Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) 3517

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$40.50

POSTCARD 1

POSTCARD 2 (SOLD)

POSTCARD 3

POSTCARD 4 (SOLD)

TWO PORTRAITS OF STAGE ACTRESS AND JOURNALIST JULIE OPP (PHOTOS BY LIZZIE CASWALL SMITH)

                                                               POSTCARD 1  (SOLD)

                                                                    POSTCARD 2  (SOLD)

—- These vintage real photo postcards feature stage actress Julie Opp (1871-1921).  Miss Opp was an American stage actress who was for many years popular in America as well as in Europe. She was the wife of actor William Faversham. She married him after the pair co-starred in the Broadway production of “The Royal Rival” (1902). The internet Broadway data base indicates that Miss Opp appeared in six Broadway shows from 1901 through 1911. Julie Opp was born in New York City in 1871. Her Bavarian father ran a saloon on lower Manhattan”s Bowery Street and was active in local politics.  Her mother was Irish-American. Julie began her education in public schools but her mother decided to transfer her to a local convent to receive her education. The young girl shocked  the sisters and bishop when she told them that she wanted to become a ballet dancer when she grew up. By the time she graduated, she had replaced her ambition to dance, with becoming a writer. Her first job was being a a journalist with the New York Recorder. She was a fashion writer. As part of her work as a journalist, she became involved with many people in the theatre world including Sarah Bernhardt and Emma Calve. The show business performers tried to convince her to become an actress. As a result she dabbled in acting but in 1896 she chose the stage over writing and performed in Shakespeare’s “As You Like it” at London’s St. James Theatre. A review of her performance seen in “To-Day” (1896) stated she was “charming” and “equipped for the performance of brilliant work, either on the press or stage”. In 1906 she published “The Squaw Man: A Novel”. She fell seriously ill in 1914 while traveling abroad with her husband and two sons. She appeared to recover and performed again, but soon suffered a relapse causing her to retire from acting. She then spent her remaining years at her residence in New York City and her country house on Long Island. She died after a failed operation in 1921.

—–  Postcard 1 was published by the Rotary Photo Company as part of the Rotary Photographic Series (no. 1572 B). Miss Opp was photographed by L. Caswall Smith. Lizzie Caswall Smith (1870-1958) was a British photographer who operated in the early 1900’s. She specialized in photographing members of society and celebrities. Many of her photographs were used for postcards. She was involved in the Women’s Suffrage movement and photographed many of the leading suffragettes. She also photographed many actors including Billie Burke and Maude Fealy. She operated the Gainsborough Studio from 1907 through 1920 (309 Oxford Street) and moved to a new location (90 Great Russell Street) where she remained until she retired in 1930 at the age of 60 years-old. Her most famous photograph is a portrait of Florence Nightingale taken in 1910. It was auctioned in 1908 and sold for 5500 pounds which is an equivalent today of nearly 8,000 dollars. The National Portrait Gallery has 84 portraits associated with Lizzie Caswall Smith.  (SOLD)

—- Postcard 2 offers a close-up view of Miss Opp. She is very pretty in this photograph and has large and beautiful eyes. This postcard, like the first postcard, is published by the Rotary Photo Company. The postcard (no. 1572) is part of the same series as the first postcard. Also, like the first postcard, Julie Opps photo portrait was taken by Lizzie Caswall Smith. The card was mailed from St. Ives (A seaside town in Cornwall)  to Twickenham (a London suburb). The postmark reveals that the postcard was mailed in 1902. The postcard is in very good condition (see scans).  (SOLD)

                                                              POSTCARD 1  (SOLD)   

                                                            POSTCARD 2  (SOLD)