Maiden at the Well (Lilian Greuze). Photogravures by Léopold-Émile Reutlinger, early 1900s

French stage actress, model, and later, film actress Mlle. Lilian Greuze, was associated with both Sarah Bernhardt and Polaire. She appeared in several silent films, and went on to appear in the talkies as well.

Here she is in a series of “woman at the well” postcards; a theme that easily can be counted as a sub-genre of turn of the century picture postcards. The Photogravures are by French photographer Leopold Reutlinger (1863-1937).

Maiden at the Well Photogravure of Lilian Greuze by Leopold Reutlinger via

Maiden at the Well Photogravure of Lilian Greuze by Leopold Reutlinger via

Maiden at the Well Photogravure of Lilian Greuze by Leopold Reutlinger via

Maiden at the Well. Photogravure of Lilian Greuze by Leopold Reutlinger via

Parisian Postcards of Mata Hari by Lucien Waléry (1906)

Lucien Waléry lived and worked in Paris in the period 1900-1930. He photographed an extraordinary number of beautiful women from most of the particular risque dance revues, a.o. Mata Hari and Josephine Baker.

 

Postcard of Mata Hari in Paris by Lucien Waléry, 1906 via

Postcard of Mata Hari in Paris by Lucien Waléry, 1906 via

Postcard of Mata Hari in Paris by Lucien Waléry, 1906 via

Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (1900s)

Colette, 1900s via

Ethel Barrymore for “Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines” (1901)

Ethel Barrymore (1879 – 1959) was regarded as the first “First Lady of the American Theater” she and her brothers, John and Lionel, dominated the American theater in the early 20th century.

In 1901, at age 21, she made her Walnut Street Theatre debut in the play “Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines”.

Ethel Barrymore in one of the costumes from “Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines”, 1901 via

Ethel Barrymore in one of the costumes from “Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines”, 1901 via

 © CORBIS Ethel Barrymore in one of the costumes from “Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines”, 1901 via

Late Victorian Fancy Dress: The Devonshire House Ball in 1897

The Devonshire House Costume Ball of 1897 was one of the most anticipated social events of 1897. To stress the importance of th magnificent affair, the London Photographic Firm Lafayette was invited to take studio-style photographs of the guests in their costumes, which ranged from mythical goddesses, figures from paintings, and historical kings and queens.

The Duke of York, later King George V (1865-1936), as “The Queen’s Champion” and the Duchess of York, later Queen Mary (1867-1953)  as “a Lady at the Court of Marguerite de Valois” at the Devonshire House Fancy Dress Ball, 1897 via

Frances Evelyn (Daisy), the countess of Warwick, chose Marie Antoinette as her costume for the elegant and highly anticipated evening. The costume, made by Worth of Paris, was studded with real diamonds and used both gold and antique lace via

Lady Randolph Churchill (1854-1921), née Jennie Jerome in a Worth Parisian Costume, as Empress Theodora, while attending the Devonshire House Ball, 1897 via

Consuelo Marlborough (née Vanderbilt), dressed for the Devonshire House Ball, 1897 via

Mary Teresa (‘Daisy’) (Cornwallis-West), Princess of Pless dressed as Queen of Sheba for the Devonshire House Ball via

Miss Goelet as Scheherazade via

The ethereal beauty of Mrs J Graham Menzies in the role of Titania, Queen of the Fairies via

Sarah Bernhardt as Doña Maria de Neubourg, Queen of Spain in Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo (1878)

Ruy Blas is a tragic drama by Victor Hugo. The scene is Madrid; the time 1699, during the reign of Charles II. Ruy Blas, an indentured commoner (and a poet), dares to love the Queen, Maria de Neubourg. The story centers around a practical joke played on the queen, by Don Salluste de Bazan, in revenge for being scorned by her.

Sarah Bernhardt as Queen Maria in Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo via

Sarah Bernhardt as Queen Maria in Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo via

Sarah Bernhardt as Queen Maria in Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo via

Beautiful Victorian Portraits by Lady Clementina Hawarden

Lady Clementina Hawarden (1822 – 1865) was a noted portrait photographer of the Victorian Era.

She turned to photography in late 1857 or early 1858, whilst living on the estate of her husband’s family in Dundrum, Co. Tipperary, Ireland. A move to London in 1859 allowed her to set up a studio in her elegant home in South Kensington.

The furniture and characteristic decor of an upper-class London home was removed in order to create mise-en-scène images and theatrical poses within the first floor of her home – Hawarden’s characteristic portraits include her daughters Isabella Grace, Clementina, and Florence Elizabeth.

Hawarden produced albumen prints from wet-plate collodion negatives, a method commonly used at the time. Her work was widely acclaimed for its “artistic excellence”. Hawarden was considered an amateur photographer and while appreciated for her work, never became widely known as a photographer. Her photographic years were brief but prolific. Hawarden produced over eight hundred photographs from 1857-1864 before her sudden death. she died after suffering from pneumonia for one week, aged 42. It has been suggested that her immune system was weakened by constant contact with the photographic chemicals.

Her work is likened to Julia Margaret Cameron, another Victorian female photographer.

A photograph that is possibly a self-portrait of Clementina, Lady Hawarden, taken in about 1862 via

Isabella by Clementina, Lady Hawarden via

Isabella by Lady Clementina Hawarden via

Clementina reading while sitting at the window wearing some kind of fancy dress or theatrical costume, ca. 1862-63 by Lady Clementina Hawarden via

Clementina, reading a book by Clementina, Lady Hawarden via

Empress Eugenie by Gustave Le Gray (1856)

Empress Eugenie on a prie-Dieu by Gustave Le Gray, 1856 via

Vintage Photos of Ingrid Bergman in Hitchcock´s Under Capricorn (1949)

Under Capricorn is, a 1949 British historical thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, about a man who is in love with a woman who turns out to be an alcoholic. Hitchcock considered it to be one of his worst films. It was based on the novel Under Capricorn (1937) by Australian novelist and politician Helen Simpson.

The film is a mystery involving a love triangle, set in colonial Sydney, New South Wales, Australia during the 1830s. The new Governor, Sir Richard (Cecil Parker), arrives with his cheery but indolent nephew, the Honorable Charles Adare (Michael Wilding), who is invited to dinner by a local business man (Joseph Cotten) and discovers that he already knows his wife, Lady Henrietta (Ingrid Bergman). She is now a hopeless alcoholic who is socially shunned, but she used to be a good friend of Charles’ sister when they were children in Ireland.

The title “Under Capricorn” references the Tropic of Capricorn, which bisects Australia. Capricornus is a constellation; Capricorn is an astrological sign dominated by the goat, which is a symbol of sexual desire.

Publicity shot of Ingrid Bergman and Michael Wilding in “Under Capricorn”, 1949 via

Publicity shot of Ingrid Bergman and Michael Wilding in “Under Capricorn”, 1949 via

Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, Michael Wilding in “Under Capricorn”, 1949 via

Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, Michael Wilding in “Under Capricorn”, 1949 via

Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, Michael Wilding in “Under Capricorn”, 1949 via

Queen Victorias Wedding 10th of February 1840

Queen Victoria first met her German cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1836, and they became engaged during his second visit to England in 1839. Their wedding ceremony took place on 10 February 1840 at the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace.

Queen Victoria chose to marry Prince Albert in a white silk satin gown featuring Honiton lace, an unusual color choice for bridal gowns at the time; she started the white wedding gown tradition that remains today. On her wedding morning, Queen Victoria wrote in her journal:

Dressed….I wore a white satin gown with a very deep flounce of Honiton, imitation of old. I wore my Turkish diamond necklace and earrings, and Albert’s beautiful sapphire brooch.

She also wore a wreath of orange blossoms (symbolising purity) and myrtle (symbolising love and domestic happiness), and these became the most common flowers carried and worn in Victorian weddings.

Their wedding day itself was inauspicious, a heavy rain falling; but immense multitudes assembled to gaze upon the processions. The bridal procession from Buckingham Palace to St. James’s begun to move through the triumphal arch at 12 o’clock. It was the first wedding of a reigning Queen in England since 1554.

Queen Victoria spent the evening after her wedding lying down with a headache, but wrote ecstatically in her diary:

I NEVER, NEVER spent such an evening!!! MY DEAREST DEAREST DEAR Albert … his excessive love & affection gave me feelings of heavenly love & happiness I never could have hoped to have felt before! He clasped me in his arms, & we kissed each other again & again! His beauty, his sweetness & gentleness – really how can I ever be thankful enough to have such a Husband! … to be called by names of tenderness, I have never yet heard used to me before – was bliss beyond belief! Oh! This was the happiest day of my life!

Her marriage to Prince Albert brought nine children between 1840 and 1857. Most of her children married into other Royal families of Europe.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on their return from the marriage service at St James’s Palace, London, 10th February 1840. Engraved by S Reynolds after F Lock via

A middle aged Victoria and Albert recreate their wedding day. Photo by Roger Fenton 1854 via