Sepia Saturday 190 - vintage postcards of Edwardian actresses in hats

A bit rushed, and a bit late this week, plus I couldn't quite match with the picnic theme for this week's Sepia Saturday but couldn't help notice the magnificent straw hats the ladies in the picture were wearing, so on a hat theme, here are a handful of Edwardian actresses with some pretty fine hats.

Vintage postcard of Miss Gabrielle Ray

Vintage postcard of Miss Gertie Millar

Vintage postcard of Miss Grace Lane

Vintage postcard of Miss Jane May

Vintage postcard of Miss Lillah McCarthy

Vintage postcard of Miss Marie Studholme

Vintage postcard of Miss Phyllis Dare

Vintage postcard of Miss Vesta Tilley

Sepia Saturday 161 - Vintage postcard of Edwardian actor Kyrle Bellew

I studied this week's Sepia Saturday prompt closely this week but alas could not find anything to stay even remotely on theme, so have decided to go complete off theme this week. I picked up the vintage postcard below in a recent haul just before Christmas. I'd never heard of the actor in question, Mr Kyrle Bellew, but after a quick investigation I found he was quite a character with quite a history. Bellew spent much of his childhood in India before returning to England and joining the Navy where he spent time aboard HMS Conway, before finally turning to acting, where he spent much of his stage career alongside Mrs Brown-Potter (who funnily enough I also have a vintage postcard of ... this was not planned when I started my post).

Vintage postcard of Mr Kyrle Bellew, c.1904

Vintage postcard of Mrs Brown-Potter, c.1904

As usual, 100's more vintage postcards on my web site

    

Sepia Saturday 140 - lillies

I do not seem to have any wedding related material to share for this week's Sepia Saturday and as I have the world's worst haircut in my own wedding photo, I won't be sharing that. However I did notice that the bride is holding some lillies, so I thought I would include in selection of lillies.

Easter Lily, Bermuda

Fountain and Lily Pond, Hampton Court Palace

Miss Lily Elise

As usual, 100's more vintage postcards on my web site

    

Sepia Saturday 113 - Edwardian actresses

For once I have time on my hands, having taken-off the half-term week, and a relatively easy Sepia Saturday prompt to follow this week. I did post a blog entry about vintage postcards of actresses back in October 2010, but have a couple of recent acquisitions that I've not shared before.

Miss Lily Elise, c.1911

Miss Lily Elise was famous for her part in the Merry Widow and went on to star in several more musicals.

Miss Mabel Love

Miss Mabel Love starred in a string of musicals, pantomimes and burlesques.

You can see a few more vintage postcards of actresses on my Flickr pages, and as usual 100's more vintage postcards can be found on my web site

Vintage postcards of actresses

My vintage postcard blog for today includes a handful of actress postcards that I came across recently. I must admit that I'd not heard of any of these actresses before I found the postcards, but a little research suggests they were well known in their day.

 

 Miss Marie Studholme (b. 1872, d.1930)

Performed several roles in musical comedies, in London and the rest of the country.

Miss Ada Homer

I've not been very succesful in finding out much about this actress other than she appeared in 'Lady of the Lake'

 

 

Miss Maud Jeffries (b.1969, d.1946)

Appeared in several William Shakespeare plays including Twelth Night

As always, 100's more vintage postcards can be found on my web site

Vintage postcards of actresses ... and ordinary people

Whilst nowhere near as prolific as topographical postcards, vintage postcards of people crop up from time to time in my travels. Edwardian actors and actresses would seem to be the most common, and of course royalty.

It's fairly obvious to see why these cards were printed and bought, but something which intrigues me however is the vast number of vintage postcards of what I'll call "ordinary" people, either as individuals or family units.

At first I thought these were just photographs, but they are actual postcards. I've come across everything from a smartly dressed lady on a bicycle, to a serious looking family, dressed in their Sunday Best on their front lawn.

Unfortunately none of those I have are written, so there's no additional detail which may explain the cards further, but the pictures themselves do offer a fascinating glimpse into our social history.