Seymour Hicks, Ellaline Terriss and Zena Dare in The Beauty of Bath, London, 1906

(above) a Rotary Photographic Co Ltd postcard photograph (1597Q) of Mr and Mrs Seymour Hicks (Ellaline Terriss) as they appeared respectively as Lieut. Richard Alington and the Hon. Betty Silverthorne in the musical play, The Beauty of Bath, which opened at the Aldwych Theatre, London, on 19 March 1906.
(below) a Rotary Photographic Co Ltd postcard photograph (4040Z) of the same taken at the same sitting but with Zena Dare‘s face replacing that of Miss Terriss.
(main photos: Foulsham & Banfield, London, 1906; artwork by the Rotary Photographic Co Ltd)

The second postcard may be explained by the fact that Zena Dare succeeded Ellaline Terriss in the part of the Hon. Betty Silverthorne during the run, which, the production having transferred to the Hicks Theatre on 27 December 1906, ended on 23 February 1907.

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Rena Goldie leaves court without a stain on her character, London, 1907

Rena Goldie (1880-), English musical comedy actress
(photo: probably Foulsham & Banfield, London, circa 1907)

‘VICTIM OF A POLICE BLUNDER: THE FLAT CHARGES THAT FAILED – Miss Catherine Goldie, The Young Actress Who Was Accused Of Conducting Her Flat In Langham Street In An Improper Manner, But Left The Court Without A Stain On Her Character.
‘As we have already noted, the police failed utterly to substantiate their charge against Miss Goldie, known professionally as Rena Goldie, and a member of The Gay Gordons company. The young actress was able to prove, indeed, that at the time the police imagined her to be in her flat she was on the stage at the Aldwych. To an interviewer, she stated that she was in bed when the police came to arrest her, and that one of the officers insisted on remaining in her room while she dressed. Similar charges brought against two other ladies [Mrs Maud Cooper, 26, and Mrs Jessie Crawford, 26] at the same time also failed.’
(The Sketch, Saturday, 25 September 1907, p. 331)

Sylvia Storey

Sylvia Storey (1889-1947), English actress, as she appeared in the chorus accompanying Bert Sinden for the song and dance, ‘The Frolic of the Breeze,’ in The Beauty of Bath, Aldwych Theatre, London, 19 March 1906

‘Sylvia Lillian Storey, a member of the London Gaiety Theatre company [in Havana], was married in London on Sept. 2, to William John Lydson, Earl Poulett. Lady Poulett is a daughter of Fred Storey, an English comedian.’
(The New York Dramatic Mirror, New York, Saturday, 12 September 1908, p.2b)

‘The question is often raised as to who is the most beautiful English peeress.
‘Viscountess Curzon, who was chosen as queen of beauty at the famous tournament at Earl’s Court, is commonly yielded the palm, but Countess Poulett has her champions.
‘Lady Poulett, formerly Sylvia Storey, a Gaiety girl, is the daughter of Fred Storey, a star member of the famous company organized by Gilbert and Sullivan for the original production of their operas. She has not the advantage of being in the smart set like Lady Curzon and so is not so much advertised in the newspapers, but she has won a position for herself and, incidentally, for the Poulett family, which was rather under a cloud, in Shropshire.
‘Her husband’s claim to the Poulett peerage was contested in a sensational suit by an organ grinder, who for many years called himself Viscount Hinton. It was proved that although the late Earl Poulett married the organ grinder’s mother, at the time the organ grinder was born he was not the organ grinder’s father. The Pouletts have taken up country life and Lady Poulett is one of the most fearless riders to hounds in the district.
‘She and her husband afford another proof of the possibility of a happy marriage between peerage and stage.
‘Both Earl and Countess Poulett attended the Goodwood races this week and were invited to meet King George and Queen Mary at Goodwood House privately for the first time but European affairs kept their majesties away.’
(The Washington Post, Washington, D.C., Friday, 7 August 1914, p.7f)

Zena Dare as Peter Pan, her favourite role, Manchester, 1906

Zena Dare (1887-1975), English actress, in the title role of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, Prince’s Theatre, Manchester, Christmas, 1906

(photo: Bassano, London, 1906)

This real photograph postcard, no.2323 in Davidson Brothers’ Real Photographic Series, was published in London in late 1906. It shows Zena Dare in her favourite part, the title role of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan as produced by Charles Frohman at the Prince’s Theatre, Manchester, at Christmas 1906. At the end of the run the piece went on a tour of the United Kingdom until May 1907. Running concurrently at the Duke of York’s Theatre, London, during the Christmas season of 1906 was another Frohman production of Peter Pan, with Pauline Chase heading the cast. Immediately afterwards Miss Dare toured in The Catch of the Season before returning to London to appear in The Gay Gordons (Aldwych, 12 September 1907). Miss Chase’s next engagement was in the title role of Loie Fuller’s The Little Japanese Girl (Duke of York’s, London, 26 August 1907).