Gertrude Glyn as she appeared as Sonia during the run of The Merry Widow, Daly’s Theatre, London, 1907-1909

Gertrude Glyn (1886-1965), English musical comedy actress, as she appeared as understudy to Lily Elsie in the role of Sonia during the first London run of The Merry Widow, produced at Daly’s Theatre, Leicester Square, on 8 June 1907 and closed on 31 July 1909.
(photo: Bassano, London, probably 1908 or 1909; postcard no. 1792M in the Rotary Photographic Series, published by the Rotary Photographic Co Ltd, London, 1908 or 1909)

Gertrude Glyn began her career in 1901 at the age of 15 with Seymour Hicks when he cast her in one of the minor roles in the ‘musical dream,’ Bluebell in Fairyland (Vaudeville Theatre, London, 18 December 1901), of which he and his wife, Ellaline Terriss were the stars. Miss Glyn was subsequently under contract to George Edwardes, appearing in supporting roles at the Gaiety and Daly’s theatres in London and where she was also one of several understudies to both Gabrielle Ray and Lily Elsie. She also seen from time to time in other United Kingdom cities. Her appearances at Daly’s in The Merry Widow, The Dollar Princess (1909-10), A Waltz Dream (1911), and The Count of Luxembourg (1911-12) were followed during 1912 or 1913 by her taking the role of Lady Babby in Gipsy Love (also played during the run by Avice Kelham and Constance Drever), in succession to Gertie Millar.

On 10 April 1914, Gertrude Glyn and Elsie Spain sailed from London aboard the SS Otway bound for Sydney, Australia. Their first appearances there were at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Sydney, on 6 June that year in Gipsy Love in which they took the parts respectively of Lady Babby and Ilona, the latter first played in London by Sari Petrass.

Gipsy Love, Her Majesty’s Theatre, Sydney, 6 June 1914
‘A thoroughly artistic performance is that offered by Miss Gertrude Glyn, another newcomer, in the role of Lady Babby. Although her singing voice is not a strong point in her equipment of talent, this actress artistically makes one forget this fact in admiration for the skilful interpretation of her lines and lyrics, and also the gracefulness of her dancing and movements. Another point of excellence about Miss Glyn’s work is that she acts easily and naturally, always keeping well within the pictures and confines of the character she impersonates.’
(The Referee, Sydney, NSW, Wednesday, 17 June 1914, p. 15c)

Gertrude Glyn’s last appearances were as Lady Playne in succession to Madeline Seymour and Mary Ridley in Paul Rubens’s musical play, Betty, which began its long run at Daly’s Theatre, London, on 24 April 1915 and ended on 8 April 1916.

* * * * *

Gertrude Glyn’s real name was Gertrude Mary Rider. She was the youngest daughter of James Gray (or Grey) Rider (1847/49-1900), a civil servant, and his wife, Elizabeth. She was baptised on 24 October 1886 at St. Mark’s, Hanwell, Middlesex. She married in 1918.
‘CAPTAIN BULTEEL and MISS GERTRUDE GLYN (RIDER).
‘The marriage arranged between Captain Walter Beresford Bulteel, Scottish Horse, youngest son of the late John Bulteel, of Pamflete, Devon, and Gertrude Mary Glyn (Rider), youngest daughter of the late James Grey Rider, and of Mrs. Rider, 6, Windsor Court, Bayswater, will take place at St. Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge, on Thursday, May 9, at 2.30.’
(The Times, London, 7 May 1918, p. 9c)
Bulteel, one of whose maternal great grandfathers was Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (1764-1845), was born in 1873 and died in 1952; his wife (Gertrude Glyn) died on 16 October 1965.

Ellaline Terriss as the Duc de Richelieu in The Dashing Little Duke, Hicks Theatre, London, 1909

two postcard photographs of Ellaline Terriss (1871-1971), English actress and singer, star of musical comedy
(photos: Foulsham & Banfield, London, 1909)

These two postcards, serial nos. 11509 F and 11530 A in the Rotary Photographic Series, published in London during 1909 by the Rotary Photographic Co Ltd, show Ellaline Terriss (left) as she appeared as the Duc de Richelieu in the musical play, The Dashing Little Duke, by Miss Terriss’s husband, Seymour Hicks, with lyrics by Ardian Ross and music by Frank E. Tours. The production, the cast of which also included Hayden Coffin, Courtice Pounds, Elizabeth Firth and Coralie Blythe, opened at the Hicks Theatre (now the Gielgud), London, on 17 February 1909 following an out of town trial at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham. It ran for a disappointing 95 performances. The postcard on the right shows Miss Terriss in private life with a ‘Duc de Richelieu’ doll.

Bertie Wright and other members of the English cast of the New York production of The Shop Girl, Palmer’s Theatre, Manhattan, 1895

Bertie Wright (1871-after 1958), English actor and singer, as he appeared as Mr Miggles, together with other members of the English cast in the New York production of The Shop Girl, which opened at Palmer’s Theatre, New York, on 28 October 1895.
(cabinet photo: Sarony, New York, 1895)

‘At PALMER’S THEATRE, on Oct. 28, there was produced, for the first time in this country, The Shop Girl, a musical farce, in two acts, by H.J.W. Dam, music by Ivan Caryll, with additional numbers by Lionel Monckton and Adrian Ross. The work was originally produced Nov. 24, 1894, at the Gaiety Theatre, London, Eng., where it met with great success. The company presenting it here is under the local management of Charles Frohman, but was sent from England by George Edwardes, proprietor and manager of the Gaiety Theatre. Of its principal members only two appeared in the original London production. The story concerns a search for an heiress. John Brown, an American millionaire, has advertised through his solicitor, Sir George Appleby, for a female foundling, the child of his late partner, who inherits a large fortune. Colonel Singlton, a retired officer; the Count St. Vaurien, secretary to Mr. Brown, and Mr. Hooley, proprietor of the ”Royal Stores,” are in possession of the secret that a fortune of four millions sterling awaits the missing heiress, whose identity they hope to establish by means of a birth mark known to exist. Many founding girls present themselves, being congenital marks, but all are doomed to disappointment. Mr. Hooley believes he has discovered the missing girl in Ada Smith, a good natured but illiterate and somewhat vulgar apprentice in his employ. He proposes to this girl, and she accepts and marries him, although she is engaged to Mr. Miggles, a floor walker of the establishment. It is eventually discovered that the real heiress is Bessie Brent, the prettiest girl in the stores, who is engaged to marry Charles Appleby, son of the solicitor who is seeking her. The farce has gained success here at a bound. In fact the nature of its reception was almost a foregone conclusion, for the coming of the company was eagerly awaited, and the advance sale of seats showed that nothing less than an absolutely bad performance would rob it of its anticipated triumph. The event proved that the performance was very far from bad, although the book was equally far from good, and the music was not above mediocrity. In spite of all shortcomings, however, there is sufficient exhilaration supplied by the performers to warrant the favorable verdict rendered. The state forces were admirably handled, and from the principals down to the most obscure member of the company every one was in constant motion. The principal comedians, including Seymour Hicks, George Grossmith Jr., W.H. Rawlins, Bertie Wright and George Honey, are undoubtedly clever. They labored assiduously and effectively to promote merriment, and displayed powers that suggested their ability to accomplish even better results had they a work which would afford them greater opportunities.

Connie Ediss as Ada Smith and W.H. Rawlins as Mr. Hooley in The Shop Girl, Palmer’s Theatre, New York, 1895)
(photo: Sarony, New York, 1895; Collection of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts / Billy Rose Theatre Division )

The female contingent, however, showed less capability than the male, but Ethel Sydney, as Bessie Brent, and Connie Ediss, as Ada Smith, fairly won an excellent report, Miss Ediss being especially deserving of mention for good comedy work. Some very pretty dancing was shown, but the terpsichorean features were less praiseworthy than have been seen in previous Gaiety productions. The staging was quite effective. They first act showed the interior of the ”Royal Stores,” and the action in the second act occurred in a fancy bazaar at Kensington. Some of the costumes were very pretty. There was much color shown, but by reason of strong contrasts there was little harmony I this respect and much gaudiness. The average of beauty among the women was not high, and in figure there was shown more bulk than daintiness. Still the show throughout its length was rather pleasing to the eye, and in spite of its friskiness was restful in so far as it made no demands whatever upon the intellect. It was plainly in evidence that it afforded the greatest delight to that portion of the audience which, for a very obvious reason, brought no brains to bear upon it. The assignment of roles was as follows: Mr. Hooley, W.H. Rawlins; Charles Appleby, Seymour Hicks; Bertie Boyd, George Grossmith Jr.; John Brown, [Michael] Dwyer; Sir George Appleby, Walter McEwen; Singleton, George Honey; Count St. Vaurten, A. Nilson-Fisher; Mr. Tweets, Alfred Asher; Mr. Miggles, Bertie Wright; Bessie Brent, Ethel Sydney; Lady Dodo Singlton, Annie Albu; Miss Robinson, Marie Paucett; Lady Appleby, Leslie Greenwood; Ada Smith, Connie Ediss; Faith, May Beaugarde; Hope, Minnie Sadler; Charity, Minnie Rose; Maud Plantagenet, Adelaide Astor; Eva Tudor, Violet Dene; Lillie Stuart, Ida Wallace; Ada Harrison, Hylda Galton; Mabel Beresford, Nellie Huxley; Florence White, Zara De L’Orme; Birdie Waudesfaude, Nellie Langton; Maggie Jocelyn, Violet Durkin; Violet Deveney, Annie Vivian. A solo dance in Act II was contributed by Dorothy Douglass, who was not included in the assignment. Of the above Seymour Hicks had already been seen here in Cinderella [sic], and Adelaide Astor, now the wife of George Grossmith Jr., had previously appeared here [in September 1893] upon the vaudeville stage under the name of Cissy Lind . With these exceptions all of the members of the company were, upon this occasion, seen her for the first time.’
(The New York Clipper, New York, New York, Saturday, 9 November 1895, p. 567d)

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.

Seymour Hicks in The Shop Girl, Gaiety Theatre, London, 1894

Seymour Hicks (1871-1949), English actor, as he appeared as Charles Appleby, a medical student, in The Shop Girl, the musical farce produced at the Gaiety Theatre, London, on 24 November 1894. It was in this show that Seymour Hicks sang ‘And the Golden Hair was Hanging Down Her Back.’
(photo: Alfred Ellis, London, 1894)

‘The Gaiety Theatre was reopened on Saturday night after having undergone extensive structural alteration at the instance of the County Council, with a new musical piece by Mr. H. Darn [i.e. H.J.W. Dam] entitled The Shop Girl. There is a distinct resemblance between the general structure and idea of Mr. Darn’s [sic] piece and the highly successful Gaiety Girl, and it is quite evident that the London playgoer has not yet tired of a form of entertainment which is a species of hybrid between burlesque and comedy opera. The Shop Girl depends for its attractions, not on any cohesion of story or any attempt at plot, but on its songs and dances and the drolleris of the members of the company performing it… . Mr. Seymour Hicks shows a distinct advance in his art in the part usually associated in this theatre with Mr. Arthur Roberts. His singing is particularly good and he seems to have a decided gift for dancing of a grotesque but highly amusing character… .’
(Freeman’s Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser, Dublin, Monday, 25 November 1894, p. 7b)

‘… Mr. Seymour Hicks shows cleverness of a quality superior to the work he has to do in The Shop Girl, and acts, sings, and dances with an activity and a refinement worthy of comedy. By his tactful treatment he almost disguises the unpleasant flavour of his song about the girl with the golden hair… .’
(The Era, London, Saturday, 1 December 1894, p. 8b)

Seymour Hicks and Ellis Jeffreys in The Dove Cot, Duke of York’s Theatre, London, 1898

Seymour Hicks (1871-1949), English actor manager, and Ellis Jeffreys (1872-1943), English actress, in a scene from The Dove Cot, a comedy by Charles H.E. Brookfield, produced at the Duke of York’s Theatre, London, on 12 February 1898.
(cabinet photo: Alfred Ellis & Walery, 51 Baker Street, London, W, negative no. 26415-4)

‘The Dove Cot was decidedly a better name for the new comedy at the Duke of York’s Theatre than Jalouse, if for no other reason, because in ceasing to be French in locality and language MM. [Alexandre] Bisson and [Adolphe] Leclercq’s gay and amusing comedy ought obviously to take to itself an English title… . the main theme of The Dove Cot is the vagaries of an habitually jealous woman, and this is a subject that can claim no particular nationality… .
‘The piece is very fortunate in its interpreters. The bickerings between that comely young couple, Mr. and Mrs. Allward, arising out of the incorrigible propensity of the lady to find cause for jealous explosions in trifles light as air, were portrayed by Mr. Seymour Hicks and Miss Ellis Jeffreys with a most amusing and at the same time a most convincing air of reality. Unstable as our English climate, the lady is constantly brining charges of infidelity, repenting of them, and when forgiven by her devoted husband, suddenly starting upon some new ground of jealous distrust. The climax is reached when the jealous wife detects in her husband’s clothing on his return home one night a scent which is only in use among ladies, and, horror of horrors, discovers on his shoulder two long golden hairs. In vain Allward observes that his wife happens to have at that moment a black spot upon her nose, but that he does not on that account suspect her of ”kissing a chimney sweep.” The suspicion has, however, passed beyond mere badinage, and a separation is impending… .’
(The Daily News, London, Monday, 14 February 1898, p. 3b)

Ethel Negretti

Ethel Negretti (1879-1918?), English singer (soprano) and actress
(photo: Alfred Ellis & Walery, London, circa 1902)

Ethel Negretti (Ethel Amelia Rosenstreich) was born in London in 1879, the daughter of Nathaniel Rosenstreich (1841/42-1903), a German-born looking glass and furniture manufacturer, and his first wife, Amelia (née Biddle, 1828-1898). On 28 July 1904 she was married to Albert Pembridge Parker, a sometime manager in the motor trade, at St. George’s, Bloomsbury. They appear to have had no children and may have separated before 1918, the last mention of her in the records. Parker married again in 1926, to Winifred Lilian Edith Grayson and died at the age of 75 in 1949.

Ethel Negretti appears to have begun her theatrical career in the summer of 1898 with Wallace Erskine’s company in a tour of the UK of The Shop Girl, a musical farce which was first produced at the Gaiety Theatre, London, on 24 November 1894; she took the part of Lady Dodo Singleton, originally played by Helen Lee.

She was next seen at the end of October, 1898, in a small part at the Royal Theatre, Jersey, in the comedy The Dove-Cot, starring Seymour Hicks, following its London run at the Duke of York’s Theatre (12 February 1898). Miss Negretti was the Princess Haidée in the pantomime Dick Whittington, at the Grand Theatre, Fulham, at Christmas 1898, in which she was praised for the song ‘Carmencita,’ ‘rendered with such sweetness and verve.’ (The Era, London, Saturday, 21 January 1899, p. 12c). She was then seen in tours of the musical farcical comedy The Topsy-Turvey Hotel Co and the musical comedy The French Maid.

On 19 October 1899 appeared as Cyrene in a revival at the Lyceum Theatre, London, of Wilson Barrett’s drama The Sign of the Cross. She was next seen in a tour with G.H. Snazelle in The Prince of Borneo, an opera farce.

Derby, Wednesday, 7 November 1900
‘BANJO AND MANDOLIN CONCERT AT THE TEMPERANCE HALL.
‘Though the weather was miserable – rain fell sharply at times and the streets were thick with mud – there was a capital audience at the Temperance Hall on Wednesday evening, on the occasion of Mr. and Mrs. M.L. Merton’s fourth grand banjo and mandolin concert. The programme was a delightful one and the artistes were ladies and gentlemen of acknowledged ability. Mr Clifford Essex and Miss Ethel Negretti achieved considerable success at one of Mr. Merton’s previous concerts, and their second appearance in Derby was naturally looked forward to with much interest and pleasure. Of Mr. Essex and his pierrots it may be said that they have performed, by command, before the Prince and Princess of Wales and other members of the Royal Family on no fewer than five occasions. Then Mr. Olly Oakley there are few more celebrated banjoists and he too was exceedingly well received on a previous visit to the town… . Mr. Clifford Essex and Miss Negretti were heard to particular advantage in ”I love the man in the moon” (which was encored), and Miss Negretti, who has a very sweet, clear voice, sang ”Baby,” (from [Gustave Kerker’s] ”The American Beauty” [sic]), a particularly pretty song, charmingly… .’
(The Derby Mercury, Derby, Wednesday, 14 November 1900, p. 6e)

At Christmas 1900 Miss Negretti was seen in the pantomime Dick Whittington at the Prince’s Theatre, Bristol. The two leading parts of Dick and Alice were taken by Millie Hylton and her sister, Lydia Flopp; other parts were played by Ernest Shand, Tennyson and O’Gorman and Bessie Featherstone.

In November 1901 Ethel Negretti appeared as one of Clifford Essex’s Pierrots (the others being Clifford Essex, Joe Morley and Wilson James) at the Town Hall, Eastbourne. She remained with Essex until the autumn of 1902 after which she appeared as Ida in the pantomime Mother Goose at Drury Lane Theatre (26 December 1902), with Dan Leno, Herbert Campbell, Madge Lessing, Marie George and others. She was next seen in The School Girl, a musical play which opened at the Prince of Wales’s Theatre, London, on 9 May 1903; the cast was headed by Edna May and G.P. Huntley. Following a tour in A Country Girl, Miss Negretti appeared again in pantomime at Drury Lane: Humpty Dumpty, produced on 26 December 1903, with Dan Leno, Herbert Campbell, George Bastow, Marie George, Louise Willis and Ruth Lytton.

With further appearances on tour and in pantomime, Ethel Negretti’s career continued until 1914/15, when she appeared as Mme. Alvarez in a tour of the successful Shaftesbury Theatre musical, The Pearl Girl. Her final appearances seem to have been in The Magic Touch, a musical comedy produced at the Palace Theatre, Walthamstow, on 18 January 1915; and in the revue, So Long, Lucy!, which was produced on 27 September 1915 at the Hippodrome, Derby, with Paul Barnes, the American black-face comedian and song-writer, in the lead; other members of the cast were Clay Smith (husband of Lee White, the American revue star), Phyllis Barnes and Phil Lester.

Sybil Hook

Sybil Hook (fl. 1912-1922), English actress and dancer, as the Second Twin in a United Kingdom touring production of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, about 1913
(photo: Corn, Cardiff, circa 1913)

Sybil Hook appeared as the Second Twin in Peter Pan at the Duke of York’s Theatre, London, for the Christmas season of 1912/13, with Pauline Chase in the title role. She is next recorded as an extra in Seymour Hicks’s production of George Egerton’s comedy, Wild Thyme at the Comedy, London (19 April 1915), which subsequently toured England and Scotland. She reappeared in Peter Pan at the New Theatre, London (23 December 1916), when she played Tootles, with Unity More in the title role. Miss Hook played Tootles again in Peter Pan at the New at Christmas 1918/19, with Faith Celli in the title role, and again at the New at Christmas 1919/20, with Georgette Cohan as Peter. Sybil Hook’s next London engagement was as Ivy Routledge in the topical farce, Her Dancing Man (Garrick, 3 September 1920), with Jack Buchanan, Ronald Squire, Viola Tree, Auriol Lee and Empsie Bowman. Miss Hook is last mentioned as Fair Lady, Manon of Venice in Arlequin, a comedy fantasy by Maurice Magre (translated by Louis N. Parker), with music by Andre Gailhard, produced at the Empire, Leicester Square on 21 December 1922; other members of the cast included Dennis Neilson-Terry, Godfrey Tearle, Dorothy Green, Netta Westcott, Edith Kelly Gould, Rosina Philippi and Viola Tree. The piece was choreographed by Leonide Massine.

* * * * *

‘MAKING A HIT
‘LONDON, Eng., Mar. 27 [1920]. – London has taken to its heart a new favorite in the person of Sybil Hook, who up to a month ago, was playing small parts in road shows. When Georgette Cohan, daughter of George M. Cohan, and Ethel Levey, now residing here, sailed for America to join her father, she [Sybil Hook] stepped into her part at the Garrick, where ”Mr. Pim Passes By” is playing and has been the pet of London ever since.’
(The New York Clipper, New York, Wednesday, 31 March 1920, p. 12c)

Ellaline Terriss, Seymour Hicks and Baby Betty

Actresseses photographed with their children.

Seymour Hicks (1871-1949) and his wife, Ellaline Terriss (1871-1971) and their daughter Betty (b. 1907), who was widely known as ‘Baby Betty’ and later professionally as Betty Seymour Hicks.
Postcard 4051 B in the Rotary Photographic Series, published in 1908 by the Rotary Photographic Co Ltd, London.
(photo: Foulsham & Banfield, London, 1908)

‘London, Sept. 21 [1910].
‘The latest fashion among English actresses is to be photographed with their children. The family life of English theatrical people has always been of interest to the British public, and the new postcards and photographs of actresses holding their children in their arms or on their knees have sold better than any other pictures of the same gifted yet domesticated ladies.

Muriel Beaumont (Mrs Gerald Du Maurier, 1881-1957) and two of her daughters, Angela (1904-2002) and Daphne (1907-1989), both of whom became well known writers.
Postcard E 1927, published by the Aristophot Co Ltd, London, 1908.
(photo: Rita Martin, London, 1908)

‘It seems to please theatregoers to know that the leading lady of the company is in private life a good mother and excellent housewife, and they give her an extra round of applause for these qualities. Middle-class England does not believe in the artistic temperament, and any little idiosyncrasies in the private affairs of actresses meet with disapproval. Domesticity is the drawing card. the knowledge that a stage favorite is comfortably settled in her own home with a devoted husband and one or two future actors learning their lessons at her knee is unction to the British matron’s soul.
‘Mr. and Mrs. Seymour Hicks lead in public favor as examples of domestic theatrical life. The public knows their ménage intimately, and takes a tremendous interest in Baby Betty, the little daughter of the household. Both Mr. Hicks and his wife, Ellaline Terriss, take the audience into their confidence, and in the course of a musical comedy they have been known to mention Baby Betty and the stage of her health or the fact that she sent her love to everybody, and such announcements are received with cheers of delight.
‘Betty once wrote an ode which was published. She is just 5 now. If no news of the child is forthcoming admirers have been known to call out from the depths of the pit and inquire for the latest news. Naturally, Mr. and Mrs. Hicks have been photographed with Betty countless times, and their pictures in plush frames adorn many British homes.
‘Mr. and Mrs. Gerald du Maurier are another couple in whom great interest is taken. On the stage Mrs. du Maurier is Miss Muriel Beaumont. She rarely acts now, as home interests are engrossing. Her little daughter Angela is 4, and promises to be a real Du Maurier in appearance as well as in ways. she has not yet any stage aspirations.

Isabel Jay (Mrs Henry Sheppard Hart Cavendish, 1879-1927) and her daughter Cecilia Claribel (1903 – 1963) in their Spyker car.
Postcard 4846B in the Rotary Photographic Series, published about 1907 by the Rotary Photographic Co Ltd, London.
(photo: Foulsham & Banfield, London, circa 1907)

‘Mr. and Mrs. Fred Terry, who are soon to appear in America, are very proud of their tall daughter, who has just made her debut in Priscilla Runs Away. She calls herself Miss Neilson-Terry, but is known to her intimates as Phillida. Though she is taller than her mother, and very well developed, she is only 17. She is very pretty. At present the post card shops are filled with a variety of pictures of the Fred Terry family.
‘Miss Maie Ash, who married Stanley Brett, a brother of Seymour Hicks, a year or so ago, is the proud mother of a very recent baby and she has lost no time in being pictured with her little son. Miss Ash was one of the prettiest of the pretty girls in Mr. Hicks’ company, and was a musical comedy favorite. Just now she is playing a sketch with her husband.
‘Miss Eva Moore, who is Mrs. H. Esmond in private life, has two children, and is a devoted mother. Her stage career takes her from her family a good deal, as she is in demand to create parts in her husband’s plays as well as others, but she has her children with her all she can. The Moore family of girls, five of them, is a type of a theatrical family often found in England. Every Miss Moore went on the stage when she arrived at years of discretion, and two of them, Miss Eva and Miss Decima Moore have become successful actresses.
‘Miss Violet Vanbrugh and her husband, Arthur Bourchier, are having a difficult time to persuade their daughter Prudence that 12 is not the proper age to begin a stage career. Prudence has had dramatic aspirations since she was little more than a baby, and Mr. Bourchier confesses that before long she is likely to get her way and appear at his theater in a Christmas play.
‘Mr. and Mrs. Cyril Maude are another couple in whom the public is interested here, and though their one child, Winifred, is seldom seen on post cards or photographs, her clever sayings and doings are well known, and her debut is looked forward to.
‘Miss Nancy Price, who for years has played adventuress parts in risky French gowns and red wigs, is really, to the joy of her audiences, a model wife and mother. She, too, has a small daughter, who is kept carefully from the glare of the footlights out in the suburban home where Miss Price makes her way after the fatigues of Drury Lane performances.

Ellaline Terriss and her daughter ‘Baby Betty.’
Postcard 11706 C in the Rotary Photographic Series, published in 1911 by the Rotary Photographic Co Ltd, London.
(photo: Foulsham & Banfield, London, 1911)

‘Mrs. G.P. Huntley’s small boy [Timothy] has seen his father act very often, but not his mother, as for the last few years she [Eva Kelly] has seldom appeared on the stage.
‘Mr. and Mrs. H.B. Irving have a daughter very like her mother [Dorothea Baird], with silky flaxen hair and blue eyes. She dances prettily, and can recite yards of poetry.
‘Mrs. Kendal, who used to be regarded as an example of theatrical motherhood, seems to have dropped out in recent years. One sees no pictures of her with her children, who are grown now.
‘Miss Ellen Terry is probably the most devoted mother in the theatrical world, yet she is never pictured with her son or daughter. She has never figures before the public in the role of mother, but those who know say that her devotion to her children [Edward Gordon Craig, and Edith Craig] is the greatest thing in her life. She has started both of them several times in various careers in which they wished to embark, and she is always the kind friend to whom they go in their difficulties. to see Miss Terry and Miss Edith Craig, her daughter together is to realize the strong bond between them.
‘Miss Annie Hughes, whose forte is playing the part of catty, sneaky, little ladies of the Country Mouse variety, has a son, who is her special joy and pride.’
(The Washington Post, Washington, D.C., Sunday, 2 October 1910, Miscellany Section, p.10b-g)

programme cover for The Cherry Girl, Vaudeville Theatre, London, 1903

programme cover for Seymour Hicks and Ivan Caryll’s musical play, The Cherry Girl, produced at the Vaudeville Theatre, London, on 21 December 1903, starring Seymour Hicks and Ellaline Terriss.
The image is of the statue by the English sculptor Albert Toft (1862-1949) of Miss Terriss as The Queen in The Cherry Girl.