Original Cast Photos ... Princess's Theatre, 1865

A few years back, I was thrilled to come upon (and blog) original cast photos from the 1860s and 1870s ..

Today, here are more.  From the hit Princess's Theatre production of Dion Boucicault's Arrah na pogue (1865)

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The play opened 22 March, but these photos were not taken until May of the year ...

How do I know that?  Why, easy ...

Mr Edwards BA (Cantab) was the son of the vicar of Barrow-on-Trent, born November 1862, and educated at Leicester's Collegiate School and St Peter's College, Cambridge. He, however, turned, on graduation, to photography and, with his 'BA (Cantab)' glued prominently to his name in his advertisements and puff paragraphs, started a career as a society photographer with some volumes (Portraits of Men of Eminence) of cartes de visite of 'notables'.  Thackeray was a notable early victim.  

The venture into the theatre seems to have been a one off trick, and he returned to photographing worthy celebrities and aristocrats, and illustrating books by learned gents -- from the glaciers of the Bernese Oberland, to photos for a book on 'Shakespeare's birthplace', to the paintings in the royal collections.  He did not remain long at the address of 20 Baker Street, where these photos were taken. In 1870 he took up the French photo-method known as Heliotypography and improved it sufficiently to make it commercially viable. Soon after (1872), he quit England for America, where he lived (8th Street, Brooklyn) until his death in 1903.

Unfortunately he doesnt seem to have issued his Arrah-na-pogue photos with a key. Nor with a tally. How many were there in the set?  Here are some more ...

More recognisable, these ones. John Brougham (Colonel Bagenal O'Grady), Pattie Oliver (Fanny Power), Charles Seyton (Sergeant), Henry Vandenhoff (Beamish McCoul) ...

I think the lady in the top picture is playing the role of the crazy woman, here called Katty. If she is, she is not a woman. Katty was played by a Mr Andrews.

And the other lads? With the bulk-buy waistcoats. The 'chorus'. Messrs Reynolds, Dowling, Bentley, or even  J Andrews and Burke?  

The man with the satchel? David Fisher as 'the Secretary? Or Mr Chapman, the valet ...

So now we just need to dig up the stars of the affair -- Mr and Mrs Boucicault -- the villain, Dominick Murray -- and Fred Charles as Major Coffin. 

I'll keep my eyes open ...