The Merry Widow Souvenir – The Tatler – Wednesday 12th August 1908
THE MERRY WIDOW SOUVENIR,
Adrian Ross Tells its Story in Verse.
We have all rejoiced in The Merry Widow – that wonderful achievement by Franz Lehar that has produced crowded houses all over Europe for so long a time. The English version is not the least delightful and the lyrics by Mr. Adrian Ross help in no small degree to that result. Here is the “souvenir” which commemorates a hundred nights. It is daintily printed in colour, the artist being Mr. Talbot Hughes, many examples of whose work we are able to reproduce here.
The joy of the book to me, however, is in the history of the play told in rhyme by Mr. Adrian Ross. Mr. Ross, known in private life as Mr. Ropes, has a peculiar gift in the direction of comment on life conveyed in verse. That gift is at its brightest and best in this history of the play of The Merry Widow. There is an extraordinary amount of high spirits and jollity in Mr. Ross’s metrical narrative, which runs to some hundreds of lines. This souvenir is certainly a delightful memento for the thousands of people who have already seen The Merry Widow and for those thousands of others who will be wise to see it in the future.
When last saw The Merry Widow Miss Lily Elsie was “out of the bill,” but Miss Constance Drever took her place with great efficiency, and happily Mr. Joseph Coyne and Mr. George Graves were as genuinely funny as usual. Miss Gabrielle Ray as Frou-Frou was as blithe as ever.
The Tatler – Wednesday 12th August 1908
1 Comment »
Leave a Reply
About
One of my main interests is a love of old pictures and postcards that give us a brief glimpse into a past and often forgotten age.
Collecting old postcard and pictures enables the viewer to glimpse a brief moment from that individual’s life; often far removed from their own either by the passage of time or social class. Social History, often described as “history from below” shows everyday people, their social structure and the interaction of different groups; like the wealthy and politicians these people helped shape and maintain society and so shape history.
Examining the images one can’t help but wonder how the individuals lived, were their lives hard compared with today and were they happy. Often the images come with little or no information that can answer these questions, one can only imagine.
With each image saved and seen by others, so that moment, that person is kept alive, our understanding is increased and so our lives are enriched.
A picture is often more descriptive than words can ever be, but how true is this, if a picture enables us to gain entry to another time, another world, will, like the view from a different window, even in the same house provide a different image?
These images allow a glimpse into another time, another era; but what preceded or followed this image? As the individuals were positioned and posed like an artist’s model is what we see truly reflective or like the slightly softened image of an aging beauty a less that truthful representation?
I am reminded of a documentary I watched several years ago regarding the returning troops from the front during the First World War. The camera images show a broken, demoralised sea of humanity, young men who having seen images that most of us hope never to witness had lost that sparkle; that zest which only youth has. But bring on the news camera and that battered returning group came to life, the smiles returned and even though muddied and bloodied their heads and bodies became erect, their arms swung in time and they demonstrated a swagger that spoke of courage, defiance and determination; an image that gave hope to the viewer.
It seems to me that even in the early days of photography all was not what it appeared and now in the advancing digital age a picture may paint a thousand words but will it be factual or fiction?
My interests And collections vary from Maids, Nuns, religious dress and the more risqué images of the French Maid. Often when searching for a particular subject the boundaries cross and as well as true Maids we find Edwardian actresses dressed as Nuns or Maids. During one of my searches I came across Gabrielle Ray dressed as a Maid, “Susan” in Lady Madcap and was instantly captivated by her.
Collecting the individual cards isn’t enough; I like to know more about the individual, which is easier when that person is an actress, although often the information is scarce
Searching for information about Miss Ray I discovered that she was one of the most photographed women of the Edwardian era and described in “Temps” as the most beautiful woman in the United Kingdom; but sadly her success, if measured by being visibly working or in the public eye was short-lived. She struggled with depression and alcohol abuse, and her health declined. In 1936, she suffered a complete mental breakdown and was institutionalized for nearly forty years; dying in 1973 at Holloway Sanatorium at the age of 90.
There are several other sites and blogs dedicated to the memory of Miss Ray and my intention is to share my small but growing collection of pictures and postcards with anyone who shares my interest. Reading about Miss Ray I was saddened that this lady, like many others before and since, after a brief moment in the sun they are soon forgotten. Hopefully as people view and enjoy this blog her memory will remain alive for a little longer.
I have started to write a short Biography about Miss Ray which I will try to update as frequently as possible. The Index page will show any updates under the Biography catagory.
I have also tried to link the various postcards and pictures to the plays in which Miss Ray appeared, however I realise, after several errors that this isn’t an easy task as many are decorative studio poses rather than production images. The individual Rotary, Philco and other publishers numbers are included with any description which should make searching for a particular card or ones from the same set easier. If I have made any glaring errors please feel free to let me know.
Thank you and I hope you enjoy my collection as much as I do.
Recent Comments
Top Posts & Pages
summertime75
Gabrielle Ray 
[…] The Merry Widow Souvenir – The Tatler – Wednesday 12th August 1908 […]