Players of the Day by [George Newnes publisher] - [1903]: A Series of Portraits in Colour of Theatrical Celebrities of the Present Time

Very good copy of this splendid Edwardian book of theatre portraits

With all 48 tipped-in colour-printed photographs of stars of the Belle Epoque

All the portraits very dramatically manipulated with colour in an almost Klimt-like style, several beauties depicted like Russian Ikons

The stars include French global star Sarah Bernhardt in Izeyl, American beauty Miss Maud Jeffries and English actor Sir Herbert Beerbohm in Herod: A Tragedy, Charles Hawtrey in A Message from Mars, American actor William Hooker Gillette as Sherlock Holmes, Coquelin Aine as Napoleon Bonaparte and Mme. Jane Hading as Josephine in Plus Que Reine, comedian Huntley Wright as Li in the Chinese musical comedy San Toy, or the Emperor's Own, American society beauty turned stage actress Mrs Brown Potter, and many other opera singers, dramatic actors, comedians, music hall and vaudeville performers of the era. Many would go on to have long careers on stage and even in motion pictures in the next decades.

The original photographs by Nadar (Gaspard Félix Tournachon), Alfred Ellis and Walery (Stanislaw Julian Ignacy), Paul Boyer, Leopold Emile Reutlinger, Reginald Fellows Willson, Alexander Bassano, Window and Grove (Frederick Richard Window and William Henry Grove), Biograph Studio, Langfier, etc.

With an Art Nouveau decorative cover in purple, ochre and gilt on green cloth showing a woman dramatically pulling back the stage curtains in front of the footlights in the Beggarstaff style.

Bevelled green cloth boards bumped and frayed on the corners and spine, all tipped-in portraits under tissue guards in very good condition, foxing to the title page and some of the tissue guards, blindstamp "W. H. Smith Library Strand" on front endpaper, bookblock holding firm.

Ellaline Terriss as Bluebell in Bluebell in Fairyland, a Christmas children's musical by Seymour Hicks and Walter Slaughter, 1901. Lady Hicks, Mary Ellaline Lewin, popular British actress and singer, 1871-1971.

Mme. Gabrielle Rejane in Sylvie, ou la Curieuse d'amour, a stage play by Abel Hermant, music by Edmond Laurens, 1900. Gabrielle Charlotte Reju, French stage and film actress, 1856-1920.

Edward Terry as the schoolmaster Robert Fanshawe in My Pretty Maid, a comedy by Captain Basil Hood, 1902. Edward O'Connor Terry, English actor and comedian, actor manager of Terry's Theatre on the Strand, 1844-1912.

Miss Connie Ediss as Bella Jimper in The Silver Slipper, a musical by Owen Hall and Leslie Stuart at the Lyric, 1901 Ada Harriet Whitley, English actress and singer popular in Edwardian musical comedy, 1870-1934.

Miss Miriam Clements, or Mrs. Cecil Ainsley Walker-Leigh, British stage actress, debuted 1893, died 1954.

Walter Passmore as the Lord Chancellor in Iolanthe, the Savoy comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan, 1901. Passmore, English singer and actor in comic baritone roles, 1867-1946.

Miss Granville as Mrs Daniel Gordon smoking a cigarette in An Interrupted Honeymoon, a comedy by F. Kinsey Peile, 1899. Charlotte Granville, British stage and film actress, 1860-1942.

Herbert Waring as Gil de Berault in Under the Red Robe, a historical play by Edward Rose at the Haymarket, 1897. Herbert Waring Rutty, British stage and film actor, 1857-1932.

Mme. Jane Hading as Empress Josephine in Plus Que Reine, a historical play by Emile Bergerat, Porte-Saint-Martin, Paris, 1899. Jane Hading, Jeanne-Alfredine Trefouret, French stage actress, 1859-1941.

William Hooker Gillette as Sherlock Holmes, the famous gentleman detective created by Arthur Conan Doyle. William Gillette, American actor, playwright and stage-manager, 1853-1937.

Miss Marie Studholme as Dora Selby in The Toreador, a musical comedy at the Gaiety, 1901. Marie Studholme, English actress and singer in musical comedy, 1872-1930.

H. B. Irving as Oliver in William Shakespeare's As You Like It, at the St James Theatre, 1896. Harry Brodribb Irving, British stage actor, actor-manager and film director, 1870-1919.

Mrs Brown Potter, Mary Cora Urquhart, American society beauty and divorcee who turned London stage actress, 1857-1936.

Charles Groves as Mr Blossom in The Elder Miss Blossom, St James Theatre, 1898. Charles Groves, Irish-born stage actor in Victorian comedies, 1843-1909.

Miss Vane Featherstone as Lady St. Azuline in The Price of Peace, a drama by Cecil Raleigh at the Drury Lane, 1900. Vane Featherstone, English stage actress with Charles Hawtrey's company, 1864-1948.

Fred Terry in Change Alley, a South Sea Bubble drama by Louis Parker and Murray Carson, Lyceum, 1899. Fred Terry, English actor and theatrical manager, 1863-1933.

Miss Ellen Terry as Queen Katherine of Aragon in William Shakespeare's Henry VIII, in a costume designed by Sir Henry Irving for the production at the Lyceum, 1892. Dame Alice Ellen Terry, leading English actress of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, 1847-1928.

Edmund Payne as Sammy Gigg (a tiger) in The Toreador, a musical comedy at the Gaiety, 1901. Teddy Payne, English actor, comedian and singer in popular Edwardian musical comedies, 1863-1914.

Miss Jessie Bateman as the Governess in The Man from Blankley's, a play by Thomas Anstey Guthrie, Prince of Wales Theatre, 1901. Jessie Eliza Bateman, English stage actress, 1877-1940.

Weedon Grossmith as Archibald Rennick in The New Boy, a farcical comedy by Arthur Law, Terry's Theatre, 1894. Walter Weedon Grossmith, English writer, painter, actor and playwright, 1854-1919.

Mme. Sarah Bernhardt in the title role in Izeyl (Iseyl), an Indian lyric drama by Armand Silvestre and Eugene Morand at the Renaissance, Paris, 1894. Bernhardt, world-famous French stage actress, 1844-1923.

Hayden Coffin as Geoffrey Challoner in A Country Girl, musical by James Tanner and Lionel Monckton at Daly's Theatre, 1903. Charles Hayden Coffin, English actor and singer in Edwardian musical comedy, 1862-1935.

Miss Louie Freear as Flo Honeydew in The Lady Slavey, an operetta based on Cinderella by George Dance and John Crook, Royal Avenue Theatre, 1894. Louisa Freear, English actress, singer and comedienne, 1871-1939.

Coquelin Aine as Napoleon Bonaparte in Plus Que Reine, historical play by Emile Bergerat, Porte-Saint-Martin, Paris, 1899. Jean Coquelin, French stage and film actor, 1865-1944.

Saba Raleigh as Lady Aline Redwood in The Best of Friends, a pro-Boer play by Cecil Raleigh at Drury Lane, 1902.

Isabel Pauline Rowlands, English actress and wife of playwright Cecil Raleigh, 1862-1923.

Huntley Wright as Li in San Toy, or the Emperor's Own, a Chinese musical comedy by Edward Morton and Sidney Jones, 1899. Wright was an English stage and film actor, comedian, dancer and singer, 1868-1941.

Miss Evie Greene in the title role in Kitty Grey, a hit musical by J.S. Pigott, music by Augustus Barratt and Howard Talbot, at the Apollo, 1901. Edith Elizabeth Greene, English actress and singer in Edwardian musical comedies, 1875-1917.

Arthur Bourchier as the Bishop in The Bishop's Move, a comedy by Mrs Pearl Craigie, 1902. Arthur Bourchier, English actor and theatre manager, 1863-1927.

Miss Constance Collier as Iras in Ben Hur, a Tale of the Christ, a spectacular play by General Lew Wallace at the Drury Lane, 1902. Laura Constance Hardie, English stage and film actress, 1878-1955.

Seymour Hicks as Valentine Brown in Quality Street, a popular musical comedy by J.M. Barrie, Vaudeville Theatre, 1902. SIr Edward Seymour Hicks, English actor, music hall performer, manager, 1871-1949.

Mrs Maesmore Morris in Chance, the Idol, a gambling drama by Henry Arthur Jones, Wyndham's Theatre, 1902. Gertrude Maesmore Morris, English stage actress who rose to fame in Australia, 1872-1952.

Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson as Jacques Bernez in The Sacrament of Judas by Louis Tiercelin, translated by Louis N. Parker, Comedy Theatre, 1901. Forbes-Robertson, English stage and film actor and manager, 1885-1947.

Miss Ellis Jeffreys in Edwardian gown in front of a grand piano and mirror. Minnie Gertrude Ellis Jeffreys, Irish stage and film actress and comedienne, 1868-1943.

Lewis Waller as the Duke of Buckingham in The Three Musketeers, in a production by Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Her Majesty's Theatre, 1899. William Waller Lewis, English actor and theatre manager, 1860-1915.

Miss Lena Ashwell as Lady Jean in Bonnie Dundee, a play by Laurence Irving at the Adelphi, 1900. In wedding dress before a church arch. Lena Margaret Ashell, Lady Simson, British actress and theatre manager, 1872-1957.

George Alexander as poet Francois Villon in If I Were King, a play by Justin Huntly McCarthy, New National Theatre, 1901. Sir George Alexander, English stage and film actor, theatre manager, 1858-1918.

Miss Irene Vanbrugh as Lady Mary Lasenby in The Admirable Crichton, a class comedy by J. M. Barrie, Duke of York's Theatre, 1902. In animal-skin costume on a desert island. Dame Irene Vanbrugh, English actress, 1872-1949.

Miss Maud Jeffries as Mariamne in Herod: A Tragedy, a play by Stephen Phillips, 1901. In wild hair and voluminous robes as Herod's wife. Maud Evelyn Craven Jeffries, American actress and beauty, 1869-1946.

Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree as Herod, King of the Jews, in Herod: a Tragedy, a play by Stephen Phillips, 1901. Beerbohm Tree, English stage and film actor, theatre manager, 1852-1917.

Miss Katie Seymour as Alice in The Runaway Girl, a musical comedy by Seymour Hicks and Ivan Caryll at the Gaiety, 1898. Katie Seymour, British Victorian burlesque and Edwardian musical comedy singer and dancer, 1870-1903.

Miss Florence Collingbourne as Yung Shi in San Toy, or the Emperor's Own, a Chinese musical comedy by Edward Morton and Sidney Jones, 1899.

Winifred Emery and Cyril Maude in The School for Scandal, comedy by Richard Sheridan, Vaudeville Theatre, 1890. Cyril Maude, English actor manager, 1862-1951. Performing with his wife Maud Isabel Emery, English actress and actor manager, 1861-1924.

Madame Carolina Otero in L'Imperatrice, a ballet by jean Richepin and Paul Vidal, performed at the Theatre Olympia in 1901. Agustina del Carmen Otero Iglesias, La Belle Otero, Spanish dancer, singer and later courtesan, 1868-1965.

Willie Edouin as Hilarius in La Poupee, a comic opera by Edmond Audran, Prince of Wales Theatre, 1897. Edouin, English comedian, actor, dancer, singer and writer, 1846-1906.

E.S. Willard as Cardinal de' Medici in The Cardinal, a historical play by Louis N. Parker at the St. James Theatre, London, 1903. Edward Smith Willard, British stage actor, 1853-1915.

Miss Ada Reeve as Lady Holyrood in Florodora, musical comedy by Owen Hall and Leslie Stuart, Lyric Theatre, 1899. Reeve, English stage and film actress, Edwardian musical comedy star 1874-1966.

Charles Hawtrey as Horace Parker in A Message from Mars, a play by Richard Ganthony, Avenue Theatre, 1899. As a beggar in rags under a bridge in the rain. Sir Chalres Henry Hawtrey, English comedy actor, stage and film, 1858-1923.

Kate Serjeanston, Welsh stage actress of the early 20th century, died 1918. Performed in The Water Babies, 1903, and Outcast 1917. Miss Kate Sargeantson.