Photographs: PH1560

Gladys Cooper

Cooper, Gladys DBE (Dame)

Rotary Photographic Co Ltd (London, England)

height: 8.8cm
width: 13.9cm

"MISS GLADYS COOPER. / S.52-4. / ROTARY PHOTO E.C." (printed on front) "PHOTO. / C.N." (In oval)

Presented by Nick Bayly and his sister Victoria Hartley, June 2023.

E0139

Hand-coloured bromide photographic postcard depicting three portraits of Dame Gladys Cooper, seemingly not in character. On the left she wears a lemon yellow long-sleeved top with buttons on the cuff, she is sitting down at a table, holds a pen on paper, perhaps about to write a letter, and looks towards the viewer. In the middle oval, she is seen in front of a natural backdrop holding a bunch of wildflowers and foxgloves, she wears a v-neck top and looks at the camera. On the right, she is in a long-sleeved light blue blouse, she wears rings on her left hand, her right hand rests under her chin, she is leaning forward over a table with a crystal vase and red flowers, and she looks at the camera. There is a white border of imprinted flowers and the portraits are set in a geometrical border coloured in pink and green. The text 'MISS GLADYS COOPER' is set in a scroll with flanking yellow flowers and green leaves.
The reverse has no message.

Gladys Cooper (1888-1971) was a celebrated actress of the stage and screen, with a career spanning seven decades. She was renowned for her beauty; she became a photographic model in the early 1900s and was famous for her appearance on many picture postcards of the time. Postcards were cheap and reliable and were bought not just to send messages but to keep as souvenirs.