Photographs: PH1562

Gladys Cooper

Cooper, Gladys DBE (Dame)

Rotary Photographic Co Ltd (London, England)Martin, Rita

height: 14cm
width: 8.9cm

"RITA / MARTIN / S.52.3. / MISS GLADYS COOPER. / ROTARY PHOTO E.C." (printed on front)

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

E0139

Hand-coloured bromide photographic postcard depicting four portraits of Dame Gladys Cooper in side profile, seemingly not in character. Top left, she wears an orange top with embroidered detailing and light blue vest, a white beaded necklace, and she looks away from the camera. Top right, she wears a pale yellow short-sleeved blouse with a white beaded necklace and looks down away from the camera. Bottom left, she is wearing a yellow, pink and green patterned outfit, she is leaing over, holds a bunch of dark pink flowers, and looks at the viewer. Bottom right, she is mirroring the left, she wears a yellow, pink and green patterned outfit, she is leaing over, holds a bunch of dark pink flowers, and looks off to the side. There is a white border of imprinted flowers, and the portraits are set in a blue and yellow coloured border with rose outlines. In the middle is a heart shape with a pink rose.
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.