Photographs: PH1563

Gladys Cooper

Cooper, Gladys DBE (Dame)

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

height: 14cm
width: 8.9cm

"RITA / MARTIN / RITA / MARTIN / S.52.1. / 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 five portraits of Dame Gladys Cooper, seemingly not in character. Top left, she wears a light blue dress, white beaded necklace and she looks to the side. Top right, she wears a pale yellow long-sleeved top with a white beaded necklace and looks to the left into the distance. Bottom left, she is wearing a light pink dress and white fur shawl and looks slightly away from the camera. Bottom right, she wears a pink coat with white shirt underneath, she holds a book and looks directly at the viewer. The middle portrait, she wears a pale blue dress, with white fur shawl and beaded necklace, and she looks towards the camera. There is a white border of imprinted flowers and bows, and the portraits are set in a black and white border with leaf motifs in the corners. Either side of the middle portrait are pink roses with 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.