Lot 270
Cecilia Loftus (born Marie Cecilia Loftus Brown, 22 October 1876 - 12 July 1943) was a Scottish actress, singer, mimic, vaudevillian, and music hall performer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Other names: Cissie, Cissy. Billed as "The Sarah Bernhardt of the Halls". In 1894, she appeared in vaudeville at the Lyceum Theatre in New York City. Loftus toured with the Ada Rehan Company and the Augustin Daly Company before she first appeared at Koster & Bial's on 21 January 1895. With the Rehan troupe she played Washington, DC, St. Louis, Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois as "Miss Cecile" in a playbill. Her exit from Daly's organization occurred after Loftus was offered larger salaries in New York City. Other roles she played prior to 1895 were "Winnie" in The Last Word and "Audrey" in Love's Labour's Lost. Critics did not speak kindly of her work in these parts, to her dismay. Loftus became an international favourite in vaudeville along with Vesta Tilley and Harry Lauder. She then began to appear in the legitimate theatre, appearing in The Children of the King at the Royal Court Theatre, in 1898. The following year she returned to the United States to tour in vaudeville and was seen by Sir Henry Irving in 1901 at the Knickerbocker Theatre. He was so impressed that he engaged her to appear with him in the roles that Dame Ellen Terry could no longer play. She later toured with Irving, although the earnings were not as great as those on the music hall circuit. In 1905, she successfully essayed the very serious role of Nora in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House. Later that year she played Peter Pan to considerable acclaim in the second British production of Barrie's play. The next year she toured with The Diamond Express and appeared at the Royal Variety Performance at the Palace Theatre in 1912. In 1914, Loftus played the part of Desdemona in Othello at the Lyric Theatre (New York). She had a successful career both in burlesque, as an accomplished mimic, and on Broadway. Some of the productions she appeared in are The Man of Forty (1900), If I Were King (1901) by her husband Justin Huntly McCarthy, Hamlet (1903) with E.H. Sothern, the Victor Herbert operetta Dream City (1906), Venus (1927) with Tyrone Power, Sr., Three-Cornered Moon (1933) with Ruth Gordon, Clare Boothe Luce's Abide With Me (1935), and Little Dark Horse (1941). As Cissie Loftus, she wrote lyrics and music for songs in a number of productions, including The Belle of Bridgeport (1900) and The Lancers (1907). W. & D. Downey were Victorian studio photographers operating in London from the 1860's to the 1910's. William Downey (14 July 1829 in South Shields 7 July 1915 in Kensington), who came to be known as the Queen's Photographer, was born in King Street in South Shields, a decade before commercial photography had become a reality. William, initially, was a carpenter and boatbuilder, but in about 1855 he set up a studio in South Shields with his brother Daniel and later established branches in Blyth, Morpeth and Newcastle. Their first Royal commission was to provide photographs for Queen Victoria of the Hartley Colliery Disaster in January 1862. Daniel Downey was his brother (1831 - 15 July 1881).Please ask specific questions on details, condition, and shipping prior to bidding, ALL ITEMS ARE SOLD AS IS, and the bidder will be responsible for payment. We box and ship what we can to keep costs low, and use USPS and UPS. Large items, extremely fragile, and high value items will be packed by UPS. Quotes available on request
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Dimensions:
- 4" x 8.25" Condition:
- Excellent Condition
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