Sometimes I buy cabinet cards with high hopes of tracing the person, particularly if the card carries an inscription like the one above (With best wishes to Bella from Cheesie, Belfast Sep 30/85). Obviously theatrical, I assumed the gentleman to be an actor, but try as I might could not find any resemblance to other contemporary images nor any actor whose nickname might be Cheesie. A breakthrough came when I searched for the photographer John Deane Hilton of 443, West Strand, London instead:
Advertising in The Stage, 24th September 1886, Mr J Deane Hilton described himself as a ‘theatrical photographer’:
And further searches revealed a connection between Mr Hilton and an actor named Mr W Cheesman (Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News – Saturday 15 October 1887) . Could this be Cheesie, the man on the cabinet card?
As mentioned in the above article, Mr W Cheesman was working with Mr J L Toole’s repertory company during 1885. In September the same year they can be located in Belfast, Ireland, touring with a production of Byron’s play The Upper Crust. Mr W Chees{e}man played the role of Tibthorpe (Northern Whig – Tuesday 29 September 1885), placing him in Belfast at the time he sent the photograph to Bella:
So where does this leave us with the image itself? The Upper Crust doesn’t involve the style of costume worn in the photograph, but a previous production does. In July 1885 Toole’s Theatre, London, staged The O’Dora by Burnand, a parody of Sardou’s Theodora. Mr Cheesman was cast as Agadokitis and judging by the following illustration, the costumes bore a strong resemblance to the cabinet card:
The Era – Saturday 11 July 1885
Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News – Saturday 01 August 1885
So I believe we now have a name to put to the face. Thank you Cheesie, for leaving us the clues! If anyone has a connection to Mr Cheesman feel free to contact me, I would love to hear from you.
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Newspaper clippings from The British Newspaper Archive © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.