Untitled (actress in costume holding two dolls)
Maker
Reutlinger Studio, Paris
Datec. 1904
MediumGelatin silver print, enhanced with glitter
Dimensions5 × 3 1/4 in. (12.7 × 8.3 cm)
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineGift of Pat and Jack Nichelson Estate
Object number2019.24.29
DescriptionTheatrical cabinet card or postcard portrait of an actress. "Scala" is printed in upper right; may refer to the woman's name, as in other Ruetlinger portraits, or to "La Scala" Opera House. She wears a hand-tinted costume and hat, and holds two dolls, embellished with glitter. The Reutlinger Studio in Paris, under Leopold-Emile, was known for pioneering erotic and celebrity photography at the turn of the century into the 1930s, with unusual art nouveu-styled postcard designs, especially of opera singers and actresses. "The much-collected postcards were not cheaply produced, nor cheaply sold."
