Last month’s post about ‘Mrs. Burrell’ (8th July 2024) has prompted further research into the photographic portraits she produced of the celebrated British violinist Marie Hall.

Mrs. Burrell

A set of three ‘real photograph’ postcards were published in 1903 by the Rotary Photographic Company of London (1616A/B/C).

The Pressphotoman collection now features two of Mrs. Burrell’s three cards from that series.

Whilst searching for the third, in which the violinist  appears minus her instrument, I came across the image above reformatted (below) as a ‘book postcard.’

The original portrait has been unceremoniously edited to remove much of Marie Hall’s right arm, half of the violin’s fretboard and a few of her fingers.

Despite this unsympathetic treatment, the ‘book postcard’ format (in the shape of a bookmark, hence the name) proved popular.

Thanks to photo postcards, fans of Edwardian stage and music hall performers could obtain an affordable souvenir portrait of their idols.

The ‘book postcard’ offered customers a slimmer and cheaper option, but its reduced size came with certain restrictions.

The sender could write their name (and address if desired) on the left-hand side of the card, but postal regulations forbade the inclusion of any message or additional text.

This was a drawback highlighted by one Marie Hall fan in a postcard posted in Newcastle on Tyne on 14th November 1903.

Signing herself as ‘C.H.’, ‘Carry’ went straight to the point on the front of the card to her female sendee in Redcar.

“I thought you would like this better than a small one this time,” she wrote, suggesting that a book postcard version of the violinist had been sent previously.

In the space ‘used for communication’ on the card’s verso, she continued: “This girl is shortly coming to N/C to perform in the Town Hall. She is a splendid player on the violin. I expect you will have heard about her.”

The concert referred to took place at Newcastle Town Hall a few weeks later on Monday 8th February 1904.

For the concert, Miss Marie Hall was accompanied by the Queen’s Hall Orchestra conducted by Henry J. Wood, best known today as the founder of what became the BBC Proms.

A review of the concert (Newcastle Weekly Chronicle, 13th February 1904) reveals that the teenage violinist played Paganini’s Concerto in D and the Rondo Capriccioso by Saint-Saens.

The reviewer concluded that the concert was “an immense success, the applause being loud and long in each instance.”

Given her tangible  enthusiasm, perhaps ‘Carry’ was able to attend the Newcastle concert in person, armed with a Marie Hall postcard and obtain an autograph afterwards at the stage door.

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