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The William J. Gilmore Opera Company, presenting Richard Stahl's romantic opera comique The Sea King, at Palmer's Theatre [Phila.] – Historic Reproduction

The William J. Gilmore Opera Company, presenting Richard Stahl's romantic opera comique The Sea King, at Palmer's Theatre [Phila.] — historic photograph
The William J. Gilmore Opera Company, presenting Richard Stahl's romantic opera comique The Sea King, at Palmer's Theatre [Phila.]. Historic photograph from the Historic Print Archive collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Step back in time with The William J. Gilmore Opera Company, presenting Richard Stahl's romantic opera comique The Sea King, at Palmer's Theatre [Phila.], a historic photograph rich in period detail. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

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The William J. Gilmore Opera Company, presenting Richard Stahl's romantic opera comique The Sea King, at Palmer's Theatre [Phila.]

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A flashlight photograph of the William J. Gilmore Opera Company performing Richard Stahl's romantic opera comique *The Sea King* at Palmer's theater in Philadelphia, the picture was made around 1890 by the studio Rothengatter & Dillon. Flash photography indoors was still a novelty then, and it required a burst of flash powder, so images like this one capture a stage scene that would otherwise have been too dim to record. Touring companies such as Gilmore's brought light opera to American cities in those years, which makes the picture a useful glimpse of how theatrical productions looked before motion pictures took over. The date and attribution come from an old caption card and have not been independently verified.

Medium1 photographic print.
Notesc1890.
SubjectsFlashlight photo by Rothengatter & Dillon, Phila. This record contains unverified, old data from caption card. Caption card tracings: Flashlight photog.; Photog. I; Opera; Geogr.; Theaters--US--Pa; Theater--Plays; Shelf.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,536 × 1,425 px · prints to 5 × 5 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-137650

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