Servicemen in Malta performing a play, some in drag. Photographic postcard by R. Ellis, ca. 1918.

Date:
[ca. 1918?]
Reference:
2043050i
Part of:
The James Gardiner Collection.
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view Servicemen in Malta performing a play, some in drag. Photographic postcard by R. Ellis, ca. 1918.

Public Domain Mark

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Credit

Servicemen in Malta performing a play, some in drag. Photographic postcard by R. Ellis, ca. 1918. Public Domain Mark. Source: Wellcome Collection.

About this work

Description

Many characters, some in drag, are in a crowded scene within a detailed domestic stage set.

Publication/Creation

[Valletta, Malta] : [Richard Ellis], [ca. 1918?]

Physical description

1 photographic postcard : silver gelatin print ; 8.6 x 13.4 cm

Lettering

"R.Ellis II"

Notes

The following description was provided by James Gardiner: "Very fine quality gelatin silver print in postcard format by Richard Ellis, Malta. C. 1918. Malta was a very important military base during WW1, and Ellis the foremost photographer on the island. This jolly scene shows three men dressed as young girls ( long plaits and short skirts), as well as a housemaid, and two matrons. The beautifully painted backdrop is more likely to be in Ellis's Valetta studio than any army base, and four of the men appear be wearing modified red white and blue uniforms adopted by the war wounded in military hospitals in UK and the colonies."
This work is untitled: the title has been supplied by the cataloguer.

Reference

Wellcome Collection 2043050i

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Where to find it

  • Military, naval, and prisoner-of-war camp drag

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