Collection of Four Postcards of Female Singers of the late 19th Century – Emma Calve, Madame Fanny Moody, Madame Clementine De Vere Sapio, Miss Ethel Hook, Miss Alice Larkin

All four postcards appear to date from the late 19th or early 20th century. Two (of Fanny Moody and Ethel Hook) were produced by J B & Co, being Nos 360 and 72 in a series. They have a blue tinge to the portrait finish. One, that of Sapio, is a Rotary Photo postcard, numbered 1610. That of Alice Larkin has a more photographic finish, was produced by Scott Russell & Co and is No 852.B in the Scott Series. All are in very good condition, not postally used, with only the most minimal wear at edges, attractive and clean. That of Fanny Moody has some short biographical details pencilled on the reverse. Cornish Soprano, Madame Fanny Moody was a opera singer, appearing with the Carl Rosa Company in the 1880s and 1890s before forming the Moody-Manners Company in 1898 with her husband, Charles Manners. American Soprano Madame Clementine De Vere made her debut in Florence, and also sang in France and Germany. Her extensive American career included a period from 1895 to 1900 when she appeared regularly at the New York Met; she also toured the UK extensively, singing with the Moody-Manners Company. Miss Ethel Hook (born Bertha Beatrice Butt), a contralto singer who formed one half of the Butt Sister Singers, with her sister, Dame Clara Butt and sang in early sound films. Miss Alice Larkin was also a singer, recording in the early part of the 20th century.