| Description | Loose photographs mostly monochrome, some labelled. Two sets of negatives. Identified subjects include: photographs of Wendy Beavis at various ages from baby to shortly before her death; Shakespeareana members on stage and off including some formally posed groups; portrait of Jennifer Bragg; photograph labelled 'Geoff directing a rehearsal in Calcutta'; photograph labelled 'Gay Tonkin Snow White'; photograph labelled 'Yours sincerely H.R. Foster 1924'. 105 photographs, two sets of negatives.
Photographs of Wendy before and after her journey to India.
/1 [?Wendy] as baby sitting on cushion and fur rug holding an object. In cardboard mount with printed message on front ‘Christmas greetings and all good wishes for the new year’.
/2 Wendy and a younger baby in play pen in garden. Printed on postcard.
/3 [?Wendy] as toddler wearing white dress, white socks and shoes with strap and holding a toy cat with wheels. Printed on postcard.
/4 [?Wendy] as a baby sitting in pram in garden.
/5 [?Wendy] as baby standing in pram in garden.
/6 Wendy as toddler sitting on grass in garden with Union Jack flags behind her.
/7 Wendy as toddler in garden waving Union Jack flags.
/8 Wendy as toddler and a younger baby sitting on grass beside flower bed.
/9 Posed photograph of five women seated with four men standing behind in outdoor setting. The men are wearing suits and ties.
/10 Wendy as child on stony beach sitting astride a man who is lying down and covering his face with his hands. A bucket and spade are beside them and other people are visible behind.
/11 Wendy as a child with a younger boy sitting on a wooden groyne. They are wearing swim suits and sandals and a man’s shadow is visible, possibly the photographer.
/12 Similar photograph to /11 with the boy standing behind Wendy shielding his eyes.
/13 The boy from /11/ and /12 running on the beach with a bouncing ball in the foreground and a man sitting on the sand wearing white shoes, trousers and a white short-sleeved shirt. The wooden groyne is in the background.
/14 Portrait of Wendy as a child. The back is stamped ‘Proof to be returned to Navana King Edward House, New Street, Birmingham S.’
/15 Wendy as a girl sitting on a black horse wearing a light dress and sandals.
/16 Portrait of Wendy as a girl wearing a dark dress with light collar and cuff and a white hair bow. Printed on postcard. This is the same as DSH29/2/2/2 which is dated 1940.
/17 Wendy kneeling in the sea wearing a swim suit.
/18 Woman sitting in a deckchair outside a building with the doors open.
/19 Wendy as a girl standing on a beach with a pier in the background. Seagulls and people are visible. She is wearing a white dress, cardigan and jacket.
/20 Woman with a small horse outside a stone building. She is wearing a light short-sleeved dress.
/21 Head shot of Wendy.
/22 Wendy in the middle distance walking up a steep street with a signpost to Redruth and Truro.
/23 Wendy wearing a long dress with a flowered headdress and carrying a basket of flowers standing with a smartly dressed woman [?Wendy's mother] and man in a garden.
/24 The woman from /23 and a different man in the same garden. [?Wendy's parents]
/25 Portrait of Wendy wearing a short-sleeved blouse with a bow with her hands behind her head. The back is stamped ‘This proof must be returned before the order can be completed. Navana Studios, [illegible number] Temple Street, Birmingham.’
/26 Head and shoulders shot of Wendy wearing the same blouse with a bow as /25 and a dark jacket with a brooch.
/27 [?Wendy] on a series of steep steps high above a plain with a few houses and hills in the distance.
/28 Colour photograph of Wendy on a boat with a lifeboat behind marked ‘MS Amsterdam’. Wendy is wearing a green top or dress with a yellow cardigan around her shoulders. A man in a jacket and sunglasses is behind.
/29 Wendy and her mother sitting on a grass bank. Wendy is wearing a patterned dress and light cardigan and her mother is wearing a matching short-sleeved top and skirt and sandals. They are both holding handkerchiefs.
/30 Colour photograph of woman and man in costume standing by a lake. The back is captioned ‘The “Dream” by the lake. Keele, Summer 1955. Oberon & Titania’. She is wearing a long gold dress and green cloak, he is wearing a white shirt with a wide collar, dark doublet and hose and a red cloak.
/31 Wendy seated on a bench with two men and a woman. Wendy is wearing a satin dress with shawl and a bracelet, the man next to her is wearing a dark suit and tie, glasses and he is holding a cigarette. The other woman is wearing a white top and dark skirt with a zigzag pattern and the other man is wearing a dark suit and pale tie. The back is stamped ‘B. Smith, 1 Marshbrook Rd., Erdington, B’ham, 24.’
/32 Wendy seated in front of a curtain wearing a wide-skirted dress with a matching bolero jacket, a necklace and a wide bangle on her right wrist.
/33 Another print of /32
/34 Wendy sitting in front of a hedge with roses in the foreground. She is wearing a light, short-sleeved dress and holding a book.
/35 Wendy sitting by a fireplace on a black rug with a television set behind. She is wearing a sweater and chequered skirt and a three-strand necklace and is holding Candy the cat. [The cat is named in many of her letters in DSH29/1/1/1]. This picture was used in a local newspaper article, the undated cutting in DSH29/6. It is stamped on the back ‘Worrall’s Photographic Press Service, 122-124 The Parade, Sutton Coldfield, Phones: SUT 4553 & GRE 2139’.
/36 A copy of /35 in a carboard mount.
/37 Portrait of Wendy which is the same as the mounted photograph at DSH29/2/2/4. Wendy’s address and details are written on the back.
/38 Portrait of Wendy in a coat.
/39 Wendy walking down a street with two men in front and a woman and a man behind. The photograph is stamped ‘Rudesheim a/Rh.’ and the signs are in German. Wendy is wearing light coloured trousers and white shoes. The two men are wearing shirts, trousers, sandals and sunglasses. The woman behind is wearing a summer dress with a shawl and sunglasses and the man is wearing a shirt and tie and sunglasses.
/40 Colour photograph of Wendy with a small black dog. The back is captioned ‘Wendy Beavis with Poppy, Autumn 1993’. Wendy would have been approximately 61 years old. Wendy is wearing a cream sweater and collared shirt and is sitting in an armchair.
/41 Colour photograph of Wendy as a mature woman standing in a snowy wood holding a robin. Wendy is wearing a cream sweater with a pattern and collared shirt.
Photographs in India.
/42 Wendy sitting on a low wall with water and a tower in the background. She is wearing a sleeveless dress with a patchwork design and carrying a white handbag and sunglasses. Photographs /42 - /51 are apparently taken on the same day on a visit to the Queen Victoria Memorial in Kolkata, not mentioned in her letters but identifiable from external sources.
/43 Very similar to /42
/44 Wendy standing in front of a statue of Queen Victoria.
/45 Very similar to /44
/46 Landscape shot of Wendy standing in front of a statue of Queen Victoria. A woman wearing a sari is on the edge of the photograph.
/47 Very similar to /46
/48 Wendy sitting by a stone plinth with metal ornament.
/49 Very similar to /48
/50 Head and shoulders shot of Wendy holding the handbag and sunglasses.
/51 Wendy sitting on the grass with a man in front of the Queen Victoria Memorial in Kolkata.
/52 Wendy in costume in a short-sleeved long dress with flounces.
/53 Wendy seated at a table with food and drink with members of the Shakespeareana Company seated and standing.
/54 Portrait of Wendy wearing a short-sleeved top with arms crossed. The back is stamped ‘Zaidi Photo Studio Hyd. (Sind)’.
/55 Larger version of /54. On the back is written ‘Presented by S. Magood?’ with a drawing of a face. The name is the same as the second name on /62.
/56 Wendy climbing out of a swimming pool. This is the same as a photograph in the album DSH29/2/1/1 labelled as taken at Dehra Dun in 1954.
/57 Laura Liddell in costume. The back is captioned ‘Laura Liddell (Kendal) as Lady Teazle, ‘School for Scandal’.
/58 Man kneeling on grass with two dogs in front of a building with a pillared verandah. The back is captioned ‘Mike’.
/59 Captioned on back 'Jennifer [Bragg] as Lady Sneerwell in School for Scandal’.
/60 Poster advertising ‘She Stoops to Conquer’ as ‘A thrilling melodrama of an impassioned youth!’. The back is captioned ‘One of the more amusing posters that we discovered advertising our show.’
/61 Wendy standing by some stairs wearing a sari. This photograph is very similar to one in the album at DSH29/2/1/1 indicating it is on the boat on the voyage home.
/62 Posed photograph of Wendy and Jennifer Bragg sitting on either side of a man in shorts. Standing behind are four men listed on the back as Siraj, S. [?Magood], Ismail [illegible] Gulzar. Wendy and Jennifer are wearing short-sleeved shirts, trousers and sandals.
/63 Building with turret (in India?)
/64 Wendy on the back of a motorbike with a man. On the back ‘Mike and Me!’. Wendy is wearing a white sleeveless shirt and dark trousers, the man is wearing a white shirt and trousers, a tie and goggles.
/65 Colour photograph of Wendy in costume standing by a flower bed.
/66 Wendy sitting on a wooden beam with a man and another woman all wearing swim suits. Wendy’s is yellow and may be the one her parents sent her in March 1955 mentioned in letter 105.
/67 Jennifer Bragg in costume wearing a long dress with a hat with a bow and holding a parasol from ‘Charley’s Aunt’. Stamped on the back ‘Ganguli Studios. Artists & Photographers, 71, The Mall, Simla’.
/68 Building captioned on the back ‘Stranger’s Hotel, Bombay’.
/69 Posed portrait of the company seated and standing on a stage. Wendy is sitting second from the right wearing a light coloured dress with a floral design and dark belt. The back is stamped ‘Prabhat Studio Navsari’.
/70 Wendy with Jennifer Bragg and Nancy Neal. Wendy is wearing a short-sleeved light coloured dress with a dark belt and is sitting on a table with books. Jennifer is wearing a sleeveless dress with a wide white collar and Nancy is wearing a sleeveless light coloured dress with a dark belt. This is very similar to a photograph in the album DSH29/2/1/1 indicating it is in Calcutta 1953-1954.
/71 Wendy in costume from ‘Charley’s Aunt’ wearing long light coloured dress with a high frilled collar and large hat. Stamped on the back ‘Ganguli Studios. Artists & Photographers, 71, The Mall, Simla’.
/72 Wendy on stage during a performance of ‘Charley’s Aunt’ in the same costume as /71 with John Day and Conor Farrington in striped blazers and white trousers and Jennifer Bragg in the same costume as /67. Stamped on the back ‘Ganguli Studios. Artists & Photographers, 71, The Mall, Simla’.
/73 The same people as in /72 standing on set in costume but not during a performance. The back is captioned ‘”Charlies Aunt”. John Day, Jennifer Bragg (Kendal), Wendy Beavis, Conor Farrington’. Stamped on the back ‘Ganguli Studios. Artists & Photographers, 71, The Mall, Simla’.
/74 Wendy sitting on stage in costume with two other women also seated and a man standing. A sign at the front edge of the stage says ‘Shakespeareana’. The back is captioned ‘W.B. S. for S. 15/3/’56 Bbay. WB’ and ‘School for Scandal’.
/75 A similar scene to /76 with Wendy far right and the same two women seated and with two different men standing one with his foot bandaged and holding a walking stick. The back is captioned ‘For Wendy. “School for Scandal’ 15.3.56. Bombay’.
/76 Geoffrey Kendal sitting wearing a short-sleeved open-necked shirt with John Day on the left holding a pen above a book and Conor Farrington on the right wearing a long-sleeved shirt and tie. The back is captioned ‘Geoff directing a rehearsal in Calcutta’ and ’12.1.52’.
/77 Wendy with John Day on horseback with a building and tree in the background.
/78 A man bending down outside the India Coffee House with a bicycle propped at the kerb. The back is captioned ‘THE Coffee House, Poona’.
/79 Posed group photograph of the Shakespeareana Company sitting on steps. The back is captioned ‘A Happy Group on the Steps of the College – Naini Tal. Back Row – L-R. Utpal Dutt, Conor Farrington, Geoffrey Kendal, Anwar Mirza, John Day. Lower Group – Frank Wheatley, Nancy Walker, Felicity, Laura, Jennifer, me Brian Kellett’.
/80 Photograph captioned ‘Kanchenjunga from Sandukphu’.
Other photographs.
/81 Two girls buried up to the waist in sand with deck chairs behind them.
/82 Woman holding a small child, a man in uniform and an older woman standing outsite a building with a large window.
/83 Man standing by a lake with buildings in the background. He is wearing a suit and tie. There is a swimmer in the water.
/84 Colour photograph of a mantlepiece with cards and Christmas decorations. The stone fireplace has a fire lit, there is holly around the mirror above and coloured lights hanging from a beam.
/85 Colour photograph of a Christmas tree with lights and decorations on a table in front of a staircase. A coat and scarf are hanging on the bannister.
/86 A house with a bay window.
/87 Man wearing shorts and a jacket carrying bundles of cloth and other items. He is standing on a pavement with a woman and child visible in the distance.
/88 [?Wendy] standing on wooden steps with a river behind.
/89 Detatched house with hedge.
/90 Group sitting on a crowded beach. Three older women are sitting in deck chairs wearing cloche hats. One appears to be writing on something resting on a box on her knees. Sitting on the sand in front are a younger woman wearing a light dress and dark jacket and a man wearing a dark suit, open-necked shirt and cap. The clothes suggest c1930s.
/91 Large group of adults and children with a dog in front. They are standing outside a building with a sign reading ‘Films’ and a building with a corrugated roof. Some of the boys are wearing school caps and one girl is holding a spade. On the far right a woman is standing in the doorway of a tent. The clothes suggest c1920s-1930s. Printed on postcard.
/92 Man and woman sitting on a bench in front of a large tree. He is wearing a three-piece suit and tie and his hat is on the bench. She is wearing a light coloured dress, dark coat and dark hat. She is holding a bag under one arm.
/93 Colour photograph of a wedding couple standing beside a car with a group in the background. She is wearing a white v-necked dress and veil and is carrying a bouquet of red roses and white lily-of-the-valley and is wearing glasses. He is wearing a dark suit and grey tie with a rose in his buttonhole and is wearing glasses. He has confetti on his suit.
/94 Mrs Beavis, Wendy’s mother, standing on a seafront with a pier in the background. She is wearing a patterned dress with a coat with a contrasting collar and carrying a bag.
/95 John Beavis, Wendy’s father, wearing a three-piece suit and tie.
/96 John Beavis.
/97 Three men leaning on a stone wall. They are all wearing dark suits. The back is captioned ‘The [illegible] Winwood Road, British Political Future’.
/98 Posed photograph of six men. Three are wearing protective coats, three are in dark suits and ties with stiff collars. One is wearing a bow tie.
/99 Portrait of a man sitting in a chair printed on a postcard and signed on the front ‘Yours sincerely H.R. Foster 1924’. He is wearing a three-piece suit and tie with a tie pin and glasses.
/100 Man, [?Wendy’s father], leaning on fence in a garden behind a house. He is wearing shirt and tie with his jacket hanging on the fence.
/101 Similar shot of same man in same garden but with jacket on.
/102 Wendy’s mother sitting in a garden by a low wall with flowers. She is wearing a dress and necklace.
/103 Wedding photograph of couple standing in front of a wooden lych gate. She is wearing a dress with a fur collar and a hat and is carrying a bouquet of flowers with trailing greenery. He is wearing a dark three-piece suit and tie with a stiff collar with a flower in his buttonhole and is holding his hat and gloves. A woman in a coat and hat and carrying a bag is behind and a man in clerical dress is standing in the lych gate. Printed on a postcard.
/104 Colour portrait of Jennifer Bragg signed ‘For Wendy With apologies, Jennifer x’. She is wearing a green sleeveless matching top and trousers and hoop earrings and holding a purple scarf.
/105 Portrait of woman captioned on back ‘Gay Tonkin Snow White’.
Negatives.
/106 Seven negatives with a receipt in an orange envelope from Dave Brothers, Photographic Dealers, Waterloo Mansion, Regal Cinema, Fort, Bombay 1. The images do not match identifiable photographs in the collection.
/107 Seven negatives with two images on each in envelope from Timothy Whites & Taylors, Chemists. 'Beavis' is written on the back. Some of the images are in the collection. |