Gorman's Original Philadelphia Church Choir Company

This black and white print is a profile bust portrait of actress Emma Henry wearing a plumed hat. The date and place, “Grand Opera House. Saturday Afternoon and Evening, Dec. 13, ’79,” are printed across the top in colored letters.

Emma Henry was a successful stage actress. She performed in the comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore at the Broadway Theatre in New York in the spring of 1879. That production was also presented by Gorman’s Philadelphia Church Choir Company and directed by John Philip Sousa. It’s possible that this poster is advertising her appearance in H.M.S. Pinafore later that year at the Grand Opera House which was probably the one in Manhattan which opened originally in 1868 as Pikes Opera House but was renamed a year later.

Gorman's Original Philadelphia Church Choir Company made its debut in the late 1870s with a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's H. M. S. Pinafore . Composer and conductor John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) directed the production. The group was called the Amateur Opera Company before it changed its name to Gorman's Original Philadelphia Church Choir Company. Under Sousa's direction, the semi-amateur company continued to perform through 1879 in the Philadelphia area and New York. During this time Sousa met his wife, Jane van Middlesworth Bellis (ca 1862-1944), who had an understudy role in the production. The choir was one of several American musical companies that sprang up during that period, inspired by enthusiasm for the light operas of Gilbert and Sullivan.

This lithograph was produced by Henry Atwell Thomas. Henry Atwell Thomas (1834-1904) was an artist, portrait painter, and lithographer especially well known for his theatrical portraits. His New York firm was called H. A. Thomas Lith. Studio until 1887, when it became H. A. Thomas & Wylie Lithographic (sometimes cited as Lithography or Lithographing) Company.

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