223

Vaudeville scrapbooks and photo album kept by Ruby Painter of the Victoria Trio.

Various places, 1911-1921
3 volumes: oblong 4to album with approximately 480 photographs laid down on 66 album leaves, mostly well-captioned and in strong condition; three leaves are detached and a small number of photos have been removed; plus 2 scrapbooks in original wrappers, on 55 and 39 leaves, minor wear.  

  • Notes: Ruby Hazelle Painter (1889-1978) was a singer from Topeka, Kansas who launched her vaudeville touring career in 1911 with a vocal group that morphed quickly from the 4 Bostonian 4, to the Victoria 4 Ladies Quartette, to the Victoria Four, before settling on the Victoria Trio by March 1913. They were known for their wholesome demeanor and sweet harmonies; trio member Margaret Mantell also livened up the act with farmyard imitations. They toured relentlessly, mostly west of the Mississippi. Ruby married in the early 1920s and continued performing as Ruby Hazelle Lee. 

    This collection features Painter's photo album of the 1914-1918 touring seasons. Fellow trio members Irene Granquist and Margaret Mantell appear frequently. Most of the photos are off-stage candid shots while on tour; some are family photos from Topeka; some are from military camp performances; and some document the acts they toured with, such as Alvarado's Goat Circus; Jack Adams and His Baby Symphony; the Spanish Dancers; and the 4 Shrapnel Dodgers, a group of "four wounded Canadians." At least 6 of the photos are signed.

    Also included are two scrapbooks documenting the Victoria Trio from 1911 to 1917. They consist mostly of news clippings from across the nation reporting on their performances, neatly laid down and dated. Also included are bits of letterhead, playbills, and programs. One 1913 letter from an opera house manager in Olean, NY calls them "the best singing trio in show business." 6 booking contracts from 1913-1914 are trimmed down and pasted in, giving a flavor for their pay and working conditions. In Chico, CA, they were warned that "if you have played this town within the last 8 months, contract is null and void." Promotional material is included from other acts with whom they shared billings, ranging from blackface minstrels to jugglers. A few loose clippings go through at least 1921. A playbill from one early gig in Whittier, CA shows that they headlined above the famed Black cabaret singer Florence Mills. Two clippings show the early Marx Brothers act from 1915 and undated. 
  • Condition:
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November 20, 2025 10:30 AM EST
New York, NY, US

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