Collection of personal photographs and photographs of tours and productions including: Bitter Sweet, The Corn is Green, The Dancing Years, Dearest Enemy, The Desert Song, The Maid of the Mountains, St. Joan, Song of Norway, South Pacific, Spring Cleaning, The Student Prince, Sweet Nell of Old Drury, Whirled into Happiness, White Horse Inn, and Wildflower. There are also photographic reproductions of drawings of costumes and stage settings for various Gilbert & Sullivan productions. The album, containing personal photographs and photographs taken during production tours, is believed to be originally owned by Scott Griffiths.
Performers and theatrical identities include: Marion Anderson, Herbert Browne, Clara Butt, Eric (Mick) Edgley & Clem Dawe, Madge Elliott and Cyril Ritchard, John Farrell, Gracie Fields, Pauline Frederick, Albert Frith, Daisy Kennedy, Harry Lauder, John McCallum, Gladys Moncrieff, Benno Moiseiwitsch, Non Nicol, Nellie Stewart, Frank Tait, Viola Tait, John Charles Thomas and Lawrence Tibbett. Dancers include: Maude Amery, Anna Pavlova, the Borovansky Ballet Co., Margot Fonteyn and Michael Somes.
Lady Tait was born Viola Hogg in Pressburg, Austria-Hungary, of Scottish parents. She studied at the Scottish National Academy of Music and under Francis Harford. She performed with the Carl Rosa Opera Company and then with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company as a principal soprano, under the name Viola Wilson. In 1939 she joined the Australian Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company as a principal for a tour of Australia and New Zealand. In 1941 she married Frank (later Sir Frank) Tait, managing director of J.C. Williamson Ltd. After retiring from the stage in 1946 she remained active in the theatre in many ways. She supported emerging talent, researched and collected in the field of theatre history, wrote 2 books, and was a patron of the arts.
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