An Interesting Collection of Original Sir Henry Irving and Dorothea Baird Ephemera including signed items, postcards, programmes, advertisements and a handwritten Henry Irving letter. The contents are a theatre programme, five advertisement cards, seven Irving postcards, two Baird postcards, two signed Irving postcards, a signed paper by Irving and Baird and a four-sided Lyceum Theatre letter from 1862 in the hand of Henry Irving about a charitable London festival. All from the early 1900’s. Sir Henry Irving 1838 – 1905, born John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility (supervision of sets, lighting, direction, casting, as well as playing the leading roles) for season after season at the West End’s Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as representative of English classical theatre. In 1895 he became the first actor to be awarded a knighthood, indicating full acceptance into the higher circles of British society. Irving is widely acknowledged to be one of the inspirations for Count Dracula, the title character of the 1897 novel Dracula whose author, Bram Stoker, was business manager of the theatre. Dorothea Baird 1875 – 1933 was an English stage and film actress.Baird was the daughter of Sir John Forster Baird, a prominent English barrister-at-law. She married Henry Brodribb, son of Sir Henry Irving, in 1896, and, together, they had two children, Laurence Forster Irving in 1897 and Elizabeth Irving in 1904. Various sizes. Generally, in average to good condition. Tape marks to some edges. Mounting residue to some rears and general usage marks. Some postcards have been edge reduced. Letter a little marked. Light repairs to some of the paperwork.