Samuel Phelps (1804-1878), Actor

Sitter in 9 portraits
Samuel Phelps spent a number of years working in provincial theatre before making his first London appearance at the Haymarket Theatre in 1837, as Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. He spent six years at Covent Garden, the Haymarket and Drury Lane theatres. In 1844, he became co-lessee of the Sadler's Wells Theatre with Thomas Greenwood and Mary Amelia Warner. Phelps remained in this position for twenty years, raising the Sadler's Wells house to an important position. He directed thirty-four of Shakespeare's plays there and appeared himself in an extensive and varied repertory. He published an annotated edition of Shakespeare's plays in two volumes (1852-4).