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John Lawrence Toole

(1830-1906), Actor and theatre manager

Later Victorian Portraits Catalogue Entry

Sitter in 38 portraits
Beginning his acting career at the age of twenty-two, for nearly forty years he sustained a position at or near the summit of his adopted profession. He was considered to be a master of the twin staples of Victorian entertainment, farce and domestic melodrama, and it was this dual ability that helped him remain dominant for so long. In 1879 he became the resident manager of the Folly Theatre. It was relaunched as Toole's Theatre, thus making him the first actor to have a West End theatre named after him. In his day his popularity was such that in 1870 he starred nightly at two theatres in different plays, but his repertory died with him, and in the twentieth century he was all but forgotten.

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John Lawrence Toole, by London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company - NPG x26919

John Lawrence Toole

by London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company
albumen carte-de-visite, 1860s
NPG x26919

John Lawrence Toole, by Horatio Nelson King - NPG x132418

John Lawrence Toole

by Horatio Nelson King
albumen carte-de-visite, 1860s
NPG x132418

John Lawrence Toole, by William Walker & Sons - NPG x26915

John Lawrence Toole

by William Walker & Sons
albumen carte-de-visite, 1865
NPG x26915

John Lawrence Toole, by Marcus Ward & Co - NPG Ax39869

John Lawrence Toole

by Marcus Ward & Co
albumen carte-de-visite, 1865
NPG Ax39869

John Lawrence Toole, by London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company - NPG Ax28512

John Lawrence Toole

by London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company
albumen carte-de-visite, 1874 or before
NPG Ax28512

John Lawrence Toole, by London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company - NPG Ax46239

John Lawrence Toole

by London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company
albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1874
NPG Ax46239

John Lawrence Toole, by Fradelle & Marshall - NPG x26916

John Lawrence Toole

by Fradelle & Marshall
woodburytype, circa 1874
NPG x26916

John Lawrence Toole, by Fradelle & Marshall - NPG Ax7611

John Lawrence Toole

by Fradelle & Marshall
woodburytype, circa 1874
NPG Ax7611

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