Description
Here’s an unusual ephemera item related to Oz author L Frank Baum’s early work as a playwright and actor. This cabinet card (boarded photograph) of R C Hastings was photographed by W V Ranger at the Wieting Opera House in Syracuse, NY, with an engraved depiction of the Opera House on the back. Accoring to https://freethought-trail.org/trail-map/location:wieting-opera-house/, The Wieting Opera House was the site of the return engagement of L Frank Baum’s musical The Maid of Arran in 1883. The card is undated, but cabinet cards were at peak popularity during the 1880s, so it’s likely that Hastings was a contemporary of L Frank Baum. The Weiting burned down twice in 1881 and in 1896; the depiction definitely pre-dates the 1896 construction, but I’m not sure if it is of the pre- or post-1881 fire.
The card measures 4 1/4″ x 6 1/2″, with a ding to the right hand side but is otherwise in nice shape.
