HARRY FIELDS : VAUDEVILLE, COMEDIAN, JUGGLER : WIDE SMILE : RARE CABINET PHOTO For Sale

This is a rare and striking theatrical cabinet card featuring vaudeville performer Harry Fields.This close-up studio-style portrait captures Fields in an expressive and animated pose that is highly atypical for cabinet photography of the period. Unlike the stiff, formal expressions normally seen on cabinet cards, Fields is smiling broadly and leaning slightly forward toward the camera — a deliberate comedic presentation consistent with stage personalities of the early vaudeville era. He is dressed in exaggerated theatrical costume: a dark derby/bowler hat worn high, heavy stage makeup emphasizing his eyebrows and eyes, and a boldly patterned checkered waistcoat beneath a tailored jacket. The oversized vest pattern and dramatic grooming strongly suggest this was a publicity image tied to one of his comic roles. Cabinet portraits of vaudeville performers are uncommon to begin with, and portraits showing performers smiling this openly are extremely scarce. This image has been documented in theatrical archives and is associated with Harry Fields’ stage career during the first decade of the 1900s. There is an original period newspaper archive mounting sheet attached to back of the cabinet card. The reverse bears purple stamped text stating "MUST RETURN TO REFERENCE DEPARTMENT.MORNING TELEGRAPH”.The Morning Telegraph was New York’s principal theatrical and entertainment newspaper in the early 1900s. This stamp confirms the photograph once belonged to a working newspaper archive used for press or reference purposes — a very desirable provenance. It is noted thatHarry Fields appeared in the controversial melodrama “Dealers and White Women”, which opened The production was part of a wave of early 20th-century urban “vice dramas” meant to shock audiences with themes involving crime, trafficking, and moral danger. Fields performed in comedic relief roles within this production before moving further into vaudeville circuits. Material from this show is scarce today, making associated imagery particularly desirable. It is also noted that Harry Fields operated a burlesque troupe in the mid 1920's. His troupe was known as the "Sugar Babes". The star of the show was Althea Barnes, a soprano beauty. The photographer of this image is the Hiner Studio which was located inNew York City. This cabinet card is ingood antique condition. The mount has corner wear. The image remains sharp and clean with excellent tonal clarity. The newspaper reference sheet affixed to reverse is as originally preserved (see scans). By some accounts, Harry Fields is the brother of the celebrated comedian, W. C. Fields. Apparently, this falsehood was precipitated by some creative journalists or press agent many years ago. It made for a good story but the two performers were not related.