Edward Litt Laman Blanchard (1820-89)
Alfred Bryan (1852-1899)
c. 1883
Scott and Howard, following p. 546
Blanchard is best known as the playwright for the Drury Lane Christmas pantomimes, which he wrote for nearly forty years, from the mid-forties to the late eighties. He was by all accounts a genial man, usually of a "calm and kindly temperament" (Scott and Howard 546); but he started his diary for 1883 on a sad note, feeling that his health was giving out, and this seems to be reflected in Bryan's rather poignant depiction of him at this time.
Image download and commentary by Jacqueline Banerjee.