Miss Swanborough

A pencilled inscription verso in a period hand identifies the sitter as ‘Miss Swanborough’. This could be either Miss Louisa Swanborough or her sister Miss Ada Swanborough. The sitter appears to resemble the former more than the latter. 

Miss Louisa Swanborough was the actor-manager of the Strand Theatre in the late 1850s and early 1860s. Her sister Ada (1845-1893) was also an actress and theatre manager.