Wilton Lackaye, the American stage actor who originated the role of Svengali in Paul M. Potter's 1895 Broadway adaptation of George du Maurier's novel *Trilby*, is captured here in full character in a cabinet card by Napoleon Sarony, the pre-eminent theatrical portrait photographer of the Gilded Age. Lackaye poses in strict left-profile, the composition deliberately theatrical, produced at Sarony's celebrated studio at 37 Union Square, New York, in 1895.

The subject wears a dark frock coat and loosely knotted cravat, his long, heavily waved hair falling past his shoulders and a full beard framing an intense, upturned gaze. His crossed hands rest before him in a brooding, conspiratorial pose. The image number 10 is faintly visible in the lower right of the photograph.

Lackaye originated the stage role of Svengali in 1895, a performance he later reprised on screen in 1915. Napoleon Sarony was the leading portrait photographer of late-19th-century American theater, and this card represents a characteristic example of his celebrity theatrical work, produced and copyrighted in the year of the play's premiere.

The mount imprint reads: "Trilby. Copyright 1895, By Napoleon Sarony. 37 Union Sqr., N.Y. Wilton Lackaye, as Svengali." Signed in ink recto: "Wilton Lackaye. Aug. 30th. '95." The reverse is blank. The mount is a thin, skived card.