Mr. Phelps as Sir John Falstaff

Mr. Phelps as Sir John Falstaff

Mr. Samuel Phelps

Although Mr. Phelps was considered a second tier actor, he was still considered "one of the best 'all around' actors the English stage has known." [1] He began his career touring England before joining the company at Covet Garden in 1837 under W.C. Macready. After falling in and out of luck with other engagements, he debuet at Sadler's Wells in 1844. Phelps' 1846 portrayal of Sir. John Falstaff in Shakespeare's Henry IV Part I and Part II is noted as being unconventional as he emphasized the humour of the character rather than his vulgarness. Mr. Phelps performed up until his death in 1878. [2] 

[1] Donald Mullin, Victorian Actors and Actresses in Review: A Dictionary of Contemporary Views of Representative British and American Actors and Actresses, 1837-1901, (London: Greenwood Press, 1983), 366. 
[2] Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, "Phelps, Samuel," 2015, http://oxforddnb.com/view/article/22092?docPos=3.

J. Redington

n.d.

Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Mr. Phelps as Coriolanus
Mr. Phelps as Rolla

Museum of London
Mr. Phelps as Coriolanus
Mr. Phelps as Sir. Giles 
Mr. Phelps as Hamlet
Mr. Phelps as Sir. John Falstaff
Mr. Phelps as Richard III

The Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C.
Mr. Phelps as Coriolanus
Mr. Phelps as Sir. John Falstaff
Mr. Phelps as Macbeth

12 x 10 in.

61