Maria Harris as 'The Fool'

The British actress Maria Harris, seen here dressed as ‘The Fool’ in an 1863 production of Shakespeare’s King Lear. The photograph was entered at Stationers’ Hall (a part of the copyright process) on 17 June 1863.

Born Maria Elizabeth Glossop in London, Maria Harris made her debut at the Princess’s Theatre on 27 October 1860 in a piece appropriately entitled The First Night.

Photographed by the Southwell Brothers of London.