William Horace Lingard

A carte-de-visite portrait of the comic singer William Horace Lingard (1839-1927), considered one of the funniest men of his time. His act often involved his appearance on stage in drag. He is chiefly remembered for the popular vaudeville song 'Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines,' sometimes shortened to simply 'Captain Jinks.' The song later became the basis of a stage comedy of the same title.

Born in England in 1839, he and his wife immigrated to America in 1868, where Lingard made his comic debut in New York City that same year. He continued his career in New York, and later became manager of Wood's Theatre there.

Photographed by Jeremiah Gurney of New York.