The Postcard
A 'Yes or No' Series postcard featuring Miss Zena Dare. At the top of the image someone has written 'Awfully Pretty'.
The dog looks bored by the whole thing.
You can see a different view of Zena wearing the same dress and with the dog on her lap if you search for the tag 49MZD32
The card was posted in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent on Tuesday the 7th. March 1905 to:
Mr. George Lurcock,
c/o Dr. Ford,
7 Leopold Road,
Wimbledon,
London S.W.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"Dear George,
Thanks for the welcome P.C.
I am pleased to say we are
all well, and Pa is keeping
grand.
Sorry to hear you have a
cold, but they are quite
fashionable.
I will write a long letter next
time, but I should like you to
tell me the meaning of 'Best
of Dutch'.
We all write in love to you.
The Henshalls Family".
Miss Zena Dare
Zena Dare was born Florence Hariette Zena Dones in Chelsea on Friday the 4th. February 1887.
She became an English singer and actress who was famous for her performances in Edwardian musical comedy.
She first performed on stage in 1899, at the age of 12, in the Christmas pantomime 'Babes in the Wood'.
Her sister Phyllis, 3½ years her junior, was also cast in the production, and they both adopted the stage name of Dare. Phyllis also became a well-known musical comedy actress.
During the Great War, Zena nursed injured and dying soldiers for 3 years at Mrs. Vanderbilt's American Hospital in France, and a thoroughbred horse was named after her.
Like many of her musical comedy actress contemporaries, Zena married into the aristocracy; she married the Hon. Maurice Baliol Brett, the second son of Lord Esher.
Zena's last theatrical rôle was as Mrs. Higgins, Henry Higgins' mother, in the original London production of 'My Fair Lady', beginning in 1958 and running for 5½ years.
The production was a runaway success, and its 2,281 performances were seen by a huge number of people.
Zena featured in a number of silent films and talkies, including 'The Return of Carol Deane' (1938) and 'Over the Moon' (1939). In 1963, she was the special guest on an episode of 'This is Your Life' on BBC television.
Death of Zena Dare
Zena died on Tuesday the 11th. March 1975, having lived for 88 years, 1 month and 7 days. Her sister Phyllis died only six weeks later.
Sir Benjamin Benjamin
So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?
Well, the 7th. March 1905 was not a good day for Sir Benjamin Benjamin JP, because he died on that day.
Benjamin, who was born on the 2nd. September 1834, was an Australian businessman and politician, and member of the Victorian Legislative Council from 1889 to 1892.
Benjamin was born in London to Moses Benjamin and Catherine Benjamin, née Moses. His family left for Australia in 1843 on a boat named London.
After leaving school, he joined M. Benjamin & Sons, his father's import and export business. In 1864 he and his brother-in-law Edward Cohen went into business together. He retired from active involvement in business in 1878.
Benjamin was heavily involved in the Melbourne Jewish community, acting in various committee positions for the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation.
In 1870 he was elected to the Melbourne City Council, becoming an Alderman in 1881 and Mayor between 1887 and 1889. He was the second Jewish Mayor of Melbourne, with Edward Cohen preceding him by over twenty years.
He became the first Melbourne Mayor and first Jewish Australian to receive a knighthood when he was made a Knight Bachelor in 1889.
In 1888 as Mayor of Melbourne Benjamin welcomed the Russian ship Rynda and the Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia who was visiting the Australian colonies in a goodwill mission in the light of tensions between Great Britain and Russia.
The Bankruptcy and Death of Benjamin
Benjamin's tenure as a Member of the Legislative Council was brought to a close after he was declared bankrupt when the Imperial Banking Co. collapsed. He had offered personal guarantees on the bank's finances. A subsequent court investigation cleared him, but his reputation was damaged, and he left public life.
Benjamin died at his home 'Canally' at the corner of George and Powlett Streets in East Melbourne. He was survived by his wife Fanny, née Cohen, and 13 of his 16 children.
In 2009 a masonic apron believed to have been originally owned by Robert Burns and subsequently purchased by Benjamin was auctioned by Michael Bennett-Levy, a descendant of Benjamin.