The Postcard
A postally unused Dainty Novels Series postcard that was published prior to the summer of 1918. The card has a divided back.
Oscar Asche
John Stange Heiss Oscar Asche (24th. January 1871 – 23rd. March 1936), was an Australian actor, director and writer, best known for having written, directed, and acted in the record-breaking musical 'Chu Chin Chow', both on stage and film, and for acting in, directing, or producing many Shakespeare plays and successful musicals.
The Early Years
After studying acting in Norway and London, Asche made his London stage debut in 1893, and soon joined the F R Benson Company, where he remained for eight years, playing more than a hundred roles including important Shakespearean parts.
He married the actress Lily Brayton in June 1898, and the two were often paired onstage for many years. He played Maldonado in Arthur Wing Pinero's 'Iris' in the West End in 1901, his first important part in modern comedy. He repeated the role on Broadway the following year, and then joined Herbert Beerbohm Tree's theatre company in London in 1902, playing more Shakespearean roles over the next few years.
Asche and his wife became managers of the Adelphi Theatre in 1904, and His Majesty's Theatre in 1907; he made his first tour of Australia in 1909–10, and was much moved by his reception in his native land.
In 1911 Edward Knoblock wrote the play 'Kismet' for him; Asche revised and shortened it, and the production enjoyed great success in London and on tour with Asche in the leading role of Hajj.
Oscar Asche - The Later Years
Asche most famously wrote and produced 'Chu Chin Chow', starring himself and his wife, which ran for an unprecedented 2,238 performances, from the 31st. August 1916 to the 22nd. July 1921. During the run, among other projects, he directed the hit London production of 'The Maid of the Mountains'.
From 1922 to 1924 he toured in Australia with the J C Williamson company. As a result of his high-spending lifestyle, he was declared bankrupt in 1926. Though his success as a producer waned, he continued to direct and act, including in several films, until the mid-1930's.
Death of Oscar Asche
In his final years, Asche became obese, poor, argumentative and violent. He and his wife separated, but, at the end, he returned to her, and died at the age of 65 in Bisham, Berkshire, of coronary thrombosis. He was buried in the riverside cemetery there. He had no children.
Miss Lily Brayton
Elizabeth "Lily" Brayton (23rd. June 1876 – 30th. April 1953) was an English actress and singer, known for her performances in Shakespeare plays, and for her nearly 2,000 performances in the First World War hit musical 'Chu Chin Chow'.
The Early Years
Brayton was born in Hindley, Lancashire, the fourth daughter of a Lancashire doctor.
Her first stage performance was in Manchester in 1896, when she was in the cast of a production of Shakespeare's 'King Richard II'. Lily joined the F. R. Benson company, and in 1898 she married Oscar Asche, a fellow member of it. Her sister Agnes Brayton (1878–1957) was another member of the same company.
In 1900 Brayton was chosen by Herbert Beerbohm Tree to create the part of Mariamne in his production of 'Herod'. In 1904 she and Asche formed their own theatrical company.
In 1906 she played Iseult in Joseph Comyns Carr's play 'Tristram and Iseult' at the Adelphi Theatre, with Asche as King Mark. Her sister Agnes also had a part in this production.
In 1907 Lily, as Katherine, and Agnes, as Bianca, appeared in the Oxford University Dramatic Society's production of 'The Taming of the Shrew'.
Lily Brayton - The Later Years
In 1907, Brayton became co-manager, with her husband, of His Majesty's Theatre, London, which was owned by Tree, in association with whom they managed a number of Shakespeare and other plays, including Laurence Binyon's Attila.
In 1909–1910, while Brayton and Asche were touring Australia, the Australian musician Wayne Jones composed a piece entitled "The Lily Brayton Valse". (Valse = Waltz)
In 1911 at the Garrick Theatre, Brayton starred with Asche in the play 'Kismet'. They toured Australia again in 1912–13, and also visited South Africa at the end of the tour in 1913. In 1914, she appeared as Marsinah in the silent film adaptation of Kismet.
The Asche hit musical comedy 'Chu Chin Chow' was staged in London in 1916. Brayton played the female lead character, Zahrat-al-Kulub. 'Chu Chin Chow' played until 1921, enjoying an unprecedented run of 2,238 performances, of which Brayton performed in nearly 2000, an endurance feat.
The majority of Brayton's performances, excepting 'Chu Chin Chow', were in Shakespeare plays. She also performed for several seasons at the Stratford Festival. Her last stage appearance was as Portia in 'Julius Caesar' in 1932, directed by Asche.
Asche became unstable and violent in his later years, and he and Brayton separated for a time, although she produced his 1928 play, 'The Good Old Days of England'.
There are three paintings of Brayton in the National Portrait Gallery, and many photographs exist showing her in costume.
Notable performances include:
- Herod, as Mariamne (1900)
- Richard II, as Queen Isabella (1900,1903,1910)
- Twelfth Night, as Viola (1901)
- The Prayer of the Sword, as Ilaria Visconti (1904)
- Darling of the Gods, as Yo-San (1904)
- Taming of the Shrew, as Katherine (1904,1907,1908,1914)
- Hamlet, as Ophelia (1905)
- Measure for Measure, as Isabella (1906)
- The Virgin Goddess, as Althea (1906)
- Tristram & Iseult, as Iseult (1906)
- A Midsummer Night's Dream, as Helena (1906)
- Othello, as Desdemona (1907, 1909)
- Attila, as Ildico (1907)
- The Two Pins, as Elsa (1908)
- Merry Wives of Windsor, as Mistress Ford (1911)
- As You Like It, as Rosalind (1911)
- Kismet, as Marsinah (1914)
- Chu Chin Chow, as Zahrat-al-Kulub (1916–1921)
- Julius Caesar, as Portia (1932)
Death of Lily Brayton
After Asche's death in 1936, Brayton married Dr. Douglas Chalmers Watson and moved to Drem in East Lothian. Following the death of her second husband, she moved to Dawlish in Devon where she died at the age of 76.
Lily was cremated, and her ashes buried in the grave of her first husband in the riverside cemetery near her former home in Bisham, Berkshire. She had no children.
