Gabrielle Enthoven

Gabrielle Enthoven
OBE
Enthoven in 1904, photograph by George Charles Beresford
Born
Augusta Gabrielle Eden Romaine

(1868-01-12)12 January 1868
Westminster, London, UK
Died18 August 1950(1950-08-18) (aged 82)
Cadogan Gardens, London, UK
Occupations
  • Theatre archivist and collector
  • playwright
Organizations
Known fortheatrical collection

Gabrielle Enthoven OBE (born Augusta Gabrielle Eden Romaine, 12 January 1868 – 18 August 1950) was an English playwright, amateur actress, theatre archivist, and prolific collector of theatrical ephemera relating to the London stage. In 1911, Enthoven began campaigning for the establishment of a theatrical section in one of the British museums. In 1924, the Victoria and Albert Museum accepted her private collection, at this time containing over 80,000 theatrical playbills and programmes.[1] The material became the founding collection of the museum's theatre and performance archives. Enthoven's unparalleled knowledge of the London stage and its history earned her the sobriquet "the theatrical encyclopaedia".[2]

  1. ^ James Laver, "Gabrielle Enthoven and the Enthoven Theatre Collection", in Studies in English Theatre History (London: Society for Theatre Research, 1952), p. 3.
  2. ^ The Lady's Realm, vol. 26, pp.465–470.