The Merchant of Venice: Ellen Terry as Portia.

In 1878 Terry joined Henry Irving's company as his leading lady, and for more than the next two decades she was considered the leading Shakespearean and comic actress in Britain. One of her most famous roles was Portia. She appears here disguised as a male lawyer to defend Atonio from Shylock's suit. Courtesy of the Furness Collection at the University of Pennsylvania Library.