W. Clarkson (Firm).

William Berry Clarkson was born in 1861 into a family of perruquiers (wig-makers) and by the age of twelve was working in the business. Clarkson became best known as a wig-maker (already famous by the 1890s as London's theatrical wigmaker) but expanded his business into make-up and costumes. Clarkson's eminence was evident in his clientele: in the 1890s he supplied wardrobes for entertainments for Queen Victoria at Windsor and Balmoral; Edward VII appointed him “Royal Perruquier and Costumier.” For half a century he provided the wigs and costumes for most of the West End theaters. At the peak of his career in the 1920s he may have had 50,000 costumes on hand and employed a staff of close to a hundred; he knew everyone on the London stage. By the late 1920s Clarkson had competition in wig-making; with the rise of the cinema and decline of the music hall, Clarkson’s business deteriorated. He died in 1934.

From the guide to the W. Clarkson (Firm) costume designs, 1883-1926 and undated., (Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)