D.E. simply commented, 'many notes' on this one:

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    2 months later
    16 days later
    6 days later

    Our inbox this morning was full of interesting notes from Nicola H:

    Comment: The star of the playbill is Ira F Aldridge, performing at the theatre 'for three nights only', it includes a list of his patrons and details of his family background.
    Link: http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_100022589112.0x000002#?cv=24

    Comment: The playbill is actually dated 1482 but clearly an error at the printers
    Link: http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_100022589114.0x000002#?cv=81
    (A typo for @christian !)

    Comment: Following the performances the 'whole stage on this occasion will be converted into one splendid ball room' for a fancy dress ball.
    Link: http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_100022589114.0x000002#?cv=74

    Comment: Playbill was originally for a performance on 14/08 but this has been revised after printing.
    Link: http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_100022589114.0x000002#?cv=71

    Comment: Promoting 'Master Hutchings the Lilliputian Wonder, only four years and a half old, the youngest actor and vocalist that has ever sustained a regular dramatic part on the stage'
    Link: http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_100022589114.0x000002#?cv=70

    Comment: Performance is at the 'New Portable Royal Kent Theatre, Deal'. Note on playbill that 'Although the roof of the portable theatre has been made completely waterproof' it warns that bad weather may cause the cancellation of a performance with that performance being rescheduled for the following night. Suggesting the waterproof roof was entirely reliable.
    Link: http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_100022589114.0x000002#?cv=57
    (I'd wondered whether 'portable' meant a temporary structure - this suggests it was)

    a month later
    10 days later

    • mia

    • Post #34

    Frisby Wow, I think it must be.

    And that playbill also has a young Roscius, and lots of images. If it had dogs too it might win Playbills Bingo!

      • mia

      • Post #35

      Frisby if I tweet this, what's the best way to credit you?

          mia My Twitter name is @i_bananas :)

          • mia likes this.

            • mia

            • Post #37

            I thought so but I wanted to check!

            • mia

            • Post #38

            That playbill also gives you a sense of touring schedules. In Nov/Dec 1830 the 'ten year old' W. R. Grossmith was in Newcastle on the Monday, Durham on the Tuesday, Stockton on Thursday and Darlington on Friday.

              17 days later

              While working through some of the Old Vic playbills I came across an intriguing announcement 'The Spare Bed is unavoidably postponed, in consequence of Mr Keeley's accident' http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_100022589022.0x000002#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=39&xywh=211%2C2082%2C1337%2C766

              I was so intrigued I've searched in the BNA and found a couple of articles describing the accident;
              On 21 July 1833, John Bull reported that 'in the farce of The Spare Bed... Mr Wood has to fire over the bedstead which contains Keeley, in doing which he levelled the pistol so very low as to cause... immediate contact with the left side of his head... we understand that Mr Keeley was so severely injured... as to engender fears for the sight of his left eye.'
              On 22 July 1833, there was a letter to the Editor of the Guardian and Public Ledger from Mr Wood where he insisted that the pistol had accidentally discharged when he dropped it.

              2 months later

              Although there countless printed books of all kinds reflecting the English of the period, the playbills too contain familiar words whose meaning has shifted: eg laughable, awful, attractive, grotesque, even interesting (an adjective not guaranteed to inspire today). Then there are the semi-obsolete types like burletta, farcetta/farsetta, harlequinade, saynete, comedietta, monopolylogue (!) and one I had to look up - yclept -meaning "by the name of". An answer to those language purists who don't like American spellings can be found here too, with honor, favorite and color quite acceptable in this period. I'm still hoping to come across "Being for the benefit of Mr. Kite...". This such a fun (and addictive) project!

              • mia likes this.
              2 months later

              mia I'm not sure it's a draft playbill; it's possibly a proforma playbill which allowed the manager to write in the relevant date when it was needed (more cost effective for smaller theatres and companies) and this may have been complicated by last minute change to the planned programme which is when the second part was crossed through. Of course it's difficult to be certain without anything to check it against, I've had a quick browse of the other playbills in that set but this appears to be the only one for the theatre in Thornbury. To me it seems unlikely that a theatre manager would have had the printer produce a partially completed playbill to act as a draft, Thomas Dibdin describes how Sarah Baker would cut up old playbills when creating new ones for her theatres in Kent but perhaps she was more thrifty than others.

              I have seen one other proforma playbill in the V&A collection which dates from around 1814 (the date on that playbill doesn't include the year) and was used by a family of performers, on that playbill the location and date had been left blank and these were added by hand later.

                a year later