Not on display

Print Collection

Scrap
ca.1890 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Scraps first appeared in the early 19th century as black and white engravings, and were later coloured by hand. By the 1820s they had become more elaborate and sometimes embossed, and within a decade both the printing and embossing processes were automated. They were colour printed by chromolithography, and coated with a gelatine and gum layer to give them a gloss finish. After being embossed they were die-cut and put through a stamping press to cut away the unwanted areas of paper, leaving the individual images connected by small strips, often bearing the name or initials of the maker.

Scraps became extremely popular in Victorian England to be cut out by adults or children and stuck into albums, on to screens, or used for decorating greetings cards. This is one of a series of scraps featuring portraits of contemporary theatrical 'types'. It shows the prompter with his marked copy or prompt script used backstage during productions.

Object details

Category
Object type
TitlePrint Collection (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Printed paper
Brief description
Printed paper scrap depicting a theatre prompter, entitled Prompter. Colour lithograph printed by Siegmund Hildesheimer & Co., ca.1890.
Physical description
Full-colour paper scrap depicting the head of a middle-aged man with a black moustache, wearing a shiny black top hat, glasses, a tweed jacket and a high collar, holding a script to his face. Titled 'Prompter'.
Dimensions
  • Irregular height: 5.6cm
  • Irregular width: 2.5cm
Credit line
Given by the British Theatre Museum Association
Summary
Scraps first appeared in the early 19th century as black and white engravings, and were later coloured by hand. By the 1820s they had become more elaborate and sometimes embossed, and within a decade both the printing and embossing processes were automated. They were colour printed by chromolithography, and coated with a gelatine and gum layer to give them a gloss finish. After being embossed they were die-cut and put through a stamping press to cut away the unwanted areas of paper, leaving the individual images connected by small strips, often bearing the name or initials of the maker.

Scraps became extremely popular in Victorian England to be cut out by adults or children and stuck into albums, on to screens, or used for decorating greetings cards. This is one of a series of scraps featuring portraits of contemporary theatrical 'types'. It shows the prompter with his marked copy or prompt script used backstage during productions.
Associated objects
Other number
1963/G/53 - BTMA accession number
Collection
Accession number
S.4:12-2008

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Record createdJuly 1, 2009
Record URL
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