Gair Wilkinson marionette, Blackasnight
Puppet
ca.1916
ca.1916
Arthur Wilkinson (1882-1957) was inspired to make puppets by seeing toy puppets in Italy and started as a puppeteer touring England in a caravan in spring 1912 with his wife Lily, in search of a simple way of life. With them was his much younger brother Walter, who went on to become a puppeteer himself. To amuse their young children Arthur carved some puppets and gave the occasional show as they travelled. By 1916 Arthur and Lily returned from a stay in Florence to their house in Lechworth Garden City with the remarkable troupe of puppets Arthur had carved in Florence. This marionette Blackasnight is one of that troupe, now in the V&A.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Gair Wilkinson marionette, Blackasnight (generic title) |
| Brief description | Marionette from the Gair Wilkinson troupe, of Blackasnight. Carved wooden body bare to the waist with the face and body painted brown, wearing an orange turban decorated with red and pink felt flowers, a red cummerbund, red, brown and pink striped baggy trousers, and carved shoes painted red, with curled-up toes. Stringed, with the original controls carved with his name. |
| Credit line | Given by Frances Gair Miller |
| Summary | Arthur Wilkinson (1882-1957) was inspired to make puppets by seeing toy puppets in Italy and started as a puppeteer touring England in a caravan in spring 1912 with his wife Lily, in search of a simple way of life. With them was his much younger brother Walter, who went on to become a puppeteer himself. To amuse their young children Arthur carved some puppets and gave the occasional show as they travelled. By 1916 Arthur and Lily returned from a stay in Florence to their house in Lechworth Garden City with the remarkable troupe of puppets Arthur had carved in Florence. This marionette Blackasnight is one of that troupe, now in the V&A. |
| Associated object | S.5-2019 (Object) |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.121-1987 |
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| Record created | July 1, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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