Gair Wilkinson marionette, Lord Dryasdust
Puppet
ca.1916 (made)
ca.1916 (made)
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 Lord Dryasdust is one of that troupe, now in the V&A.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Gair Wilkinson marionette, Lord Dryasdust (generic title) |
| Brief description | Marionette from the Gair Wilkinson troupe, of Lord Dryasdust with painted black hair, goatee beard and moustache, wearing knee-length boots, armour and a yellow and black striped sirt and wielding a rapier. Stringed, with the original control bars. |
| 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 Lord Dryasdust is one of that troupe, now in the V&A. |
| Associated object | S.5-2019 (Object) |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.115-1987 |
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| Record created | July 1, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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