Ticket of entry to 'The Oratorio, The Dedication Ode, The Ball, and to the Great Booth at the Fireworks' during the Shakespeare Jubilee celebrations at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1769.

The ticket, costing one guinea, is No. 335 and was issued by George Garrick, whose signature appears beneath the printed text. George Garrick (1723-1779) was the younger brother of the actor David Garrick (1717–1779) who organized the Jubilee. George Garrick was responsible for arrangements at Stratford, while David made preparations in London. One of George’s duties was to oversee the ticketing and he signed and numbered every ticket. These went on sale at selected coffee-houses and shops in London and at the White Lion Hotel in Stratford. This ticket has been cropped on the left-hand side, removing an image of Shakespeare and the words, adapted from Hamlet Act I, scene ii, ‘We ne’er shall look upon his like again’. It gave admission to Thomas Arne’s oratorio Judith, Garrick’s Dedication Ode, the masquerade ball and fireworks.

The oratorio, conducted by the composer, was performed at Holy Trinity Church on 6 September, the first day of the three-day event. The Dedication Ode, written by Garrick, was presented on the following day. It celebrated Garrick's gift to the town of a stature of Shakespeare and took place in the Great Booth or Rotunda, a wooden amphitheatre built especially for the occasion on the banks of the River Avon. Though the Ode itself as a great success, delivered as a rhetorical set-piece with music conducted by Arne, the masquerade ball that followed was brought to an end when torrential rain caused the river to flood. The Rotunda was surrounded by water and came close to collapse when it settled in the soft earth. The firework display was cancelled.

The Jubilee was a financial disaster for Garrick, who lost £2,000. Ever resourceful, he offset his losses by writing a play, called The Jubilee, which featured a Shakespeare pageant which had been rained off at Stratford. It was staged in London at the Drury Lane Theatre in 1769 and 1770 and had spectacular success.