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Poster
Unknown - Enlarge image
Poster
- Place of origin:
London, England (printed)
- Date:
February 1842 (printed)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown (printers)
- Materials and Techniques:
Letterpress in black printing ink on paper
- Museum number:
S.1376-2010
- Gallery location:
In Storage
This poster advertises the clown Richard Dewhurst's final Benefit performance at Batty's Circus, Westminster Road, 23rd February 1842. Dewhurst was a circus clown who was also an accomplished 'leaper', which was an attraction of ground acrobats in the early 19th century, and a popular amateur sport in the north of England. Dewhurst in described on this poster as 'the loftiest leaper living', and on other contemporary publicity was fancifully described as being able to leap over a garter 14 foot high, over ten horses, and through six balloons.
This poster is printed in large and very small typeface, to appear to give the shocking news that Richard Dewhurst had been apprehended for setting fire to the Tower of London. Those who examined the poster at very close range could read that it was in fact advertising Dewhurst's Benefit performance, and he was only moving near the Tower of London. Since Dewhurst would have received a percentage of the box office takings that night, it was in his interest to produce eye-catching publicity such as this.
