Not currently on display at the V&A

Pen and ink illustration by A.H. Collings published in The Illustrated London News,4th February 1894

Drawing
1893 (drawn)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Pen and ink illustration by A.H. Collings publiched in The Illustrated London News, 4th February 1893, showing a series of costumes and performers from the Covent Garden Fancy Dress Ball in 1893.

Augustus Harris (1852-1896) the manager of Covent Garden Theatre, started the annual Fancy Dress Balls in 1892 to use his otherwise unoccupied theatre between productions. A temporary dance floor was added, and sumptuous decorations. These events proved extremely popular with those attending the balls and members of the public who could buy tickets to watch the proceedings. People shown in this illustration include Willy Clarkson (1861-1934) who would have used his ingenious costume for 'Our Kitchen' to promote his successful Wardour Street costume-making business; the music hall singer Charles Coborn (1852-1945) as Clean-Shirt; Grace Lloyd (1875-1961) as 'Twiggy-Vous', the title of the popular song sung by her more famous sister Marie Lloyd (1870-1922) who stands beside her dressed as a French Fishing Girl, and Miss D'Auban, probably the daughter of the famous choreographer John D'Auban, with Miss Marie Branard as Bicycle, in bloomers, topical cycling garb for New Women in the 1890s, carrying a bicycle lamp and the wings of Pegasus mounted on her staff.

This item is one of several theatrical drawings from a collection of sketches commissioned from contemporary artists to be printed in illustrated magazines. The collection was donated to the museum by Sir William James Ingram in 1914.





Object details

Categories
Object type
TitlePen and ink illustration by A.H. Collings published in <i>The Illustrated London News,</i>4th February 1894 (generic title)
Materials and techniques
pen and ink on drawing board
Brief description
Pen and ink illustration by A.H. Collings published in The Illustrated London News,4th February 1894, showing costumes from the Covent Garden Fancy Dress Ball. Given by Sir William Ingram in 1914.
Physical description
Pen and ink illustration created for publication in The Illustrated London News, 4th February 1893 showing costumes worn at the Covent Garden Fancy Dress Ball. A number of performers are shown in a variety of exotic and complex costumes. Each image has a caption noting the name of the performer and the figure or creature their costume is designed to represent.

The image was drawn by A.H.Collings and has been signed by him on the far right hand side. Annotation verso indicates that it was drawn in 1893.
Dimensions
  • Length: 41cm
  • Width: 29cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'SCHOOLGIRL/MISS SELMA' (Handwritten caption in ink first image, top row)
  • 'OUR KITCHEN/MR CLARKSON' (Handwritten caption in ink second image, top row)
  • 'BOOKMAKER/MRS. GODFREY' (Handwritten caption in ink third image, top row)
  • 'CLEAN SHIRT/THE INDIAN CHIEF/MR COBURN' (Handwritten caption in ink fourth image, top row)
  • 'AN IVORY IDOL/MR C.P. LITTLE' (Handwritten caption in ink fifth image, top row)
  • 'A ZULU/WARRIOR/MR FRED WALTON' (Handwritten caption in ink sixth image, top row)
  • 'LOBSTER/MR.T.G.HALES' (Handwritten caption in ink, first image, bottom row)
  • 'TWIGGY VOUS'/MISS GRACE LLOYD' (Handwritten caption in ink, second image, bottom row)
  • 'FRENCH FISHING GIRL/MISS MARIE LLOYD' (Handwritten caption in ink, third image, bottom row)
  • SNOWMAN (Handwritten caption in ink, fourth image, bottom row)
  • 'BICYCLE & BUTTERFLY/MISS D'AUBAN &/MISS MARIE BRANARD' (Handwritten caption in ink, final two images, bottom row)
  • 'Costume at the Covent Garden Ball' (Handwritten annotation in pencil at the base of the image.)
  • COLLINGS (Signature of artist, far right hand side, centre)
  • 'Collings, A.H./Costumes at the Covent Garden Fancy Dress Ball/Vol. Cii, p.150, 1893' (Handwritten annotation in pencil on the rear of the illustration)
  • Transliteration
Credit line
Given by Sir William Ingram
Object history
Sir William Ingram (27 October 1847 – 18 December 1924) was a Liberal politician who was elected to, and sat, in the House of Commons on three occassions between 1878 and 1895. He was also the Managing Director of The Illustrated London News from the late 1870s until 1900 and became the proprietor of a number of additional publications including The Sketch and The English Illustrated Magazine.

The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper. Founded by Sir William Ingram’s father, Herbert Ingram, in 1842 the first edition was sold on 14th May 1842 at a cost of sixpence per copy. Building from an original circulation of 26,000 to in excess of 300,000 at its peak, The Illustrated London News remained in print until 2003 and commissioned illustrations from many of the leading artists of the late nineteenth century. Photographs were used alongside illustrations from the late 19th century onwards but illustrations were a major feature of paper until after the end of the First World War.

Historical context
This sketch was one of a group of prints and pencil and pen and ink sketches donated to the museum in 1914 by Sir William Ingram (1847–1924). Part of this collection was originally donated to the Prints and Drawings Department with the majority later passing to the Theatre and Performance Department. The full collection includes work by a variety of artists amongst whom are: A. J Finberg; Ralph Cleaver; F.V.Poole and Rossi Ashton. Though not all the publications for which they were created are identified the majority of the sketches were commissioned for, and appeared in, The Illustrated London News, The English Illustrated Magazine or The Sketch.

Sir William Ingram became the proprietor of The Illustrated London News in the mid to late 1870s and remained in post until circa 1900 when he was succeeded by his he was succeeded by his son, Bruce Stirling Ingram (1877–1963). He also became the proprietor of The Sketch amongst other papers in which capacity he gave commissions to many leading artists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
Subject depicted
Summary
Pen and ink illustration by A.H. Collings publiched in The Illustrated London News, 4th February 1893, showing a series of costumes and performers from the Covent Garden Fancy Dress Ball in 1893.

Augustus Harris (1852-1896) the manager of Covent Garden Theatre, started the annual Fancy Dress Balls in 1892 to use his otherwise unoccupied theatre between productions. A temporary dance floor was added, and sumptuous decorations. These events proved extremely popular with those attending the balls and members of the public who could buy tickets to watch the proceedings. People shown in this illustration include Willy Clarkson (1861-1934) who would have used his ingenious costume for 'Our Kitchen' to promote his successful Wardour Street costume-making business; the music hall singer Charles Coborn (1852-1945) as Clean-Shirt; Grace Lloyd (1875-1961) as 'Twiggy-Vous', the title of the popular song sung by her more famous sister Marie Lloyd (1870-1922) who stands beside her dressed as a French Fishing Girl, and Miss D'Auban, probably the daughter of the famous choreographer John D'Auban, with Miss Marie Branard as Bicycle, in bloomers, topical cycling garb for New Women in the 1890s, carrying a bicycle lamp and the wings of Pegasus mounted on her staff.

This item is one of several theatrical drawings from a collection of sketches commissioned from contemporary artists to be printed in illustrated magazines. The collection was donated to the museum by Sir William James Ingram in 1914.



Collection
Accession number
S.733-2012

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Record createdAugust 8, 2012
Record URL
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