Not currently on display at the V&A

Photograph

24/10/1938 (photographed), 1938 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This photograph shows puppeteers and members of the British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild standing outside Victory House, Leicester Square, for a Press Agency photograph to mark the opening of the 13th annual exhibition of the British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild at Victory House, Leicester Square. The exhibition was opened by the fourteen-year old Molly Sheldrake, billed as Britain's youngest Punch and Judy performer and seen kneeling in this photograph. The exhibition drew large crowds and ran from the 24th to the 30th October 1938, featuring almost 250 puppets and demonstrations by 25 different troupes giving about 70 demonstrations. There was a lot of publicity, and in his article on the exhibition in the periodical The World's Fair, 5 November 1938, Gerald Morice noted that Tuesday 25th October was a foggy, wet and cold day but that they filmed scenes from a marionette show all morning, from in front and behind, for British Movietone News. He added that all the national daily papers with the exception of The Daily Mirror carried stories about the exhibition, mostly with photographs, and that Molly as 'the youngest Punch and Judy performer in the country' really caught the press's imagination.



Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Photograph
Brief description
Photograph of puppets and the puppeteer Molly Sheldrake outside Victory House, Leicester Square. taken to advertise the opening of the 13th Exhibition of the British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild exhibition, 24 October 1938. Black and white photograph by the Sport & General Press Agency Ltd. Gerald Morice Collection.
Physical description
Black and white press agency photograph of eight marionettes standing on the ground being manipulated by puppeteers whose heads are not in shot, with Molly Sheldrake, kneeling, holding a Mr. Punch, and a Judy with a baby.
Dimensions
  • Height: 21.5cm
  • Width: 25.3cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • British Puppet Week. Exhibition at Victory House, Leicester Square, at which members of the British Puppet Guild are showing exhibits and taking part in displays, and which will last for a week. 576645 French and English Puppets arriving at the exhibition. S&G. 24/10/38. ETF (Stamped in blue ink verso)
  • J4903 (pencilled reference number, verso)
  • Sport & General Press Agency. Limited, London (Stamped in blue ink, verso)
  • This photograph must not be reproduced in any form without our official permit (Stamped in blue ink verso)
Credit line
Given by Gerald Morice
Places depicted
Association
Summary
This photograph shows puppeteers and members of the British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild standing outside Victory House, Leicester Square, for a Press Agency photograph to mark the opening of the 13th annual exhibition of the British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild at Victory House, Leicester Square. The exhibition was opened by the fourteen-year old Molly Sheldrake, billed as Britain's youngest Punch and Judy performer and seen kneeling in this photograph. The exhibition drew large crowds and ran from the 24th to the 30th October 1938, featuring almost 250 puppets and demonstrations by 25 different troupes giving about 70 demonstrations. There was a lot of publicity, and in his article on the exhibition in the periodical The World's Fair, 5 November 1938, Gerald Morice noted that Tuesday 25th October was a foggy, wet and cold day but that they filmed scenes from a marionette show all morning, from in front and behind, for British Movietone News. He added that all the national daily papers with the exception of The Daily Mirror carried stories about the exhibition, mostly with photographs, and that Molly as 'the youngest Punch and Judy performer in the country' really caught the press's imagination.

Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
S.3498-2013

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Record createdJanuary 2, 2014
Record URL
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