Trilby thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Trilby

Drawing
1895 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Pen and ink drawing by A.S. Boyd showing characters from the stage adaptation of George du Maurier's novel Trilby, Haymarket Theatre, 1895.

Trilby, adapted for the stage by Paul M. Potter, was first staged in Boston and New York in the spring on 1895. British actor manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree (1852-1917) saw the play in New York and, realising its potential as a vehicle for himself, quickly bought the rights. A new version, adapted to give greater prominence to the villainous hypnotist Svengali, the role taken by Tree, opened at the Haymarket Theatre on 30 October 1895. It played there for 254 performances and made a star of the twenty year-old Dorothea Baird.

The work of artist and illustrator Alexander Stuart Boyd (1854-1930) appeared in many British periodicals, notably the Graphic and Punch.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleTrilby (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Pen and ink on paper, mounted on card
Brief description
Pen and ink drawing by A.S. Boyd showing characters from the stage adaptation of George du Maurier's novel Trilby, Haymarket Theatre, 1895
Physical description
Pen and ink drawing by A.S. Boyd showing characters from the stage adaptation of Trilby. Centre, Dorothea Baird as Trilby in military jacket and striped skirt, and clockwise from lower left, Beerbohm Tree as Svengali, seated at the piano; Patrick Evans as Little Billee; Edmund Maurice as Taffy; Trilby in evening dress and tiara, head and shoulders; Lionel Brough as the Laird; Charles Allan as the Rev. T. Bagot; Gerald du Maurier as Dodor; the death of Svengali. Signed, lower left hand corner.



Dimensions
  • Drawing height: 31.8cm
  • Drawing width: 26.3cm
  • Mount height: 36cm
  • Mount width: 29.2cm
Marks and inscriptions
Transliteration
Subjects depicted
Literary referenceTrilby
Summary
Pen and ink drawing by A.S. Boyd showing characters from the stage adaptation of George du Maurier's novel Trilby, Haymarket Theatre, 1895.

Trilby, adapted for the stage by Paul M. Potter, was first staged in Boston and New York in the spring on 1895. British actor manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree (1852-1917) saw the play in New York and, realising its potential as a vehicle for himself, quickly bought the rights. A new version, adapted to give greater prominence to the villainous hypnotist Svengali, the role taken by Tree, opened at the Haymarket Theatre on 30 October 1895. It played there for 254 performances and made a star of the twenty year-old Dorothea Baird.

The work of artist and illustrator Alexander Stuart Boyd (1854-1930) appeared in many British periodicals, notably the Graphic and Punch.
Collection
Accession number
S.1056-1983

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Record createdJuly 29, 2014
Record URL
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