Marionette
1930s (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This is one of a group of marionettes and marionette properties owned by James Tiller, the son of Ambrose Tiller II, who inherited them from his father and revived them for a while before selling them. His father was the second son of the marionette company proprietors Ambrose Tiller and Eliza Cheadle, and in 1901 Ambrose II started his own company, Tiller's Mechanical Mannikin Show and Theatre of Varieties.
Ambrose II married Sarah Chipperfield, of the circus proprietors' family, and had nine children. By 1909 he had added a bioscope to the show. They toured much of East Anglia and Lincolnshire, performing at fairs and setting up their booth in inn yards. By 1914 the emphasis had changed and his travelling show was known as 'Cinema and Mannikins'. The show continued until the early 1930s, but during this time Ambrose and his sons built a cinema at Long Sutton, which they managed until the 1950s. This may be one of the later marionettes made by Ambrose Tiller to add to the troupe, possibly in the 1930s.
Ambrose II married Sarah Chipperfield, of the circus proprietors' family, and had nine children. By 1909 he had added a bioscope to the show. They toured much of East Anglia and Lincolnshire, performing at fairs and setting up their booth in inn yards. By 1914 the emphasis had changed and his travelling show was known as 'Cinema and Mannikins'. The show continued until the early 1930s, but during this time Ambrose and his sons built a cinema at Long Sutton, which they managed until the 1950s. This may be one of the later marionettes made by Ambrose Tiller to add to the troupe, possibly in the 1930s.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | painted papier-maché, balsa wood, fabric and stuffing |
| Brief description | Marionette of a bulbous-nosed dwarf, possibly made by Ambrose Tiller II and used by the Tiller family in various marionette troupes. |
| Physical description | Unstrung marionette of a bulbous-nosed dwarf from the Jim Tiller troupe, with papier-mache head and yoke, painted pink with red cheeks; moving jaw and possibly eyes, and painted and stuffed fabric hands. Dressed in a velvet jacket originally maroon faded to a light tan colour, with green watered silk trousers and purple wool-covered feet for shoes. There are metal hooks either side of his temples, originally for the head strings. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by the Museum of Entertainment, Whaplode St. Catherine |
| Object history | "In 1901, Ambrose II, second son of Ambrose Tiller and Eliza Cheadle started a company of his own, Tiller's Mechanical Mannikin Show and Theatre of Varieties. He married Sarah Chipperfield and had nine children. By 1909 he had added a bioscope to the show. They toured much of East Anglia and Lincolnshire, performing at fairs and setting up their booth in inn yards. By 1914 the emphasis had changed and his travelling show was 'Cinema and Mannikins'. The show continued until the early 1930s, but during this time Ambrose and his sons had built a cinema at Long Sutton, which they managed until the 1950s. In the 1950s James Tiller (son of Ambrose II) revived the marionettes for a time, but eventually sold his part of the marionette troupe to the Museum of Entertainment at Whaplode St. Catherine, Lincolnshire." (Extract from: John McCormick with Clodagh McCormick and John Phillips: The Victorian Marionette Theatre. University of Iowa Press). |
| Summary | This is one of a group of marionettes and marionette properties owned by James Tiller, the son of Ambrose Tiller II, who inherited them from his father and revived them for a while before selling them. His father was the second son of the marionette company proprietors Ambrose Tiller and Eliza Cheadle, and in 1901 Ambrose II started his own company, Tiller's Mechanical Mannikin Show and Theatre of Varieties. Ambrose II married Sarah Chipperfield, of the circus proprietors' family, and had nine children. By 1909 he had added a bioscope to the show. They toured much of East Anglia and Lincolnshire, performing at fairs and setting up their booth in inn yards. By 1914 the emphasis had changed and his travelling show was known as 'Cinema and Mannikins'. The show continued until the early 1930s, but during this time Ambrose and his sons built a cinema at Long Sutton, which they managed until the 1950s. This may be one of the later marionettes made by Ambrose Tiller to add to the troupe, possibly in the 1930s. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.33-2005 |
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| Record created | March 22, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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