Stage Property -Puppet Theatre
unknown (made), ca. 1900 (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 | Carved and painted wood |
| Brief description | Donkey and cart property. Used as a prop by the Tiller marionette company with a trick fascia board advertising bloaters which sat in the cart and changed into a sea-serpent. Wood with rabbit-skin and leather. c.1900. |
| Physical description | Carved wooden donkey and cart, the donkey's body covered with rabbit fur and the cart attached to the donkey by shafts fixed to a wooden rod through its body. The donkey is constructed in moveable parts for his head, neck, body and legs, and has a rope tail. He is attached by red shafts to a green cart with red wheels. There is a single wooden control; with strings attached by a loop at the top of the donkey's back, and to the end of the rope tail. The donkey has a leathed bridle and a leather strap attached to his body which is a continuation of the bridle, extended by a length of chain links. |
| 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. |
| Associated object | S.40:2-2005 (Object) |
| Bibliographic reference | The Victorian Marionette Theatre. John McCormick with Clodagh McCormick and John Phillips: University of Iowa Press. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.41:1-2005 |
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| Record created | June 18, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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