Not currently on display at the V&A

Othello

Playbill
1854 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

In the first half of the 19th century playbills were predominantly printed with a letterpress. This process involved covering wood or metal letters (cut out in reverse) with ink and then clamping them into a frame holding a paper sheet. The size of the typography determined the most important information for readers: the name of the theatre, its productions and its stars.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleOthello (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Letterpress printing
Brief description
Playbill for Othello, Theatre Royal Portsmouth, 1854
Physical description
Letterpress printed playbill with black typography, for the production of Othello on 24th April 1854 at the Theatre Royal Portsmouth. The title role was played by Mr. Arthur Bell and the role of Desdemona played by Mrs. C. F. Marshall. It was followed by a farce titled Poor Pillicoddy!!!.
Dimensions
  • Height: 506mm
  • Width: 254mm
Credit line
Bequeathed by John Pearce
Summary
In the first half of the 19th century playbills were predominantly printed with a letterpress. This process involved covering wood or metal letters (cut out in reverse) with ink and then clamping them into a frame holding a paper sheet. The size of the typography determined the most important information for readers: the name of the theatre, its productions and its stars.
Collection
Accession number
S.649-2016

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdOctober 18, 2016
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest