Silk playbill for The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, for the evening of Wednesday 26th February 1840, for a performance of Barnett's opera The Mountain Sylph! with scenery by Charles Marshall, followed by the farce Raising The Wind featuring the actors Charles William Vining and William Oxberry.

Blue silk playbill with integral fringe, printed in gold lettering.

Given by Gill Wilson

Silk playbill printed by the in-house printer at Drury Lane Theatre for some parts of the house on the evening of Wednesday 26th February 1840, for a Royal Command performance in the presence of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Barnett's opera The Mountain Sylph! with scenery by Charles Marshall, followed by the farce Raising the Wind featuring the actors Mr Vining and Mr Oxenberry.

Historical significance: Queen Victoria was a keen theatre-goer, and in this week in February 1840 she and Prince Albert attended this performance at Drury LaneTheatre on the Wednesday, and Covent Garden Theatre on the Friday, when a press report noted that the Royal Box: 'was fitted up in a less gary [sic], but more elegant style than at Drury Lane'. The reference to the more 'gary' fittings at Drury Lane appears to be confirmed by the fact that this playbill was produced in gold printing on blue silk, far brighter than the black or blue printing on cream silk more usually used for silk programmes by the Theatres Royal.

S.750-2000