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Not currently on display at the V&A

Print Collection

Scrap
ca.1890 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Scraps first appeared in the early 19th century as black and white engravings, and were later coloured by hand. By the 1820s they had become more elaborate and sometimes embossed, and within a decade both the printing and embossing processes were automated. They were colour printed by chromolithography, and coated with a gelatine and gum layer to give them a gloss finish. After being embossed they were die-cut and put through a stamping press to cut away the unwanted areas of paper, leaving the individual images connected by small strips, often bearing the name or initials of the maker.

Scraps became extremely popular in Victorian England to be cut out by adults or children and stuck into albums, on to screens, or used for decorating greetings cards. This one for a decorative letter R is composed of characters that were popular in 19th century pantomime - Clown, Harlequin and Pantaloon. This appears to be a version of the trick invented in the 1814 pantomime Harlequin Whittington described in The Morning Post 27 December 1814: 'Much mirth was effected not by Harlequin, but by the Clown, who forces a mop-stick through a cheese, to make a wheel, and placing this between his hands, he plies several cheeses on his back, and using his legs as the handles of the barrow, fairly wheels the load of the stage.'


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitlePrint Collection (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Printed paper
Brief description
Printed paper scrap depicting the letter R composed of pantomime characters as each element of the letter. Chromolithograph by Siegmund Hildesheimer & Co., ca.1890.
Physical description
Multicoloured paper scrap depicting the letter R composed of Pantomime characters as each element of the letter. A white-faced clown stands on the left holding Pantaloon by his ankles behind him, and Harlequin on his back. Pantaloon is outstretched and balanced on a wheel.
Dimensions
  • Irregular height: 7.5cm
  • Irregular width: 6.7cm
Credit line
Given by the British Theatre Museum Association
Historical context
This appears to be a version of the trick invented in the 1814 pantomime Harlequin Whittington described in The Morning Post 27 December 1814:
'Much mirth was effected not by Harlequin, but by the Clown, who forces a mop-stick through a cheese, to make a wheel, and placing this between his hands, he plies several cheeses on his back, and using his legs as the handles of the barrow, fairly wheels the load of the stage.'
Subjects depicted
Literary referencePantomime
Summary
Scraps first appeared in the early 19th century as black and white engravings, and were later coloured by hand. By the 1820s they had become more elaborate and sometimes embossed, and within a decade both the printing and embossing processes were automated. They were colour printed by chromolithography, and coated with a gelatine and gum layer to give them a gloss finish. After being embossed they were die-cut and put through a stamping press to cut away the unwanted areas of paper, leaving the individual images connected by small strips, often bearing the name or initials of the maker.

Scraps became extremely popular in Victorian England to be cut out by adults or children and stuck into albums, on to screens, or used for decorating greetings cards. This one for a decorative letter R is composed of characters that were popular in 19th century pantomime - Clown, Harlequin and Pantaloon. This appears to be a version of the trick invented in the 1814 pantomime Harlequin Whittington described in The Morning Post 27 December 1814: 'Much mirth was effected not by Harlequin, but by the Clown, who forces a mop-stick through a cheese, to make a wheel, and placing this between his hands, he plies several cheeses on his back, and using his legs as the handles of the barrow, fairly wheels the load of the stage.'
Bibliographic reference
Mayer, David: Harlequin In His Element Harvard University Press, 1969 p.207. Reference to a similar trick.
Other number
1963/G/53 - BTMA accession number
Collection
Accession number
S.5:1-2008

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Record createdJuly 1, 2009
Record URL
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