This strap, mounted with sleigh bells, was used to create a sound effect in The Bells, by Leopold Lewis (1828-1890). The play starred Henry Irving (1838-1905), who achieved critical praise and lasting fame with his representation of Mathias, a guilt-ridden inn-keeper obsessed with the murder he had committed fifteen years previously. In the first act of the play Mathias starts to hear the sound of sleigh bells like those on the sleigh driven by his victim on the night of the murder. No other character can hear them, only Mathias and, of course, the audience. So that the audience would also experience with Mathias the sound of a sleigh approaching, Irving instructed the person shaking the bells to walk, hidden behind the scenery, from the furthest point backstage to the nearest.

Irving became a professional actor in 1856, and learned his trade in regional theatres until 1866, when he came to London. He joined the Lyceum Theatre company under the management of H. L. Bateman in 1871, taking on the responsibilities of 'actor-manager' in 1878 when he took over the lease of the theatre, and remained there until 1902, enjoying star status with his leading lady Ellen Terry (1847-1928). Irving produced a diverse range of old and new plays at the Lyceum, including Shakespeare, historical drama, and literary adaptations. His tireless work to elevate the status of the theatrical profession was rewarded in 1895 when he became the first actor ever to receive a knighthood for services to the Theatre.

Irving specialised in spectacularly staged productions with large casts of performers. He commissioned designers and composers to create appropriate scenery, costume and incidental music, played by a full orchestra. Although electric lighting was available from the 1880s, Irving preferred the softer effects of gas, with lime light to focus attention at key points in the play. Irving toured complete productions outside London, taking the full company, scenery and costumes throughout the United Kingdom and across the United States and Canada. The development of the railway system made his the first generation able to achieve this level of touring productions.