Mr Smith as Lord Townley
Tile
ca.1777 (made)
ca.1777 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This tile, showing William Smith (1730-1819) as Lord Townley in The Provoked Husband by Sir John Vanbrugh and Colley Cibber, is one of a series of late 18th-century tiles of actors and actresses produced in Liverpool by John Sadler (1720-1789). Sadler experimented with transfer-printing on white glazed delftware tiles, transferring images from engraved copper plates to tiles, using enamel colours fixed in low-temperature firing.
Actors and actresses could become big stars in the 18th century, when theatres, concert halls and pleasure gardens were the major forms of public entertainment. Engravers regularly produced images of paintings of the most popular performers, so the ability to reproduce engravings on ceramics was a lucrative development. Since the engravings were transfer-printed, the original images appear on the tiles in reverse.
William Smith was educated at Eton and Cambridge. After his first stage appearance at Covent Garden in 1753 he gained the nickname 'Gentleman' Smith and a reputation as a good looking, respectable and cultivated man. He first played Lord Townley at Covent Garden in the 1768-1769 season and played a wide variety of leading roles, mostly at Covent Garden and Drury Lane Theatres, until his retirement in 1788.
Actors and actresses could become big stars in the 18th century, when theatres, concert halls and pleasure gardens were the major forms of public entertainment. Engravers regularly produced images of paintings of the most popular performers, so the ability to reproduce engravings on ceramics was a lucrative development. Since the engravings were transfer-printed, the original images appear on the tiles in reverse.
William Smith was educated at Eton and Cambridge. After his first stage appearance at Covent Garden in 1753 he gained the nickname 'Gentleman' Smith and a reputation as a good looking, respectable and cultivated man. He first played Lord Townley at Covent Garden in the 1768-1769 season and played a wide variety of leading roles, mostly at Covent Garden and Drury Lane Theatres, until his retirement in 1788.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Mr Smith as Lord Townley (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Glazed earthenware |
| Brief description | Tile decorated with an image of Mr Smith as Lord Townley in The Provoked Husband by Sir John Vanbrugh and Colley Cibber, after the engraving by Thornthwaite and the painting by J. Roberts, reproduced in Bell's British Theatre, 1776. Tin-glazed earthenware Delft tile produced by James Sadler, Liverpool, 1777-1780 |
| Physical description | Square glazed cream earthenware tile, transfer-printed with a decorative border of trellis work, and symbolic theatrical objects on the right and left sides including a flaming torch, comedy and tragedy masks, and a lyre. There is a central image of Mr. Smith as Lord Townley in jacket, waistcoat and knee-length breeches, wearing a powdered wig, his right hand in his waistcoat at chest level, his left hand in his waistcoat pocket, looking to his right. In a ribbon ground above his head is the name: 'MR SMITH', and below: 'in the character of LD. TOWNLEY'. Decoration in underglaze blue-black. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996 |
| Object history | James Roberts painted both Mr. Smith as Lord Townley and Mary Ann Yates as Lady Townley. For the tile of Mary Ann Yates as Lady Townley, see S.625-1997. |
| Production | The image is taken from an engraving by Thornthwaite after the painting by J. Roberts, published as a plate to Bell's British Theatre, 1776. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Association | |
| Summary | This tile, showing William Smith (1730-1819) as Lord Townley in The Provoked Husband by Sir John Vanbrugh and Colley Cibber, is one of a series of late 18th-century tiles of actors and actresses produced in Liverpool by John Sadler (1720-1789). Sadler experimented with transfer-printing on white glazed delftware tiles, transferring images from engraved copper plates to tiles, using enamel colours fixed in low-temperature firing. Actors and actresses could become big stars in the 18th century, when theatres, concert halls and pleasure gardens were the major forms of public entertainment. Engravers regularly produced images of paintings of the most popular performers, so the ability to reproduce engravings on ceramics was a lucrative development. Since the engravings were transfer-printed, the original images appear on the tiles in reverse. William Smith was educated at Eton and Cambridge. After his first stage appearance at Covent Garden in 1753 he gained the nickname 'Gentleman' Smith and a reputation as a good looking, respectable and cultivated man. He first played Lord Townley at Covent Garden in the 1768-1769 season and played a wide variety of leading roles, mostly at Covent Garden and Drury Lane Theatres, until his retirement in 1788. |
| Bibliographic reference | A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800, vol. 14. Published by Southern Illinois University Press, 1993. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.627-1997 |
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| Record created | November 17, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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