Broadside poster or playbill advertising Richard lll and the pantomime Harlequin Tom Moody, or, Old Towler, the Huntsman and the Goddess Diana, Astley's Circus, 30 January 1860.

Printed in black, red and blue ink with a medley of different letterforms, this playbill for the Farewell Benefit of William Cooke features two dramatic woodcut illustrations by W. Earle, designed to attract patrons. The literate could read all about the attractions, and the illiterate, seeing the images, could ask others when the performance was to take place. The first woodcut, originally published as an engraving in the Illustrated London News to accompany a review, depicts the moment in Act III when Richard's horse, White Surrey, falls at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Richard is shown mercilessly continues setting about his enemies, two at a time. The second woodcut depicts the comic moment in the equestrian pantomime Harlequin Tom Moody, or Old Towler, the Huntsman and the Goddess Diana when a foxhunt and hounds charge through a shop, complete with shocked shopkeepers, a fainting customer, and a chatting Clown and Pantaloon. Richard III and a comic pantomime on the same bill may seem unusual today but in the mid 19th century it was typical circus fare that ensured overflowing houses and repeat business for the next evening’s offering.

Astley's Circus at this date was an enclosed building, featuring both a stage and a circus ring. The evening's entertainment included equestrian performances in the ring by Alfred Cooke, Alice Maude Cooke, and Emily Cooke as well as by William Cooke himself, and an appearance by the Irish comedian and comic singer, George Hodgson.