Not on display

Silk Programme

1892 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Silk and satin playbills and programmes were commonly produced in the 18th and 19th centuries to mark special evenings at the theatre, often lavishly fringed and sometimes illustrated with an engraved image. This American silk programme is a superbly produced example, folded to make four pages, and featuring several finely engraved images, as well as advertisements, articles, riddles, and information about the theatre season, so that it is more like a theatre magazine than a programme. It was produced for The Foresters by Lord Tennyson, at Daly's Theatre on Broadway, New York, 17 March 1892, with incidental music by Sir Arthur Sullivan. The Irish-born American actress Ada Rehan played Maid Marian and the cast included Tyrone Power Senior as a Follower of Robin Hood.

The images include famous playwrights on the front, and Daly's Theatre, Broadway, the Lyceum Theatre, the Theatre du Vaudeville, Paris, and the Memorial Theatre, Stratford on Avon on the back. An illustration inside shows a couple and their children sitting in a theatre box dressed in elegant evening clothes in the 1891 season, with opera glasses and a programme resting on the ledge of the box. The advertisements are for local shops and products including Wm. Knabe & Co's pianos, the Hotel Vendome, Broadway, The Chickering Piano, Van Houten's Cocoa, the department store B. Altman, trains from Grand Central Station, Chocolat Menier, Cook's Tourist Tickets, Dunlop & Co's hats, and Möet & Chandon champagne.

Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Printed silk
Brief description
Silk programme produced for Daly's Theatre, New York, 17 March 1892, for the performance of The Foresters by Lord Tennyson with music by Sir Arthur Sullivan, and Tyron Power Senior (1869-1931) as a Follower of Robin Hood.
Physical description
Silk programme made to fold as a theatre programme and printed on both sides on yellow silk in black and red typography, with raw edges top and bottom. The front and back pages feature illustrated headings incorporating images of famous playwrights on the front, and Daly's Theatre, Broadway, the Lyceum Theatre, the Theatre du Vaudeville, Paris, and the Memorial Theatre, Stratford on Avon on the back. An image in red ink on the inside pages illustrates a couple dressed in evening clothes in a theatre box in the 1891 season, with their children, with opera glasses and a programme resting on the ledge of the box. Produced for the thirteenth 'regular season' at Daly's Theatre, New York, 17 March 1892, for a performance of The Foresters by Lord Tennyson, with incidental music by Sir Arthur Sullivan, which included Tyrone Power Senior as a Follower of Robin Hood. The programme features a wealth of advertisements of local shops and products including Wm. Knabe & Co's pianos, the Hotel Vendome, Broadway, The Chickering Piano, Van Houten's Cocoa, the department store B. Altman, trains from Grand Central Station, Chocolat Menier, Cook's Tourist Tickets and Möet & Chandon champagne.
Dimensions
  • Height: 36.2cm
  • Width: 54.7cm
Marks and inscriptions
Transliteration
Credit line
Given by H.M. Walbrook
Association
Summary
Silk and satin playbills and programmes were commonly produced in the 18th and 19th centuries to mark special evenings at the theatre, often lavishly fringed and sometimes illustrated with an engraved image. This American silk programme is a superbly produced example, folded to make four pages, and featuring several finely engraved images, as well as advertisements, articles, riddles, and information about the theatre season, so that it is more like a theatre magazine than a programme. It was produced for The Foresters by Lord Tennyson, at Daly's Theatre on Broadway, New York, 17 March 1892, with incidental music by Sir Arthur Sullivan. The Irish-born American actress Ada Rehan played Maid Marian and the cast included Tyrone Power Senior as a Follower of Robin Hood.

The images include famous playwrights on the front, and Daly's Theatre, Broadway, the Lyceum Theatre, the Theatre du Vaudeville, Paris, and the Memorial Theatre, Stratford on Avon on the back. An illustration inside shows a couple and their children sitting in a theatre box dressed in elegant evening clothes in the 1891 season, with opera glasses and a programme resting on the ledge of the box. The advertisements are for local shops and products including Wm. Knabe & Co's pianos, the Hotel Vendome, Broadway, The Chickering Piano, Van Houten's Cocoa, the department store B. Altman, trains from Grand Central Station, Chocolat Menier, Cook's Tourist Tickets, Dunlop & Co's hats, and Möet & Chandon champagne.
Collection
Accession number
S.406-2006

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Record createdSeptember 7, 2006
Record URL
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