Not currently on display at the V&A

The Grand Theatre of Varieties, Birmingham

Silk Programme
1907 (made)
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 even illustrated with an engraved image. They are rarely produced nowadays, and if attempts to make them occur today, they are usually made of a synthetic fabric and rarely of silk.

This luxuriously fringed programme was produced to mark the opening in 1907 of the Grand Theatre of Varieties, Birmingham, in Corporation Street where it had been built in 1883 as the Grand Theatre. When it was reopened as the Grand Theatre of Varieties it became yet another Moss Empires Theatre, one of the chain of Variety Theatres owned and run by Sir Edward Moss and Oswald Stoll who merged their businesses in 1898. When they opened a new theatre, they invariably mounted a Grand Opening Night featuring a luxurious silk programme, and a star attraction - in this case, the popular magician Chung Ling Soo.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Grand Theatre of Varieties, Birmingham (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Printed silk
Brief description
Silk programme for the opening night of The Grand Theatre of Varieties, Birmingham, 9 December 1907, featuring the American magician Chung Ling Soo
Physical description
Silk programme for the opening night of The Grand Theatre of Varieties, Birmingham, 9 December 1907. Printed on cream silk in blue typography with a cream silk fringe attached on each side. The programme features the performers C. Hayden Coffin, Frank Sylvo, Little Ganty, Campbell & Barber, Florence St. John, The So & Sos, Lady Mansel's Juveniles, The De Freggers, Chung Ling Soo, and the American Bioscope.
Dimensions
  • Excluding fringe height: 33.5cm
  • Excluding fringe width: 25.7cm
  • Including fringe height: 45.7cm
  • Including fringe width: 38.5cm
Marks and inscriptions
Transliteration
Credit line
Given by Rae Hammond
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 even illustrated with an engraved image. They are rarely produced nowadays, and if attempts to make them occur today, they are usually made of a synthetic fabric and rarely of silk.

This luxuriously fringed programme was produced to mark the opening in 1907 of the Grand Theatre of Varieties, Birmingham, in Corporation Street where it had been built in 1883 as the Grand Theatre. When it was reopened as the Grand Theatre of Varieties it became yet another Moss Empires Theatre, one of the chain of Variety Theatres owned and run by Sir Edward Moss and Oswald Stoll who merged their businesses in 1898. When they opened a new theatre, they invariably mounted a Grand Opening Night featuring a luxurious silk programme, and a star attraction - in this case, the popular magician Chung Ling Soo.
Collection
Accession number
S.408-2006

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Record createdSeptember 12, 2006
Record URL
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