Not currently on display at the V&A

Sardanapalus King of Assyria

Playbill
1854 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

In the first half of the 19th century playbills were predominantly printed with a letterpress. This process involved covering wood or metal letters (cut out in reverse) with ink and then clamping them into a frame holding a paper sheet. The size of the typography determined the most important information for readers: the name of the theatre, its productions and its stars.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleSardanapalus King of Assyria (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Letterpress printing
Brief description
Playbill for Sardanapalus King of Assyria, Theatre Royal Portsmouth, 1854
Physical description
Letterpress printed playbill with black typography, produced for the Theatre Royal Portsmouth 19th - 21st January 1854. The playbill advertises the dramas The Artizan's Daughter followed by The Married Bachelor and Love's Stratagem (19th January), Sardanapalus King of Assyria or, the Fall of Nineveh followed by The Children in the Wood (20th January), and Jane Shore followed by The Children in the Wood and No! No! No! (21st January).
Dimensions
  • Height: 759mm
  • Width: 256mm
Credit line
Bequeathed by John Pearce
Summary
In the first half of the 19th century playbills were predominantly printed with a letterpress. This process involved covering wood or metal letters (cut out in reverse) with ink and then clamping them into a frame holding a paper sheet. The size of the typography determined the most important information for readers: the name of the theatre, its productions and its stars.
Collection
Accession number
S.653-2016

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Record createdOctober 18, 2016
Record URL
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