Souvenir items associated with performance have long been produced for sale, most frequently in the 19th century when the best-selling items were ceramic figures based on performers. The 20th century saw soft toys or dolls that served as marketing tools and souvenirs, as well as gifts for small children. Two other examples in the museum’s Theatre & Performance Collection are the felt Totem Girl in Rose Marie, 1925, and the cotton doll of Lupino Lane as Bill Snibson in Me and My Girl, 1937.

This soft toy continues the tradition. It represents the popular clown Tweedy, created by the Scottish performer Alan Digweed who appears annually with Giffords Circus and Cirque Berserk, in plays and pantomime, and in his one-man show. With its trademark quiff of red hair and lopsided smile, it captures the essence of Tweedy’s zany character and capacity for making audiences laugh. The toy was commissioned by Tweedy, who sells it at venues where he appears and through his own website.