Theatre Costume
ca. 1920s (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This costume was worn by Bay Harrington. Bay (a corruption of 'Baby', the name by which she was known to her family in which she was the only girl) trained at the Tree Academy as an opera singer and appeared in performances at Covent Garden and at Her Majesty's Theatre. She had the opportunity of continuing her singing studies at La Scala, but her family felt she was too young, and after a bout of TB affected her voice she abandoned grand opera for the variety stage. Bay appeared with concert groups, including The Seven Romps in 1912, and then in various double acts with other girls including The Trilbies with Eileen Lawler in 1913, touring the Near East and Asia as well as Britain, and with Evelyn Kirkby as Kirkby & Harrington. She appeared in pantomime in London and the regions as well as in variety.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 4 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | |
| Brief description | Hat, wig and monocle worn by Bay Harrington in the variety act Kirkby and Harrington, ca. 1920s |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | At nape of wig: "B. J. Simmons & co. Kings street Covent Garden"
|
| Credit line | In memory of Bay Harrington - given by Mrs. P. Farley |
| Object history | The costume was worn by Bay (neé Florence Charlotte) Harrington (1891-1983) in an unidentified variety act with Evelyn Kirkby, possibly in the 1920s. Historical significance: The costume one of a group of variety costumes worn by Bay Harrington in various acts in the 1920s and 1930s. It is rare to have several costumes for a variety artist from the different acts they devised over their careers. |
| Summary | This costume was worn by Bay Harrington. Bay (a corruption of 'Baby', the name by which she was known to her family in which she was the only girl) trained at the Tree Academy as an opera singer and appeared in performances at Covent Garden and at Her Majesty's Theatre. She had the opportunity of continuing her singing studies at La Scala, but her family felt she was too young, and after a bout of TB affected her voice she abandoned grand opera for the variety stage. Bay appeared with concert groups, including The Seven Romps in 1912, and then in various double acts with other girls including The Trilbies with Eileen Lawler in 1913, touring the Near East and Asia as well as Britain, and with Evelyn Kirkby as Kirkby & Harrington. She appeared in pantomime in London and the regions as well as in variety. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.243:1-2002 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | September 5, 2002 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
