Original Georgian theatre playbill for Shakespeare’s OTHELLO; or, The Moor of Venice, performed at the King’s Theatre, Richmond, on Monday 30 August 1824, together with the first performance at this theatre of NEW LIGHTS; or, THE IRISH TUTOR.
A particularly striking early 19th-century playbill, dominated by enormous display typography for OTHELLO and NEW LIGHTS, with the production dramatically advertised through individual scenes including“The Senate Scene, Where Othello receives his Commission”,“The Isle of Cyprus, with the Port and Harbour, The Fort and Citadel”, and the especially prominent“Desdemona meets her Death!”
The cast of Othello includes Mr Fitzharris as Othello, Mr Lockwood as Iago, Mr Courtney as Cassio, Miss Wilkins as Desdemona and Mrs Wilkins as Æmilia, together with Messrs Cooke, Keene, Turner, Newcombe, Atwood, Mathews and Channing.
Following the play were additional entertainments:“The Coronation” by Mr Mathews,“Chit Chat” by Mr Keene, and the duet“When a little Farm we keep” by Mr Mathews and Miss Routh.
The evening concluded with the popular one-act farce NEW LIGHTS; or, THE IRISH TUTOR, advertised as being produced“for the First Time” at the Richmond theatre and as having been performed“with the greatest Applause at the Theatre-Royal, Covent-Garden.”
New Lights; or, The Irish Tutor, by Richard Butler, Earl of Glengall, had first been performed at Cheltenham in July 1822 and subsequently at Covent Garden in October 1822, making it a comparatively recent theatrical success when this Richmond production was staged in 1824.
The cast of New Lights includes Mr Keene as Dr Flail, Mr Fitzharris as Terry O’Rourke, Mr Courtney as Charles, Mr Mathews as Jem Clodskull, Mrs Wilkins as Rosa and Mrs Klanert as Mary.
The playbill dates from an important period in the history of the old Richmond theatre. Richmond Local Studies records Charles Moritz Klanert as manager from June 1817 until November 1829, placing this August 1824 production firmly within his management. Klanert had previously played minor roles at Covent Garden and first appeared at Richmond in 1810.
Klanert's management is described as one of the theatre's most notable periods. He engaged celebrated performers including Edmund Kean, Eliza O'Neill, Maria Foote and John Liston, and was prepared to offer high salaries to attract major theatrical talent.
The appearance of Mrs Klanert in the present bill is therefore particularly interesting in the context of the production being given during Charles Moritz Klanert's management.
The theatre itself had opened in 1765. Situated on the south-west side of Richmond Green, it had enjoyed royal patronage from George III and Queen Charlotte, while performers during its long history included Sarah Siddons, Mrs Jordan and the elder Macready. Edmund Kean subsequently became its lessee in 1831, having already appeared there on several occasions during Klanert's management.
The playbill therefore belongs to the same notable period of Richmond theatre history during which Kean was appearing at the house, although Kean does not appear in this particular performance.
The imprint at the foot reads:
“NORBURY, PRINTER, BRENTFORD.”
This is a particularly worthwhile feature. The Norbury family operated a longstanding printing and bookselling concern in Brentford. Local historical research records the business at 110 High Street, Brentford, and identifies Philip Norbury as a printer and longstanding Brentford postmaster. The printing business continued through the family.
There is also a documented connection between Norbury of Brentford and the Richmond theatre. The Victoria & Albert Museum holds a Norbury-printed Richmond Theatre poster from 1799, advertising The Castle Spectre and Ways and Means; or, a Trip to Dover.
The Norbury imprint on this 1824 example therefore provides interesting additional evidence of the firm's involvement in Richmond theatrical printing, some 25 years after the V&A's 1799 example.
At the bottom of the bill are announcements for forthcoming repeat performances of:
DON GIOVANNI
THE MAN OF THE WORLD
PRIDE SHALL HAVE A FALL
The bill is a wonderful illustration of Georgian theatre-going as an entire evening's entertainment rather than simply the performance of one play: Shakespearean tragedy was followed by songs and a duet and then a comic afterpiece.
It is equally interesting as an example of early 19th-century theatrical advertising. The enormous wood/display type used for OTHELLO, NEW LIGHTS and particularly “Desdemona meets her Death!”, together with the promotion of elaborate scenic locations such as the port, harbour, fort and citadel of Cyprus, shows how spectacle and famous dramatic moments were used to advertise Shakespeare to contemporary audiences.
A highly decorative and historically interesting 1824 Shakespeare playbill, combining Othello, an early Richmond performance of the recently successful New Lights / The Irish Tutor, the management period of Charles Moritz Klanert, and the imprint of the established Brentford printer Norbury.
Condition as photos. Guaranteed Original. All items can be returned for a full refund if found to be not as described.
PROVENANCE
From the collection of a long established Richmond-upon-Thames resident, focusing on 17th to 19th century trade ephemera, theatre handbills and Acts of Parliament.
Items from the collection range across social, cultural, theatrical and commercial history, many having previously been part of a long-established private collection.
Complete with digital .jpg CoA - as photo - for you to print if needed
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