Early theatre posters

Larger posters were influenced by those of a French theatre company who visited London in 1672, printed not only in black, but more expensive red ink. By the end of the century, London theatres produced similar posters or 'Great Bills', as well as the smaller ones, despite their extra cost. Gradually more information about the performances appeared on both sizes of poster, and the smaller ones were distributed in the streets and delivered to the homes of regular playgoers. Actors’ names began to appear, and some complained if their names didn't feature in large enough letters.

  • Playbill for Pidcock's Menagerie



    Playbill for Pidcock's Menagerie
    Thomas Bewick (artist)
    1795
    Museum no. S.516-1996
    © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

    This poster advertising a menagerie in 1795 is unusual for its date because it is illustrated with detailed engravings of animals. Late 18th century posters, if they are illustrated at all, only have small woodcut images. However, advertising for circus and menageries led the way for pictorial advertising, because they featured acts and animals that made interesting pictures. These animals are familiar to us today, but in the late 18th century, few people would ever have seen animals like this in Britain. Thomas Bewick, who drew the images, had a rare opportunity to draw animals from life in 1788. His home town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne was visited by a menagerie - possibly this one, owned by Thomas Pidcock, who had exhibited animals at fairs in London and the provinces since about 1769. This poster would have been expensive to produce but it was designed to be used wherever the menagerie went - it notes that the animals are appearing 'in the market place in this town', without specifying which town.

  • Myton circus playbill



    Circus playbill
    Myton, Kingston-upon-Hull, England
    October 1798
    Museum no. S.216-1978
    © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

    This early circus playbill from Hull promises a feast of entertainment including singing, dancing, feats of strength, trampoline and slack rope tricks, vaulting, a horse jumping through a paper hoop, a pantomime and the ever popular fireworks. This particular performance was for the ‘Benefit’ of the equestrian performer Mr Crossman, which meant that he would have earned a percentage of the profits. One of his acts, ‘The Taylor Riding to Brentford’, was a comic performance on horseback popularised at Astley’s Amphitheatre in London by Philip Astley, which involved changing costume several times while galloping round the ring. This early example of a circus playbill was quite short because it was printed on hand-made paper. Circus advertising benefited later from the developments in paper-making methods which could make paper in an extended strip. Circus playbills sometimes added small woodcut illustrations at this date, but when the paper was longer, they could add exciting illustrations to attract the crowds.

  • Theatre Royal playbill



    Theatre Royal playbill
    Drury Lane, London
    1718
    © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

    This poster would have been posted up some time in advance to announce the play Rule a Wife and Have a Wife, being presented by His Majesty's Company of Comedians at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. It would also have been handed out in the streets, and delivered to people's houses. The date 1725 has been written on it, probably by a collector, who also wrote that it took place 'in the time of Wilks and Mrs Oldfield'. We know that this play actually took place at Drury Lane on 14 April 1718. When this was printed, there weren't any theatre programmes as we have today. Playbills acted as both programme and poster. This one doesn't give many details at all about the production, but it does show that it was to begin a 6 o'clock, and that a larger poster (or 'Great Bill') was also going to be printed nearer the time. It is one of the earliest playbills in the Museum's collections.

  • Theatre Royal playbill for Shakespeare's Cymbeline



    Theatre Royal playbill for William Shakespeare's Cymbeline
    Covent Garden Theatre, London
    5 May, 1779
    © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

    The Great Bill, or large playbill, was the immediate ancestor of the theatre poster. The Museum has two posters in its collection for this production of Cymbeline at Covent Garden theatre on 5 May 1779 - this large version and a smaller one. The large one is printed in red and black ink and is more than four times the size of the smaller one. It would have cost more to produce because of the size of the paper and because red ink cost more than black ink. Both posters contain the same amount of information and include almost all the names of the cast of Cymbeline in the same sized letters. Only Mr Fearon and Mr Booth could have complained about preferential treatment for others! When the earliest Great Bills were printed, Letterpress printers had no special typefaces but chose the largest letters in stock. In 1765 however, a printer called Thomas Cotterell issued specimens of a special poster typeface called the 12-line Pica letter, and this is used here.

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