A series of pen and ink illustrations showing preparations for the pantomime 'The Forty Thieves' at Drury Lane Theatre in 1898. Each image is captioned and many show stage hands preparing props and painting backdrops. The properties include papier maché 'big heads' of geni, and pantomime animals including a horse, ostriches, an elephant and other animals for the zoo scene. The captions include a reference to the pantomime horse needing to be strong enough to carry the weight of the great performer Herbert Campbell, and another to the phrase 'one for his nob' used in the card game cribbage. The illustrations were drawn by the artist Ralph Cleaver and his signature appears in the bottom right hand corner. Another on the rear indicates that the sketches were commissioned for the Illustrated London News on the 24th of December 1898.
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Pantomime rose in popularity during the Victorian period. As audience numbers increased the productions became increasingly lengthy, complex and spectacular, featuring beautiful costume and dramatic special effects. The most elaborate Victorian pantomimes were staged at London's Drury Lane Theatre. The lavish pantomimes presented by its manager Augustus Harris in the 1880s and 1890s cost vast sums of money, had hundreds of performers, and lasted for up to five hours. Many of the elements of today's pantomimes can be traced back to these Drury Lane pantomimes.
This item is one of several theatrical drawings from a collection of sketches commissioned from contemporary artists to be printed in illustrated magazines. The collection was donated to the museum by Sir William James Ingram in 1914.
