Lot 78
ANONYMOUS
EDWARDIAN MUSIC HALL POSTER, CIRCA 1900
Auction: 28 February 2018 from 11:00 GMT
Description
advertising THE MUSICAL SCHÄFERS, lithographic print
Dimensions
149cm x 51cm (58.5in x 20.25in)
Footnote
Note: This poster advertises The Musical Schäfers and their Novelty Revolving Sunflower act, one of the hundreds of comedy acts that toured the music halls and variety theatres in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Established performers who could afford it all had their own posters designed and printed so that they could be pasted up in the towns they were appearing with overposted slips noting the venue. Performers' contracts of the day often stipulated that entertainers had to provide their advertising material, sending it to the theatre manager at the venue before their appearance.
This brightly coloured poster clearly aimed to capture the spirit of the act even if it doesn't explain how the sunflowers revolved or how they were made. Presumably the act consisted of the girl and the white-faced clown, the girl acting as a 'straight' foil to the comical musical business of the clown. The unusual long, thin shape of the poster was also designed to be eye-catching.