Beschreibung:

An Archive of Victorian, Edwardian and Mid-Twentieth Century Theatrical Ephemera dating from the 1880s to the 1950s providing perhaps a unique insight into backstage, preparation and production schedules. The items were collected over a period of years by an employee of Charles H. Fox Limited, a Wigmaker and Costumier established in 1876. This company supplied and hired Wigs, Costumes, Armoury and Royal Ceremonial Replicas for use by actors and actresses on the stage and, later, in films for Cinema. The collection was built up over a period of nearly 50 years by the employee who trained as a Wig Dresser saved and preserved items of interest. The collection includes original water colour art work featuring costume designs supplemented by notes and annotations on the margins of the art work by the designers and costume makers, together with an indication of the characters portrayed and the production. Some later, large format, costume photographs in the archive also include swatches of the original costume fabric pinned to them. Other photographs include those of stage and film shows ( Carousel, The King and I, Captain Horatio Hornblower, Gigi ) including individual celebrities ( Yul Brynner Deborah Kerr, Norman Wisdom, Gregory Peck, Joan Collins ). Also featured are original Victorian and Edwardian souvenir Programmes ( La Cigale - Lyric Theatre 1890 Ravenswood - Lyceum Theatre 1890, The Lord Mayor's Cripples' Fund Matinee - Theatre Royal Drury Lane 1907, Gilbert & Sullivan Operas Illustrated, 1932/33 Season ) together with additional contemporary resource references like Mallett, Porter & Dowd's Uniform Catalogue, Weldon's Illustrated Dressmaker 1905, Harrison's Dressmaker, Ladies' Gazette of Fashion, Crests of the British Army - Gale & Polden, Chas H. Fox Theatrical Historical & Fancy Costumiers & Wigmakers Catalogue.