Indictment, Theatre Royal Adelphi. London, c 1875. Mezzotint.
A Rare Print of an Actor on Trial for Desecrating Shakespeare [Legal Humor]. [Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)]. Indictment: Theatre Royal Adelphi. [London?, c.1875]. 7-1/2" x 13-1/2" (19 x 34.3 cm) mezzotint mounted to 11-1/4" x 16-3/4" (28.6 x 41.5 cm) scrapbook leaf, 5 unrelated etched cartoons to verso, 3 hand-colored. Light toning, faint dampstaining to lower corners, edges trimmed closely, soiling, chips and edgewear to leaf, which is numbered "74" and "75" in early hand, moderate toning and foxing to images affixed to verso. $1,950. * During the second half of the nineteenth century, London's Adelphi Theatre was known for featuring humorous adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, which were frequently targeted by critics and other arbiters of "good taste." In this mezzotint the theatre is on trial for its desecration of Shakespeare. The judges and lawyers are women dressed in legal garb with witch's hats. The defendant is contrite male actor in a classic Shakespearean costume, possibly that of Macbeth, his head bowed. Before him is a large book on a lectern, most likely Shakespeare's collected works. The three judges presiding over the trial are likely an allusion to the witches from Macbeth. The jury consists of a series of characters from children's literature, including Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk. Observing the proceedings are two groups of people, one sitting in a "Commentators Box," the other in a "Critics Box." Below is a passageway to "The Cells"; a jail-keeper is standing between the entrance and the defendant. (The letter C in "Cell" looks a bit like an S. This could be an example of a poorly executed letter or a pun on "what sells.") The five cartoons on the verso are from the early 1800s. Similar in style to the works of James Gillray and Thomas Rowlandson, but with voice bubbles, they are titled "A Fit of Coffin," "A Subscriber to the Penny Magazine," "Taking a Room to Avoid the Gripes" and "A Fit of the Gripes." No copies located on OCLC or Library Hub or at the Folger Shakespeare Library. We located a copy, however, at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Price: $1,950.00
Book number 84523