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Cartoon, Chatterton at the Princesss Theatre
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Cartoon, Chatterton at the Princesss Theatre
Cartoon, Frederick Balsir Chatterton (1834-1886), theatre manager --We wish Chatterton every success at the Princess s. The irony is that the Chatterton on the sandwich board refers to a performance by the actor Wilson Barrett in a one-act play about the poet Thomas Chatterton.
1884
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Media ID 14401057
© Mary Evans Picture Library
1884 Barrett Bryan Chatterton Entracte Frederick Irony Manager Performance Sandwich Wilson
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EDITORS COMMENTS
In this intriguing 1884 cartoon from the Mary Evans Picture Library, we find ourselves outside the Princess Theatre in London, where the irony of a sandwich board advertisement is cleverly brought to life. The sign reads, "We wish Chatterton every success at the Princess's," referring to Frederick Balsir Chatterton, the theatre manager, who is shown standing tall and confidently, donning a top hat and holding a cane. However, the twist lies in the fact that the "Chatterton" being promoted is not the manager himself, but rather the actor Wilson Barrett, who was performing in a one-act play about the poet Thomas Chatterton. The poet Thomas Chatterton, who lived from 1752 to 1770, gained notoriety for his forged medieval poems, which he attributed to a fictional medieval monk named Rowley. Chatterton's tragic end came when he was found dead in a cellar at the age of 17, an apparent suicide. In this cartoon, the sandwich board serves as a humorous commentary on the confusion between the two Chattertons. Wilson Barrett, dressed as the poet Thomas Chatterton, is shown in the background, wearing a long coat and a hat with a quill pen sticking out of it. The irony of the situation is further emphasized by the fact that Chatterton, the manager, is wishing "success" to the actor portraying the poet, who had actually taken his own life. This image offers a glimpse into the Victorian era's theatre scene, where the lines between reality and performance were often blurred, and the power of irony was a potent tool for both entertainment and commentary.
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