Case Three

Case 3: The Later Period: Pollock and Literary Sheets.

Benjamin Pollock inherited a theatrical print warehouse when he married Eliza Redington, daughter of toy theatre publisher John Redington. After his death, his shop was taken over by his daughters, and continued operating until it was damaged by a bomb during World War II. Pollock’s has reopened several times in different locations, and now exists as a separate museum trust and toyshop.

21. Benjamin Pollock outside his shop, c. 1922. Image courtesy of Pollock’s Toy Museum.

______

22. Charles Dickens. Characters and Scenes from Oliver Twist. London: Published by John Redington/Benjamin Pollock, no date.

It was common for publishers to buy or inherit each other’s sheets and plates, and many of the plays in the collection are complete only because they combine sheets from multiple publishers. In this case, sheets by John Redington (whose sheets were sometimes sold by J. Webb and who was sometimes an agent for J. K. Green) were republished by Benjamin Pollock. Oliver Twist was adapted for the stage and performed at the Surrey Theatre in 1838.

______

23. Redington’s Characters and Scenes in Don Quixote. London: J. Redington, sold by J. Webb, no date.

24. Pollock’s Characters and Scenes in Don Quixote. London: B. Pollock, no date.

The complex relationships between publishers who bought or inherited each other’s stock and plates can sometimes be seen on the sheets themselves. Pollock’s marked working copy of Redington’s sheets (also sold by Webb) are stained with ink. The attribution also changes over time from ‘Redington’ to ‘Pollock, late Redington’, to simply ‘Pollock’.

______

25. Hodgson’s New Characters in Romeo and Juliet. London: Hodgson & Co. 1823.

Later toy theatre plays came with playbooks that included condensed dialogue and directions for the left and right hands. Since wood and cardboard characters were extremely limited in their range, spectacles rather than plays with extensive dialogue and deep emotion were most popular for adaptation to the toy theatre. Despite this, thirteen of Shakespeare’s plays were published for this medium.

______

26. Pollock’s Scenes in Whittington and His Cat (coloured and uncoloured). London: B. Pollock, c. 1880.

A skilfully coloured and charming backdrop from Whittington and His Cat.

______

27. Skelt’s Scenes in Harlequin & Old Dame Trot. London: MM Skelt, after 1837.

28. Webb’s Scenes in Harlequin Dame Crump. London: W. Webb, no date.

29. Pollock’s Scenes in Baron Munchausen. London: B. Pollock, no date.

30. Redington’s Scenes in Baron Munchausen. London: John Redington, no date.

31. Pollock’s Scenes in Jack the Giant Killer. London: B. Pollock, no date.

Publishers’ storefronts were often visible in the background of pantomimes, and these illustrations are as close as we can come to seeing what these shops used to look like outside of contemporary descriptions. Storefronts were both a form of self-promotion and an opportunity for satire, with shops reflecting contemporary trends, such as the ‘Quack’ store advertising that it will remove bumps on the head, a nod to the then-popular pseudoscience of phrenology.

______

32. Pollock’s Scenes in The Silver Palace. London: Benjamin Pollock, no date.

______

33. Pollock’s Top Drops and Foot Pieces in The Silver Palace. London: Benjamin Pollock, no date.

Several sizes of sheets for each play were printed to fit the different-sized theatres made by the publishers.

______

Listen to Audio Guide here: