Playbill — Playbill advertising William Henry West Betty, 'The Young Roscius', 1804, Edinburgh, 1804
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1804
Playbill in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum number S.188-1997), made in Edinburgh, dated 1804. The museum's brief description reads: Playbill advertising 'The Young Roscius' William Henry West Betty (1791-1874) in Douglas, Theatre Royal Edinburgh, 28 June1804.
Letterpress, printed by Denovan & Co.. Museum description: Letterpress playbill advertising 'The Young Roscius' in Douglas at the Theatre Royal, Thursday, 28 June1804. The evening will conclude with the farce, Raising the Wind. The museum records it as Letterpress, measuring Height 41.2 cm; Width 17.5 cm. These details come from the museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
This playbill advertises the first appearance in Edinburgh of the fourteen year old superstar William Henry West Betty (1791-1874), later known as Master Betty, in the title role of John Home's Douglas, but only identifies him as The Young Roscius. It notes that he is: 'the young gentleman who has for some time performed in the theatres of Dublin, Cork and Belfast with such a series of success and drew crowded and overflowing houses as to acquire the appellation of The Young Roscius, and, who has been received with an equal degree of estimation in Glasgow...' Master Betty went on to make his first appearance in London at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, on Saturday, 1 December 1804, by which time his appearances in the rest of the country had produced such frenetic expectation that people hid in the theatre the night before in an attempt to see him and others fainted in the crush for admittance. Constables were hired to keep watch in the auditorium on the great day that he made his London debut as Achmet in John Brown's tragedy Barbarossa.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- printing ink
- Dimensions
- Height 41.2 cm; Width 17.5 cm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Letterpress
- Place recorded
- Edinburgh
Identification
- Museum object name
- Playbill
- Museum object number
- S.188-1997
- Museum system number
- O1138629
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type, maker and catalogue references against a specialist reference.