Token — Theatre admission token, Great Britain, ca.1879
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
ca.1879
Token — Theatre admission token, Great Britain, ca.1879 is an object recorded by Victoria and Albert Museum, dated ca.1879. The museum's brief description reads: Brass token for the Alhambra Palace, Blackburn, ca.1879. Museum description: Brass circular token inscribed 'CAMPBELL'S BLACKBURN' and in the centre 'ALHAMBRA PALACE', with a laurel wreath motif on the reverse. The museum record gives material recorded as brass (alloy); place associated: Great Britain; maker recorded: unknown. These details come from the holding 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
Blackburn's Campbell's Alhambra Palace, also known as Alhambra Music Hall, was opened in 1879 by a Mr Campbell, who also reopened the Royal Star Music Hall and Theatre of Varieties in nearby Darwen, Lancashire, in 1880. The Blackburn establishment was built as 'a better class of music hall' but closed by 1882 when local Magistrates granted it a dramatic license and it reopened as the New Royalty Theatre. Metal checks like this were issued at the box office on receipt of the entrance fee and were surrendered to check-takers at the entrance to the part of the house for which the tokens were valid. Some theatres issued tokens marked with the appropriate part of the house, such as 'Upper Gallery' or 'Pit'. This example does not, but hexagonal ones for the same theatre are known and they would have allowed admission to a different part of the auditorium.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- brass (alloy)
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Brass
- Maker recorded
- unknown
- Place recorded
- Great Britain
Identification
- Museum object name
- Token
- Museum object number
- S.353-1987
- Museum system number
- O1113869
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 materials, dimensions, maker and wider type against the holding institution and a specialist reference.