Printed invitation card to a private, amateur performance at Miss Kelly's theatre for Saturday evening, the 20th of September at 7 o'clock. Signed by Charles Dickens, 20 September 1845 [manuscript].
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Printed invitation card to a private, amateur performance at Miss Kelly's theatre for Saturday evening, the 20th of September at 7 o'clock. Signed by Charles Dickens, 20 September 1845 [manuscript].
Description
1 item.
Summary
From dealer's description: "Printed Invitation Card made out to Mr Serle, for the ‘Strictly Private’ Amateur Performance at Miss Kelly’s theatre ... on Saturday evening, the 20th September, at seven o’clock. It will be necessary to produce this card of invitation at the door; and it is understood to be a point of honour that it is not, on any account, transferable. ... Evening Dress. n.p. printed in blue and gold, with the words ‘Mr Serle‘s’ and ‘Boxes. Second Circle. 23’ added in Dickens’s hand; the blank verso SIGNED ‘Charles Dickens’. 9.8 x 13.6cm. [82137] Though not stated on the ticket, the ‘amateur performance’ was of Ben Jonson’s comedy Every Man in His Humour, in which Dickens took the part of Captain Bobadil. Performed on the 20th of September 1845, the cast was made up of Dickens’s literary friends and colleagues, and included Henry Mayhew, Frederick Dickens, Mark Lemon, Dudley Costello, Douglas Jerrold, John Leech, Frank Stone, and Gilbert A’Becket. In the afterpiece, Catherine Gore’s one-act farce A Good Night’s Rest, Dickens played Snobbington and Mark Lemon The Stranger. The recipient of the invitation was Thomas James Serle, 1798-1889, a playwright of note, and a regular correspondent of Dickens. A letter from Dickens to Serle (see Pilgrim Letters, vol. VI, p.385.) indicates that, for some undivulged reason, he never actually made it to the performance. Dickens laments, ‘I am extremely sorry you were not there, as I really counted on your worship’s presence: setting a high value on your opinion’. The performance was well-received, and the production revived several times, usually in aid of some charitable cause. Tickets for these performances, especially those signed by Dickens, are particularly unusual."
Note
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Genre/form
Manuscripts (documents)
Place of creation/publication
Great Britain -- England.
Item Details
Call number
Y.d.1795
Folger-specific note
From dealer's description: "Printed Invitation Card made out to Mr Serle, for the ‘Strictly Private’ Amateur Performance at Miss Kelly’s theatre ... on Saturday evening, the 20th September, at seven o’clock. It will be necessary to produce this card of invitation at the door; and it is understood to be a point of honour that it is not, on any account, transferable. ... Evening Dress. n.p. printed in blue and gold, with the words ‘Mr Serle‘s’ and ‘Boxes. Second Circle. 23’ added in Dickens’s hand; the blank verso SIGNED ‘Charles Dickens’. 9.8 x 13.6cm. [82137] Though not stated on the ticket, the ‘amateur performance’ was of Ben Jonson’s comedy Every Man in His Humour, in which Dickens took the part of Captain Bobadil. Performed on the 20th of September 1845, the cast was made up of Dickens’s literary friends and colleagues, and included Henry Mayhew, Frederick Dickens, Mark Lemon, Dudley Costello, Douglas Jerrold, John Leech, Frank Stone, and Gilbert A’Becket. In the afterpiece, Catherine Gore’s one-act farce A Good Night’s Rest, Dickens played Snobbington and Mark Lemon The Stranger. The recipient of the invitation was Thomas James Serle, 1798-1889, a playwright of note, and a regular correspondent of Dickens. A letter from Dickens to Serle (see Pilgrim Letters, vol. VI, p.385.) indicates that, for some undivulged reason, he never actually made it to the performance. Dickens laments, ‘I am extremely sorry you were not there, as I really counted on your worship’s presence: setting a high value on your opinion’. The performance was well-received, and the production revived several times, usually in aid of some charitable cause. Tickets for these performances, especially those signed by Dickens, are particularly unusual." Ordered from Jarndyce, D9176, 2018-02-07, E-List for California Book Fair 2018, page 17.
Folger accession
270081