Simplon Pass, First Edition (1 results)

No Binding. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. A printed playbill, approx. 42 x 33 cm., printed in two columns, central vertical crease where folded, occasional faults in printing, slight offsetting, chipping to extremities where extracted from a bound volume, else very good. Clarkson Stanfield (1793-1867) became the resident scene-painter at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in the 1820s. With David Roberts he developed the moving panorama or diorama, long and high paintings that were unfolded upon large rollers for the entertainment of a theatre audience. In 1830 Stanfield made a tour of Germany and Italy, and on his return he painted two dioramas, including his Military Pass of the Simplon . The diorama was shown to the Drury Lane audience as act 14 of the play Davy Jones or, Harlequin and Mother Carey s Chickens , and featured 12 scenes showing Alpine and Italian views. Details of Stanfield s diorama take up almost the entire second column of the playbill, which concludes with a notice about performances of Byron s Tragedy of Werner; or, The Inheritance .