Characters Gallery

Wartime Toby jugs, WW1

Advertisement for Soane & Smith of Oxford Street, promoting their range of Toby jugs based on wartime leaders, principally Sir David Beatty, Sir Douglas Haig, Lord Jellicoe, Marshal Joffre, Lord French, Prime Minister David Lloyd George, President Woodrow Wilson and Marshal Foch. Last but not least is a special design based on the character Old Bill, portrayed in the hugely popular cartoons by Bruce Bairnsfather in The Bystander magazine. Date: 1918

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans

Chelsea Follies Revue by Archibald de Bear and R. Arkell

Chelsea Follies Revue devised by Archibald de Bear (1882 - 1959) and Reginald Arkell (1889 - 1962). Presented by R.H. Gillespie with music by Wolseley Charles (1889 - 1962) and Desmond Carter (15 June 1895 3 February 1939). It was first produced at The Victoria Palace Theatre on 17th December 1930. This is a large postcard listing the cast members on the reverse, with Nervo and Knox the stars, (Jimmy Nervo and Teddy Knox were part of the original Crazy Gang). It leaves room for an address but not for a message. The design with various figures seen against a giant painters palette uses Chelseas association with art and artists. The Times thought that the staging was old fashioned and lacked imagination, but that the performance itself was most spirited'. Date: 1930

© The Michael Diamond Collection / Mary Evans Picture Library

Strip tease card game - Theatre suit - Conductor

Strip tease card game - Theatre suit - Conductor. A game which features characters involved in performing (and subsequently prosecuting and defending) a striptease. The complex rules allow for two variants of the game, providing for prosecution of the person (or theatre) presenting the striptease.
1930s

© Mary Evans Picture Library