Comedy Collection

Too Many Cooks by Lawson Wood
A policeman on the beat around a smart London square appears to be blissfully unaware of the cooks emerging from each house to gaze adoringly at him

Map of Purgatory / Dante
A map of Purgatorio, in Dantes La Divina Commedia

Dante Alighieri, Italian poet, sees his beloved Beatrice
Dante Alighieri, Italian poet, best known for his long narrative poem, the Divine Comedy, sees his beloved Beatrice Portinari on the Lung Arno, Florence

The Car That Touched a Policeman by H. M. Bateman
An entire queue of traffic, as well as pedestrians stop and look on in horror as a couple driving a small, yellow car accidentally bump an incandescently irate policeman in the middle of the road

Jeeves and Wooster
In Thank You Jeeves!, Jeeves gives notice when Bertie Wooster, his employer, insists on playing the banjolele

Discovery of a Dandelion on Centre Court
The crowd, groundsmen, officials and players on the Centre Court of Wimbledon are astonished to discover the presence of a cheeky dandelion on the court

His Masters Breath - Satire
His Masters Breath Satirical play on the dog/gramophone logo for His Masters Voice, substituting the music player for a whiskey jar and funnel

Poster advertising the D Oyly Carte Opera Company, famous for its Gilbert and Sullivan operetta productions. Pictured are scenes from The Gondoliers, The Mikado and The Yeomen of the Guard

Vision of Angels / Dante
Dante and Beatrice, standing on a cloud, watch the angels as they circulate in Paradise

Dante / Map of Paradise
Schematic plan of Paradise, visited by Dante Alighieri in company with Beatrice

Hay Fever, by Noel Coward, Gaiety Theatre, Hastings
Hay Fever, a comedy by Noel Coward, at the Gaiety Theatre, Hastings, starring Kate Cutler

Blackpool, Grand Theatre
Interior view during the performance of a musical comedy

Irish gentleman in a whisky bar in Dublin prison, 1821
Irish gentleman in Croftons whisky and beer bar in Dublin prison, 1821. Bankrupt Brian Boru with his friends in the taproom drinking with criminals and debtors. The Tap in Sheriffs Prison

WW2 - NaFI presents ENSA Production at Alexandria, Egypt
WW2 - A playbill for a production of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde produced by N.A.A.F.I (Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes)

The Rules of Life by H. M. Bateman
A baby in a highchair is presented with a long list of rules for life by a queue of influential people including his nurse, his parents, teacher, police officer, judge and vicar. Date: 1930

Little Tich
LITTLE TICH (Harry Relph) Music hall entertainer (1867 - 1928), posed in his famous 28" boots called slapshoes, for his Big Boot dance. Date: c.1905

James Doughty, oldest clown in England
James Doughty of Brighton, at the time of this photograph the oldest clown in England, about to celebrate his 94th birthday. Seen here in costume with two of his performing dogs

Dante & Virgil on Ice
Virgil is Dantes guide on a tour of Inferno; they come across some evildoers punished by being placed up to their necks in ice

Charon / Styx / Dante / Virgil
Charon ferries Dante and Virgil across the Styx, the river which separates this world of ours from the infernal regions

Retro poster, Gilbert & Sullivan, D Oyly Carte
Retro poster for Gilbert & Sullivan, D Oyly Carte, character from HMS Pinafore. 1960s

Manila Carnival, The Philippines - Miss Ilocos Sur
Illustration after Walter Dendy Sadler (18541923) of his painting Thursday (Tomorrow will be Friday) of 1880, showing a group of jovial monks out fishing. Date: 1880

La Poupee by Arthur Sturgess
Promotional postcard for La Poupee, a comic operetta by Arthur Sturgess from the French of Maurice Ordonneau (Theatre de la Gaiete, Paris, 21st October 1896); music Edmond Audran

A poster advertising Daisy Yates, Always Blooming. Date: C. 1913

Lady Charles Cavendish aka Adele Astaire
Adele Astaire (1896 - 1981) comedy actress and dance partner of her brother, Fred Astaire from childhood until 1932, when she retired from dance to marry the British aristocrat Lord Charles Spencer

Theatre, A Cuckoo in the Nest 1925, Nerman
A scene from A Cuckoo in the Nest, a popular farce playing in London in 1925. Here, the impeccable husband is discovered by his wife and in-laws in a ladys bedroom (equally impeccable)

Poster advertising The Better Ole, Theatre Royal, Chatham
Poster advertising a comedy produced by Charles Cochran, The Better Ole, or The Romance of Old Bill, at the Theatre Royal, Chatham. Performed twice nightly, with a Wednesday matinee

Knitting Expert
A young man in an armchair gets himself in rather a tangle with his knitting!

Little Tich
LITTLE TICH (Harry Relph) Music hall entertainer (1867 - 1928), pictured in a school-themed costume with mortar board. Date: c.1905

Arthur Roberts, music hall entertainer
ARTHUR ROBERTS Music hall entertainer. Date: 19th century

Soho, London - Shaftesbury Avenue - Queens Theatre with neon sign for Private Lives by Noel Coward, directed by John Gielgud. 1973

Front of the Sketch featuring Marie Lloyd
Marie Lloyd, born Matilda Alice Victoria Wood (1870 - 1922), British music hall singer, entertainer and comedienne. A global superstar in her day commanding the highest salary of any entertainer

Lincoln Assass. / Playbill
The playbill found in President Abraham Lincolns box after his assassination by John Wilkes Booth at Fords Theatre

Female Souls / Purgatory
Dante and Virgil walk among female souls in Purgatorio

Scene from Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice
A scene from Shakespeares comedy, The Merchant of Venice, with Portia and other characters

Dante Alighieri, Italian poet, best known for his long narrative poem, the Divine Comedy

Tim Brooke-Taylor and Caroline Ellis
Tim Brooke-Taylor (1940-2020), English comic actor, pictured with British actress Caroline Ellis (1950-)

Mr Pastry, aka Richard Hearne, with lion
Mr Pastry, aka the comic actor Richard Hearne (1908-1979), with a lion. Date: circa 1960s

Cats Balancing on Cat Date: 1905

Retro poster, Gilbert & Sullivan, D Oyly Carte
Retro poster for Gilbert & Sullivan, D Oyly Carte, character from HMS Pinafore. 1960s

In the support trench by Bruce Bairnsfather, WW1 cartoon
" Old Bill has practically decided to try to get Private Shinio (the ex-comedy-juggler-and-hand-balancer) transferred to another platoon." The stoicism of Captain Bruce Bairnsfathers

The Divine Comedy. Dante and Beatrix meeting in Paradise. Gothic art. Miniature Painting

Classic Tight Scotsman Joke - Lured by six beauties
Classic Tight Scotsman Joke - A stereotype Jock doesn t hang on long to his tight purse strings as six pretty girls required a drink! " It wasn t long here till bang went saxpence

Clark Gable with Joan Crawford in Love on the Run 1936
Clark Gable with Joan Crawford in Love on the Run a romantic comedy film. Date: 1936

Good Morning, Bill! By P. G. Wodehouse
Promotional postcard for Good Morning, Bill! By P. G. Wodehouse, based on the Hungarian of Ladislas Fodor. First produced at the Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne

Funny Face by Fred Thomson & Paul Gerard Smith
Promotional postcard for Funny Face by Fred Thomson and Paul Gerard Smith; lyrics Ira Gershwin; music George Gershwin which was first produced in the Princes Theatre on 8th November 1928

The benefits of taking the water at Bad Wildungen, Germany
Comic illustration of the wonderful benefits to a ladys urinary tract (!) having taken the water at Bad Wildungen - a German therapeutic spa Town with springs that bring forth water containing iron

Scene from Shakespeares Midsummer Nights Dream
A scene from Shakespeares comedy, A Midsummer Nights Dream (Act II, Scene ii), in which Puck drops a love potion into the sleeping Titanias eyes

The Folly Theatre, Peter Street, Manchester
Promotional postcard showing a playbill of the acts playing at the Folly Theatre of Varieties, (known as the Folly) Peter Street, Manchester for the week commencing Monday, 24th March 1889

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