London Palladium, autumn variety season, 1952London Palladium Theatre, programme cover, Variety Season, Autumn 1952 Date: 1952
MushroomsA large number of mushroom varieties. Date: 1913
Carbolic Smoke Ball / 1893Advertisement for The Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. which claimed to offer a cure for a wide variety of ailments. This led to a court case on grounds of deception & a landmark ruling
Sobranie cigarettes advertisement, 1963Advertisement for Sobranie Cocktail cigarettes, available in a variety of fancy rainbow colours with gold tips - like all the best parties well bred, well dressed and perfectly packed. Date: 1963
English football players in team pictureLeading England football players, wearing a variety of shirts, line up for a team picture
Programme for the London PalladiumProgramme for variety show at the London Palladium, 1932, under the direction of George Black Date: 1932
Entomology SpecimensA specimen tray from the Natural History Museums Entomology Department showing the diversity of insects in terms of shape, size and colours
A large variety of mushrooms, 1913. Date: 1913
British Butterflies - Various - including: Chalk Hill Blue Butterfly (male), Wood White Butterfly, Purple Hairstreak Butterfly (female), Purple Hairstreak Butterfly (at rest)
Variety Theatre, Dr. Walford BodieDr. Walford Bodie 1869 - 1939, One of the most famed and controversial Music Hall performers of his day. Known as the Electrical Wizzard
George Walker and Ada Overton Walker in In DahomeyMiss Ada Overton Walker and Mr George Walker, performing " The Tsar of Dixie" a song in the play In Dahomey at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 1903
The Pearly King and Queen of Thornton HeathLarry Barnes (1926-2011) - Pearly King of Thornton Heath and one of Variety Theatres last specialist acts. Pictured with his Pearly Queen Maggie (1932)
The Beatles rehearsing for the Royal Variety PerformancePhoto of The Beatles jumping during rehearsal for the Royal Variety Performance Date: 1963
Primula Auricula Hardy Amies - formally number AE84 in The Gordon Collection. Date: circa 1960s
George FormbyEntertainer George Formby (1904-1961) and his wife Beryl Formby, nee Ingham (1901-1960), also a variety artist. Date: 1940
A selection of common British Moths Date: circa 1920s
Possession is nine points of the law by Louis WainIllustration by Louis Wain showing a cat occupying a cast-off saucepan or cooking pot during snowy weather. A selection of birds, including a magpie and a blue tit bemusedly face the cat
Variety of pistols, incl Colts Deringer pistol / PeacemakerA variety of pistols, including Colts Deringer pistol, the Snapchance Revolver, a full-size cartridge, a US Cavalry Colt Sa (Single Action Army - Peacemaker).45 revolver (circa 1877)
Old Time Music Hall ShowThe cast of the Old Time Music Hall show from the City Varieties in Leeds take a bow; the audience, dressed in Victorian and Edwardian costume, are part of the show Date: 1960s
Sailors KnotsA variety of knots used by sailors for a variety of purposes. Some run, some slip, others stay put... Date: 1926
The Fishmongers Shop
Kerria Japonica (Japanese Yellow Rose), a shrub of the Rosaceae family with bright yellow flowers, native to China, Japan and Korea
Persian MusiciansA group of Persian musicians play on a variety of instruments. Below dancing girls perform to the music
Nubians in Ancient EgyptNubians from the south bring tribute to the Egyptian Pharaoh; they wear a variety of clothing - skirts short or long, tunics, animal skins, and plumed headgear
Jaspideum variety of Dendrobium nobile orchid.. Illustration drawn by C. de Bruyne and chromolithographed by P. de Pannemaeker from Lucien Lindens Lindenia, Iconography of Orchids, Brussels, 1902
British RAF aeroplanes in 1939 by G. H. DavisThe huge array of aircraft in the RAF in 1939, imposing for its size and variety. 37 types of machine, ranging from the Sunderland flying boat to light trainers
Variety Theatre, Monte SaldoEnglish born Monte Saldo 1879 - 1949 (real name A. M. Woolaston). Strong-man, Gymnast and also an artists model. Here he is photographed in various statuesque classical poses as well as in the more
Buffalo Bills ShowBUFFALO BILLs WILD WEST SHOW Bill Codys rough rider extravaganza, featuring scenes of Napoleon, and an onstage artist, Rosa Bonheur
Aussie Cricketers 1893The Eighth Australian Cricketing Team of 1893 pose in their cricket whites and a variety of caps and blazers
Various ArachnidsA variety of insects, including centipede, millipede, woodlouse, scorpion, spiders and ticks
Early BicyclesA variety of early bicycles, including two varieties of the Celerifere of 1793 (1 & 2), the Draisienne (Dandy-Horse) of 1819 (3) and Gompertzs Velocipede (4)
Victoria Monks / VarietyVICTORIA MONKS Music hall entertainer: Bill Bailey
Maude Edwards ventriloquistMaude Edwards (1886 - 1976), female ventriloquist, with her puppeteered dummy Nobbler, stable boy seated upon her knee. Date: 1905
Gravesend, KentA variety of shipping on the River Thames at Gravesend, Kent. Date: 1825
Beetles and ButterfliesInsects of the English countryside - including Stag Beetle (lucanus), Tiger Beetle (cicindelida) and a variety of butterflies and moths (lepidoptera)
Page of Victorian adverts - 1890Various adverts for The Graphic, May 1890. May 1890
Papaver (Poppy), two varietiesTwo varieties of Papaver (Poppy) -- Papaver flore pleno rubrum (Double Red) and Papaver Eraticum rubrum (Wild Red), drawn by Basilius Besler (1561-1629)
The American dancer Nitza Vernille appearing in the new Shubert revue Artists and Models, 1927 Date: 1927
Dancers of Variety, 1928. Don Rose and Peggy Malloy (top left) appearing in the Franchon and Marco The Mask idea in West Coast theatres
The Dolly Sisters performing their Persian Dance 1921The Dolly Sisters as they perform their Persian dance in the " League of Notions", a popular revue at the New Oxford
Two Japanese ChinsThe Japanese Chin, also known as the Japanese Spaniel, is a dog acknowledged for its importance to Japanese nobility. Date: 1911
The Folly Theatre, Peter Street, ManchesterPromotional 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
Muffed Flying Tumblers, PigeonsA portrait of four sub-variants of the Flying Tumbler pigeon breed. The Flying Tumblers shown is the Black Rose-Wing, the Red Rose-Wing, the Red-Badge and the Black Saddle
Tenebrosa variety of Vanda tricolor hybrid orchid.. Illustration drawn by C. de Bruyne and chromolithographed by P. de Pannemaeker from Lucien Lindens Lindenia, Iconography of Orchids, Brussels, 1903
First Royal Variety Show dress rehersal, 1912The dress rehearsal for the first Royal Variety Show performance at the Palace Theatre, 1912, which was attended by many celebrities
Casino Theatre, on Old Compton Street, SohoThe Casino Theatre, on Old Compton Street in Soho, London. It had originally opened as the Prince Edward Theatre in 1930, converted to the Casino in 1935
Argyle Theatre / Cheshirein Birkenhead, Cheshire. Reported to be the oldest variety theatre in Britain. Date: 1940s
Vera Vivian, performer, in cloche hatVera Vivian, performer of the Reg Jecks and Vera Vivian Variety Theatre Company, seen here in a cloche hat and a coat with a fur collar. 1920
