Artwork
Photograph of puppeteers at the opening of the 13th Exhibition of the British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild, 1938
Photograph of puppeteers at the opening of the 13th Exhibition of the British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild, 1938 is a photographic photography by Keystone Press Agency Ltd.. It dates from 1938 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. This 1938 black-and-white photograph captures puppeteers gathered outside Victory House in London's Leicester Square.
About this work
It marks the opening of the British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild’s 13th annual show, which ran for a week and featured nearly 250 puppets.
This black-and-white photo from 1938 shows puppeteers posing outside Victory House in London. It marks the opening of the British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild’s 13th annual show, which ran for a week and featured nearly 250 puppets.
Fourteen-year-old Molly Sheldrake, billed as Britain’s youngest Punch and Judy performer, kneels here with her puppets. The event drew huge crowds despite a foggy, wet Tuesday.
Check out more puppet art at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Overview
This 1938 black-and-white photograph captures puppeteers gathered outside Victory House in London's Leicester Square.
Subject & Meaning
The image commemorates the opening of the 13th annual exhibition of the British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild, featuring nearly 250 puppets and attended by large crowds. Molly Sheldrake, a 14-year-old billed as Britain's youngest Punch and Judy performer, is seen kneeling with her puppets.
History & Provenance
The exhibition ran from 24th to 30th October 1938 and received extensive press coverage, with most national daily papers publishing stories and photographs. The event was also filmed by British Movietone News.
Context
The photograph includes representatives from Les Amis de Lafleur, a puppet company from Amiens, France, known for reviving the Picard tradition of rod and string puppets in the 1930s. René Villeret, the company's founder and director, is visible in the front row.
Artist & collection
Artist
Most of these photos feel like candids from a family album, except they’re not. They’re shot by a news outfit you’d never expect to care about puppets—Keystone Press Agency—who just happened to be there when the British…
Photograph of puppeteers at the opening of the 13th Exhibition of the British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild, 1938
George Speaight Punch & Judy Collection
The audience at Professor Richard Codman lll's Punch and Judy booth, Liverpool, ca.1940
George Speaight Punch & Judy Collection
George Speaight Punch & Judy Collection
Untitled
George Speaight Punch & Judy Collection