London's first 1000th night souvenir merchandise

 

Our Boys 

The first play ever to notch up 500 consecutive nights in London's West End eventually ran for 1382 performances at the Vaudeville Theatre.

This week, I came upon this interesting piece of merchandising marking the 1000th night on 19 February 1878 ...

Now, I don't know the play intimately, but the plot has the conventional 'stern' fathers (one aristocratic, one in the butter trade) of two feckless young men who each falls in love with the girl (one an heiress, one her poor cousin) intended by position and money for the other.  A bit of French farcical business with auntie's bonnet ... and that's really it. Of course, it was what went into that frame which made the play the record-breaking hit that it became.

The best roles were, naturally, were those taken by the theatre's managers, David James (as the untutored nouveau riche), and Tom Thorne as the aristocratic sprig in love with the poor cousin. Both of course were still there on night 1000 and well beyond ..

Nice ... but .... one, two, three ....

Starting from the left we have Cicely Richards as Belinda (standing), Sophie Larkin as Miss Clarissa Champneys, the auntie with the bonnet (seated), David James as Perkyn Middlewick, William Farren as Sir Geoffrey Champneys, Kate Bishop as heiress Violet Melrose (seated) and tall Tom Thorne as Talbot Champneys. All original cast.

Kate Bishop

However, by the 1000th performance Charles Warlhouse Garthorne (brother of W H Kendal, ie Grimston) had taken over the part of Charles Middlewick ... and where is Mary Melrose? If the right-hand lady is supposed to be she, why is she 3/4 back on? I'm pretty sure it is not the original Amy Roselle who, in any case, would have had the right to a display equal to that of Miss Bishop. But there are only four women in the cast ...

Well, on the bottom of the card someone has pencil scribbled ... why, they're initials. Almost illegible but ... yes CR=Cicely Richard, SL=Sophie Larkin ...  and, ahha, CGW. Charles Warner. 

And ?N W.  Ah-ha! Miss Nellie Walters (a member of the Vaudeville Company) persisted on the bills during the run. I think we have an understudy situation. Which would explain why her face is hidden.

Given the amount of shekels James and Thorne made from the play you would think they could have afforded an up-to-date photo for this occasion: Garthorne, Bessie Hollingshead. Or maybe this wasn't Official Merchandise? Just a souvenir stuck together by an entrepreneur ... 

Heigh ho!

Tom Thorne

Thorne and James

PS

Some excellent photos of The Girls, the play with which the Vaudeville and its managers followed up their huge success surfaced this week on e-bay.  As you can see, the cast was in large part the same. William Farren as the heavy man, Thorne and James as the young men in the story and Kate Bishop as one of the girls; Cicely Richards playing another maidservant, Sophie Larkin as another older lady. Mr Garthorne is back as the Lord in the affair ..  The other young lady is Marie Illingworth, and the small parts are taken by Messrs L Fredericks and J W Bradbury, of the theatre's company.