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Theatrical Pleasures, Plate 2: Contending for a Seat

Publisher Thomas McLean British
ca. 1835
Not on view
Lower-middle-class theatergoers struggle here to secure unreserved seats in the pit at London’s Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, while being observed by refined audience members in private boxes above. Two men engaged in fisticuffs cause consternation to those nearby. The titles of dramas lettered on playbills comment on the fracas. Point of Honour and Peeping Tom, on a sheet in the left foreground, suggest the cause of the fight and draw attention to a man in striped trousers looking up a woman’s dress. A second handbill, at the right, lettered The Devil to Pay and Love, Law and Physic, hints at the trials of sitting in the pit and suggests the low taste of the audience since the latter farce was characterized by Cockney humor.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Theatrical Pleasures, Plate 2: Contending for a Seat
  • Artist: Theodore Lane (British, Isleworth ca. 1800–1828 London)
  • Publisher: Thomas McLean (British, 1788–1875)
  • Date: ca. 1835
  • Medium: Hand-colored etching
  • Dimensions: image: 8 15/16 x 7 5/16 in. (22.7 x 18.6 cm)
    sheet: 10 9/16 x 8 3/4 in. (26.8 x 22.2 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.3.888-40
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Theatrical Pleasures, Plate 5: Feasting in the Saloon, Theodore Lane British, Hand-colored etching
Theatrical Pleasures, Plate 5: Feasting in the Saloon
Theodore Lane
Thomas McLean
ca. 1835
Theatrical Pleasures, Plate 1: Crowding to the Pit, Theodore Lane British, Hand-colored etching
Theatrical Pleasures, Plate 1: Crowding to the Pit
Theodore Lane
Thomas McLean
ca. 1835
Theatrical Pleasures, Plate 4: Taken Places Occupied, Theodore Lane British, Hand-colored etching
Theatrical Pleasures, Plate 4: Taken Places Occupied
Theodore Lane
Thomas McLean
ca. 1835
Theatrical Pleasures, Plate 5: Feasting in the Saloon, Theodore Lane British, Hand-colored etching
Theatrical Pleasures, Plate 5: Feasting in the Saloon
Theodore Lane
Thomas McLean
ca. 1835
Theatrical Pleasures, ( Snug in the Gallery, Plate 3), Theodore Lane British, Hand-colored etching
Theatrical Pleasures, ( Snug in the Gallery, Plate 3)
Theodore Lane
Thomas McLean
ca. 1835

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