Mr. Mathews, as Miss Evelina Evergreen
Isaac Robert Cruikshank British
Publisher John Limbird British
Subject Charles Mathews British
Not on view
Mathews was an acclaimed comic actor, hugely popular in London between 1818 and 1834. His talents for mimicry, facial and physical contortion, and ventriloquism were used to embody multiple characters and poke fun at a range of social and national types. His annual "At Homes" (one-man theatrical performances that presented roles in quick succession), featured a range of accents, quick costume changes, and songs and were avidly anticipated each Spring. Here, he appears as a spinster visiting Paris with her pet bird, ready to set off for home. The print relates to the closing scene of a four hour entertainment of 1819, titled "Trip to Paris" that skewered the habits of English tourists. In his "Mono-poly-logue Description of La Diligence," Mathews embodied eight characters--passengers and attendants at a carriage office--and managed to convince the audience that all were in the carriage as it drove off towards Calais at the end.
