Master Burke as Jack Ratline
Not on view
Considered a wonder of the stage, and known as the "Irish Roscius," the boy actor Joseph Burke appears here as one of six characters he performed in "The March of Intellect" at the Surrey Theatre, London between 1827 and 1830. This show premiered when Burke was just nine and included dancing, music and various accents. The character shown in this print is a a British seaman, and the others included a child of eight, an Irishman, a lawyer, an Italian violinist, and Napoleon. A contemporary writer raved, "he is an immense favorite; in fact he might be termed one of the wonders of the world...the sailor...appeared as easy to him, as if he had been bred on board a 160 gun ship. His hornpipe so delighted the audience that he was encored, with the loudest peals of applause ever heard in any theatre...He is quite a master of his art, the stage is completely his own" (see 17.3.888-1074 to 17.3.888-1076, and 17.3.888-1078 to 17.3.888-1079 for the other characters).
