Tinsel Prints

Tinsel Prints

Like modern baseball or hockey cards, tinsel prints were collectable images of famous actors and actresses produced in nineteenth century England. Tinsel prints could be purchased as singles or in sets of six or four,[1] in colour or in black and white from.[2]

As the popularity of these prints became wide spread, bags of prepared tinsel decorations were sold along with the prints making them customizable by the purchaser. Thus after the tinseling process, no two prints would be identical. Tinsel prints emerged from the tradition of toy theatres. Once an appropriate model theatre was purchased, the public could buy prints depicting actors, actresses and scenery from plays that were being performed at the time and recreate those plays in their home.[3] As the "juvenile drama" became popular, play books were published along side prints so the words of the plays could be recreated as well. While the genre flourished the desire to purchase a larger print of a specific actor or actress remained. Thus two types of theatrical prints became to be printed: those for juvenile dramas that were small and excluded specific actors names, and actors portraits that were larger and more individualized.[4]

In the larger theatrical portraits, characters were "always displayed full length" and "striking [a] habitual and dramatic pose".[5] The 1830's marked the emergence of tinseling prints as a past time. [6] Before this time, if an individual wished to embellish a portrait, individual sheets of metal foil would have to be purchased, measured and cut to fit an individual print. Once tinseling became common, different packages of precut tinsel (specific to the print)would be sold with each print as aforementioned. The term tinsel specifically refers to the metal sheets used to represent armor and weapons, but more broadly includes pieces of satin, silk, velvet, leather, and feathers among other embellishments. [7]

Although tinsel prints are now viewed as works of art, in the nineteenth century they were no more than a child's pastime. Most sources cite tinseling, as well as toy theatre, as being most popular among boys from the working class. Their popularity among boys could explain why male portraits were produced more frequently than female, however, it is more likely that male costumes, with their multiple pieces of armor and arms, offered more opportunities to use tinsel in comparison to the largely fabric costumes of women. [8]

Juvenile Dramas and accompanying prints as a whole experienced their heyday from the 1810's-1850's. [9] The decline in the popularity of the genre reflects the shift of theatrical performances from extravagant, heroic romances to witty comedies and dialogue heavy dramas that addressed societal issues. [10] While toy theatres and tinsel prints continued to be produced that related to these plays, they no longer featured the action spectacles which made Juvenile Dramas popular at their inception.

[1] George Speaight, The History of the English Toy Theatre (London: Studio Vista, 1969), 111.
[2] George Speaight, The History of the English Toy Theatre, 12.
[3] ibid, 12.
[4] ibid, 13.
[5] ibid, 112.
[6] ibid, 129.
[7] ibid, 131-132.
[8] ibid, 135.
[9] ibid, 134.
[10] ibid, 144.

[1] George Speaight, The History of the English Toy Theatre (London: Studio Vista, 1969), 111. [2] ibid, 12. [3] ibid, 12. [4] ibid, 13. [5] ibid, 112. [6] ibid, 129. [7] ibid, 131-132. [8] ibid, 135. [9] ibid, 134. [10] ibid, 144.