National Theatre Broadside
Date
Format
- Broadside 3
- Advertising 640
- Flyer/poster 60
Type of Work
- Finished work 5644
Printers
Media
- paper 2115
Techniques
- printing 913
Dimensions
Locations Made
- Philippines 10
- United States 994
- Massachusetts 51
- Davao
- Boston
Links
Broadside promoting a performance of the play, Witchcraft! or the Martyrs of Salem, at the National Theatre in Boston in October 1847.
This broadside showcases a wide array of mid-19th century typography, from slab serifs and highly contrasting modern serifs of various widths and weights to a line set in sans serif, which would have been fairly novel at that time.
This piece of promotional ephemera is an intriguing artifact from the period. It advertises a play about the Salem witch trials at a theater that prohibits women from attending shows without male chaperonage. The broadside specifies: “No ladies admitted to any part of the Theatre, unless accompanied by a Gentleman.”
imprint: Hooton’s Press, Haskins’s Building, opposite the head of Hanover street
