HISTORY of The Juvenile Theatre

The Juvenile Theatre was undoubtedly a direct descendant of the late eighteenth century theatrical portrait sheets, which were in their first concepts designed to cater for the adult theatre - going public.  However it was not long before they were spreading to younger members of the community, and by about 1807, the English Toy Theatre had begun to emerge.  These were not however new to the continent of Europe, Vienna in particular produced model theatres long before the close of the eighteenth century, likewise, the German publication of this toy also date from this period.  But in England it's growth was not to take place until the first part of the nineteenth century and within a few years they were collected by child and adult alike.

Early nineteenth century was seized with a passion for the theatre.  As the number of theatres and their patrons increased, so did the tide of souvenirs and mementoes, floating on the top of this tide of popularity was the juvenile drama.  By mid 1830's these paper wonders had created a new interest that hit the playrooms of England like a tidal wave.  In London there were no less than thirty publishers producing miniature dramas and the men that produced them were as well known to the children of their day as Walt Disney is to this generation.  The best know of these was Matthew Skelt who was by fart the most prolific publisher of them all.  Most others have been forgotten with the onslaught of time, but Skelt and his most ardent competitors Messrs Webb, Park, Green, Jameson, Dyer, Lloyd, Hodgson & Co and in the next generation Redington will remain within the annals of toy history as the hierarchy of the paper theatre world.

The ebb of popularity was to grow ever larger as the century came to its close.  Many factors assisted in the decline of the toy theatre.  There were newer and far mor visual entertainments on the horizon which filled the late Victorian world with wonder.  items such as mass produced clockwork gadgetry of Praxinoscope, Zoetrope, Kinetescope, Chromatrope, Magic Lantern and projectors of all kinds.  Almost every new scientific discovery seemed to result ultimately in the development of some new plaything.  Manufactures adapted all the newly found principles  to the commercial explitation of the nursery and in doing cast an even larger shadow over the Juvenile Theatre.  The living theatre aslo was to change, the age of melodrama was giving way to that of realism.  The former stylized posed of the actor which had lent itself to the static positions of the paper counterparts ceased to be the fashion, adding yet another death knell to the paper theatre world.  But in spite of all these factors the toy theatre did survive no longer as the pinnacle of the toy industry but merely as a shadow of its former self.  Nevertheless it still remained within the echelons of the toy world well into the 1930's and ironically outlived most of its Victorian rivals.  Indeed many of its opponents have ceased to even be recorded or remembered.

The fact that the Jubenile Drama is still with us today must in no small part be attributed to Benjamin Pollock.  For it was he more than any other who carried on this paper phenomenon well into this century, and on his death at the age of eighty in 1937 had spent sixty of those years publishing and selling his toy theatres and plays.  Benjamin Pollock was the son-in-law of John Redington.  It was Redington who had taken over Green's toy theatre business around the year 1857.  He reissued many of Green's toy theatre and plays in fact his stage fronts have rarely if ever been surpasses.  It was on his eventual death that Benjamin Pollock's death his two daughters carried was bombed during World War II bringing the third generation of the business to an abrupt close.

Many collectors believe that one of the reasons for the decline of the Toy Theatre was the elimination of personal involvement.  First they became pre-colored then die stamped and pre-creased some slotted together eliminating gluing and so on.  With each attempt to reduce to a bare minimum the efforts on the part of the constructor so the creative instinct declined.  Benjamin Pollock is gone but not forgotten.  London has a toy  museum named after him and with the development of the new Covent Garden Complex a traditional toy shop has been established bearing all the characteristics of the Victorian era appropriately called "Benjamin Pollock's Toy Shop."

This set of plates has none of the factors that an be called labor saving.   Each part having to be cut out and constructed by its owner.  It is a challenge to the young constructor, a considerable amount of care has gone into the completion of design ensuring that it would be well within the capacity of the average child at the same time it is a challenge to adults.  

MDE Publications produced its first toy theatre for the Edinburgh Festival in 1968 since that time it has produced numerous theatres and plays - many now out of print and collectors items.  In 1989, all theatrical sheets were standardized and set to an A4 format.  This made it easier for the enthusiast of printed plates to compile their collections into universal albums.  The range of plates released by MDE Publications grows by several hundred per year and is complemented by an ever growing number of accessories.  When cutting out any of the paper toys, accidents can happen.  To counteract this the individual plate is numbered and another copy of it can be obtained on request.  So the traditions of the late eighteenth century are still being carried forward and the Juvenile Drama will be with us for many years to come.

History of Michael Everett