Theatre Broadside Covent Garden 1822 Joseph Grimaldi

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You are bidding on a wonderful old broadside from the Theatre Royal Covent Garden. Wednesday Jan 2, 1822. Plays are Two Gentlemen of Verona; Harlequin and Motherbunch or the Yellow Dwarf (with Joseph Grimaldi). Notices for Hamlet with Mr Young (Hamlet) and Miss M Tree (Ophelia); Beggar's Opera with Miss Stephens (Polly) and Miss Hallande (Macheath). Broadside measures approximately 6" x 12 1/4". Folds, some stains and edge wear, mounting traces verso (don't show through) otherwise Very Good Condition. VERY RARE. See photo below. Please note: the auction is for one broadside--I couldn't fit the whole thing on my scanner, so I had to do two passes. Thanks! Joseph Grimaldi ( December 18 , 1778 - May 31 , 1837 ), the most celebrated of English clowns Grimaldi's performances were reminiscent of the classic Commedia dell'arte . Early and personal life Grimaldi was born in London , the son of an Italian , Signor Joseph 'Iron Legs' Grimaldi, ballet-master at the Drury Lane and Rebecca Brooker, a dancer in the theatre's corps de ballet . Grimaldi's father died when he was nine, and plunged the family into debt. When less than two years old, he was introduced to the stage at Drury Lane; at the age of three, he began to appear at the Sadler's Wells theatre.As a young man, Grimaldi fell in love and married the daughter of the principal proprietor of Sadler's Wells. Maria Grimaldi died in childbirth 18 months after their marriage. He found solace in performance, and eventually married again, to Mary. A son, Joseph Samuel Grimaldi was born and entered the profession, but drank himself to death, by the age of thirty. Career As a pantomime clown Grimaldi was considered without equal, his greatest success occurring in Harlequin and Mother Goose; or the Golden Egg at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden (1806 and often revived).Joseph Grimaldi was an innovator, his performance as Joey introduced the modern clown to the world, building on the existing role of Clown as a country bumpkin and fool, derived from the Commedia dell'arte ; and making the clown the central character in the Harlequinade [1] . His physical comedy was extraordinary, as was his ability to invent visual tricks and buffoonery, and his ability to poke fun at the audience. As Music hall became popular, he introduced the pantomime dame to the theatre and was responsible for the tradition of audience participation. His most famous song was Hot Codlins - literally, Toffee Apples. A little old woman, her living she got by selling hot codlins, hot, hot, hot. And this little old woman, who codlins sold, tho' her codlins were hot, she felt herself cold. So to keep herself warm she thought it no sin to fetch for herself a quartern of ........ The audience would shout Gin , with some glee, and Grimaldi would fix them with a stare and say Oh! For shame! , in mock disappointment.A famous 'sad clown' anecdote was first told of Grimaldi (later also told of Grock ): A young man goes to see his doctor. He is overcome by a terrible sadness and doesn't think anything will make him feel better. The doctor says, "Why not do something happy, like going to see Grimaldi the clown?". The young man answers, with a knowing look, "Ah, but Doctor," he says, "I am Grimaldi."Actor and director Ken Campbell said of Grimaldi's performance: Any description of Joey Grimaldi's varied talents always includes his unusual skill of lampooning popular figures of the day by apparently re-arranging fruit, vegetables and cooking utensils and other every day items on a barrow. It wasn't a one-off joke, he was known for it and he rang the changes. For example: upper class dandies, the Prince Regent included, had made the Hussar uniform high fashion. Now just how Grimaldi arranged a coal scuttle, a muff and a full-length coat into a primitive cartoon sculpture that had a Covent Garden audience of 2,500 rolling in the isles night after night was beyond me. I assumed that an allusion to royalty was dangerous and his comic genius must have been in the execution, l... read more

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