"Peter Wilkins! or, the Flying Indians". Theatre Broadsheet.
Birmingham, England: Theatre Royal, May 17 1856. Theater broadside printed on bright yellow paper in a variety of type fonts, featuring "Peter Wilkins", a dramatization of a novel concerning an imaginary voyage to Antarctica.
The novel was an early work of science fiction, of an imaginary voyage in which a young sailor is shipwrecked near the South Pole, encounters inhabitants of a hidden Antarctic world who have invented mechanical wings, remains with them and marries a "gawry" (flying woman) and becomes a sort of philosopher king.
The cast of characters of Europeans includes: Peter Wilkins, played by Mr. J. Davis; John Adams, played by Mr. Barton; Phelim O'Soud, played by Mr. Gardiner; and Nicodemus Crowquill, played by Mr. Atkins. This is followed by the Flying Indians, Gawries, Glums & c.
Original fold flattened, top edge reinforced on verso with archival tape, chip at upper right corner with loss only of last letter in "Birmingham". 8 1/2 inches, double column for the play; the broadsheet 10 x 30". Trove 52184883 (1 copy) of the poster, for a performance dated July 9, 1827. Very good condition. Item #24023
Sold