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Lot 129
Theatrical Interest: A South Staffordshire enamel patch box, circa 1805
23 February 2022, 11:00 GMT
London, KnightsbridgeSold for £382.50 inc. premium
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Theatrical Interest: A South Staffordshire enamel patch box, circa 1805
Of oval form, printed with a titled bust-length portrait of 'Young Roscius', the lobed base picked out in green, the hinged lid inset with a mirror, 4.4cm wide
Footnotes
William Henry West Betty (1791-1874), known as 'the Young Roscius', was a child actor prodigy who toured Scotland and England in 1804. When he reached London in December 1804, there was fighting in the streets to secure tickets to see him perform at Drury Lane. Lord Byron referred to widespread 'Rosciomania', which ensured not only the commission of large-scale portraits by James Northcote and John Opie but souvenirs such as the present lot for playgoers to commemorate their having seen the celebrity on stage.
