“Renowned British Playwright” Wilson Barrett Hand Signed Quote On 2X5 Card

Description: Up for auction “The Silver King” Wilson Barrett Hand Signed Quote On 2X5 Card. This offering includes a RARE! 19th Century picture postcard of Barrett. Barret's hand written and other items do not come to auction as Barrett's descendants placed the majority of Wilson Barrett's papers at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. ES-2361 Wilson Barrett (born William Henry Barrett; 18 February 1846 – 22 July 1904) was an English manager, actor, and playwright. With his company, Barrett is credited with attracting the largest crowds of English theatregoers ever because of his success with melodrama, an instance being his production of The Silver King (1882) at the Princess's Theatre of London. The historical tragedy The Sign of the Cross (1895) was Barrett's most successful play, both in England and in the United States. Barrett was born into a farming family in Essex. He is remembered as an actor of handsome appearance (despite his small stature) and with a powerful voice. He made his first appearance on the stage at Halifax in 1864, and then played in the provinces alone and with his wife, Caroline Heath, in East Lynne. They married in 1866, having two sons, Frank and Alfred, and three daughters, Ellen, Katherine and Dorothea (Dollie). Barrett capitalized on his early success as an actor to start a career as a producer. After managerial experience at the Grand Theatre Leeds and elsewhere, in 1879 he took over the management of the Old Court theatre, where in the following year he introduced Madame Helena Modjeska to London in an adaptation of Maria Stuart (by Schiller), together with productions of Adrienne Lecouvreur, La Dame aux camélias and other plays. In 1881, Wilson Barrett took over the recently refurbished Princess's Theatre, where his melodramatic productions enjoyed great success (if not quite as much as before), with attendance being the highest ever for this theatre. There Barrett presented The Lights o' London, and then The Silver King, regarded as the most successful melodrama of the 19th century in England. It debuted on 16 November 1882, with Barrett as Wilfred Denver. He played this part for three hundred nights without a break, and repeated its success in W. G. Wills's Claudian.In 1885 he and Henry Arthur Jones produced Hoodman Blind and in 1886 co-operated with Clement Scott in Sister Mary. In 1886 Barrett left the Princess's Theatre, and in this same year he made a visit to America, repeated in later years.In 1884 Barrett had appeared in Hamlet, only to promptly return to melodrama. He was not to find much success in any Shakespearian role, apart from Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet. Though Barrett had occasional seasons in London he acted chiefly in the provinces, with his company being one of the most successful of the decade, receiving a £2,000 average yearly profit just from the Grand Theatre Leeds. His brother and his nephew were part of the company, and his grandson would join them eventually. Barrett was part of the performance of Romany Rye which on its opening night turned into the Exeter Theatre Royal fire, which was the deadliest theatre incident in UK history, killing 186 people. According to Jacob Adler, Wilson Barrett was the most famous actor on the London stage of the 1880s.

Price: 299.99 USD

Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

End Time: 2025-01-09T18:03:54.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD