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Royal Gallery of Illustration
The Royal Gallery of Illustration was a 19th-century performance venue located at 14 Regent Street in London. It was in use between 1850 and 1873.
The gallery was built in the 1820s by the architect John Nash as part of his own house, to display his considerable collection of paintings. In 1850 the building was named the Gallery of Illustration, and between then and 1855 it housed a diorama created and run by the theatrical scene-painters Thomas Grieve and William Telbin.
From 1856 to 1873 the gallery was in the hands of the singer and actress Priscilla Horton and her husband German Reed. Their entertainments developed from songs and comedy with piano accompaniment to programmes of short plays and operettas. In deference to respectable mid-Victorian doubts about the propriety of theatres, the Reeds called their productions "entertainments", and avoided the use of the words "theatre", "play" and other theatrical terms. Under the Reeds the gallery played an important part in the development of a new generation of authors, composers and performers. Among the writers whose works the Reeds staged were W. S. Gilbert and F. C. Burnand, and their composers included Arthur Sullivan, Frederic Clay and Alfred Cellier. The performers Arthur Cecil, Corney Grain and Fanny Holland made their names at the gallery early in their careers.
The lease of the building expired in 1873, and it ceased to be used as a performance venue. The Reeds moved to another theatre, and the gallery became a banqueting hall.
The gallery was built by the architect John Nash, designer of Regent Street, Regent's Park, and other urban improvements undertaken to the commission of King George IV. The gallery was part of Nash's own residence at 14 Regent Street, completed in 1824. It originally housed copies of paintings by Raphael in the Vatican, which Nash arranged, with papal permission, to be copied by top Roman artists of the time. He allowed members of the public to view the gallery by appointment. After his death the pictures were sold. The house was bought by an auctioneer called Rainy, who made it his business premises and used the gallery to display his wares in the 1830s and 1840s.
In 1850 the theatrical scene-painters Thomas Grieve and William Telbin took on the lease of the building. They opened it in March as the Gallery of Illustration, offering a diorama display with expert commentary and music. The first show, "Diorama of the Overland Route to India", opened in March 1850 and was a success with critics and public. A reviewer wrote:
The Morning Chronicle reported in October that the show "continues to attract overflowing audiences to the Gallery of Illustration in Regent-street. Its extensive popularity, however, is no matter for wonder, as the subject treated is perhaps the finest that can be conceived for the purposes of scenic illustration". Grieve and Telbin followed this with "Diorama of Our Native Land" (1851), "Campaigns of the Duke of Wellington" (1852), "Diorama of the Arctic Regions" (1853), and "The Seat of War" (1854). The prefix "Royal" was added to the title of the establishment by late 1852, but it is not clear on what authority, if any.
Early in 1856 the singer and actress Priscilla Horton began to perform at the venue. Her entertainments given at St Martin's Hall had been popular, and with her husband, German Reed, at the piano and "the pictorial aid of Messrs Grieve and Telbin", she started giving what The Morning Chronicle called "her very clever impersonations" at the Royal Gallery of Illustration. The Reeds continued to perform at the gallery for seventeen years, in what were first billed as "Miss P. Horton's Illustrative Gatherings" and then "Mr and Mrs German Reed's Entertainments". They quickly became public favourites: in 1859 The Daily News observed:
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Royal Gallery of Illustration
The Royal Gallery of Illustration was a 19th-century performance venue located at 14 Regent Street in London. It was in use between 1850 and 1873.
The gallery was built in the 1820s by the architect John Nash as part of his own house, to display his considerable collection of paintings. In 1850 the building was named the Gallery of Illustration, and between then and 1855 it housed a diorama created and run by the theatrical scene-painters Thomas Grieve and William Telbin.
From 1856 to 1873 the gallery was in the hands of the singer and actress Priscilla Horton and her husband German Reed. Their entertainments developed from songs and comedy with piano accompaniment to programmes of short plays and operettas. In deference to respectable mid-Victorian doubts about the propriety of theatres, the Reeds called their productions "entertainments", and avoided the use of the words "theatre", "play" and other theatrical terms. Under the Reeds the gallery played an important part in the development of a new generation of authors, composers and performers. Among the writers whose works the Reeds staged were W. S. Gilbert and F. C. Burnand, and their composers included Arthur Sullivan, Frederic Clay and Alfred Cellier. The performers Arthur Cecil, Corney Grain and Fanny Holland made their names at the gallery early in their careers.
The lease of the building expired in 1873, and it ceased to be used as a performance venue. The Reeds moved to another theatre, and the gallery became a banqueting hall.
The gallery was built by the architect John Nash, designer of Regent Street, Regent's Park, and other urban improvements undertaken to the commission of King George IV. The gallery was part of Nash's own residence at 14 Regent Street, completed in 1824. It originally housed copies of paintings by Raphael in the Vatican, which Nash arranged, with papal permission, to be copied by top Roman artists of the time. He allowed members of the public to view the gallery by appointment. After his death the pictures were sold. The house was bought by an auctioneer called Rainy, who made it his business premises and used the gallery to display his wares in the 1830s and 1840s.
In 1850 the theatrical scene-painters Thomas Grieve and William Telbin took on the lease of the building. They opened it in March as the Gallery of Illustration, offering a diorama display with expert commentary and music. The first show, "Diorama of the Overland Route to India", opened in March 1850 and was a success with critics and public. A reviewer wrote:
The Morning Chronicle reported in October that the show "continues to attract overflowing audiences to the Gallery of Illustration in Regent-street. Its extensive popularity, however, is no matter for wonder, as the subject treated is perhaps the finest that can be conceived for the purposes of scenic illustration". Grieve and Telbin followed this with "Diorama of Our Native Land" (1851), "Campaigns of the Duke of Wellington" (1852), "Diorama of the Arctic Regions" (1853), and "The Seat of War" (1854). The prefix "Royal" was added to the title of the establishment by late 1852, but it is not clear on what authority, if any.
Early in 1856 the singer and actress Priscilla Horton began to perform at the venue. Her entertainments given at St Martin's Hall had been popular, and with her husband, German Reed, at the piano and "the pictorial aid of Messrs Grieve and Telbin", she started giving what The Morning Chronicle called "her very clever impersonations" at the Royal Gallery of Illustration. The Reeds continued to perform at the gallery for seventeen years, in what were first billed as "Miss P. Horton's Illustrative Gatherings" and then "Mr and Mrs German Reed's Entertainments". They quickly became public favourites: in 1859 The Daily News observed:
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