An important paper archive relating to the Punch and Judy puppet show has been acquired by the nation through the Acceptance in Lieu (AIL) scheme and allocated to the V&A. The scheme, administered by the Museums Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), is one of the primary ways of ensuring that important cultural treasures pass into the UK's public collections. The Punch and Judy puppet show, derived from the Italian Commedia dell'Arte, has been at the heart of popular British entertainment for nearly 400 years.
The George Speaight archive is a significant record that traces the development of Punch and Judy from the earliest performances in the Restoration era of the marionette puppet Mr Punch who was controlled using wires and strings. The archive tracks Mr Punch's 18th century reinvention as glove puppetry in fairground booths and on London streets and the enduring popularity of Punch and Judy during the 20th century, especially as seaside entertainment.
The archive includes rare books, scripts, music covers, prints and drawings, lantern slides, newspaper cuttings and research notes from the UK and abroad. Highlights include the earliest known Victorian bioscope photography of a Punch and Judy show, coloured prints from the 1790s, and early 19th century print material including Pug's Visit and the Disasters of Mr Punch of 1806 as well as a wealth of 20th century material.
George Speaight (1914-2005) was a distinguished historian of popular entertainment in Great Britain and a lifetime collector of ephemera, artworks, objects and iconography relating to popular entertainment including Punch and Judy. The collection was recently accepted by HM Government in Lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the V&A's Theatre and Performance collections.
Catherine Haill, Curator, Popular Entertainment said: "The archive is an excellent addition to the Theatre and Performance Collections, and the V&A can now offer a significant centre for research into Punch and Judy, its place in the history of the theatre and its development as a British genre of entertainment."
The George Speaight Punch and Judy Archive is currently being catalogued and visitors will be able to access it on-line via Search The Collections on the V&A's web site, and the reading room at Blythe House.
Notes to Editors
About Punch and Judy
Punch was first recorded in England in 1662 by Samuel Pepys in Covent Garden who had seen the show by an Italian puppet master. The original Italian name came from the commedia dell'arte figure of Pulchinella, anglicised to Punchinello or Punch. Pepys records seeing the show several times and that it had also been performed at Whitehall for the King. By the early 18th century, Punch was a familiar figure at fairs including London's Bartholemew Fair where he and his wife Joan were characters in the story of the creation of the world. The association of Punch with a dog and the devil had certainly developed by late this century, by which time Joan had become Judy and Punch had moved on from his role as chorus and satiric commentator into the star of his own show.
During the first half of the 19th century, when Punch had disappeared from the fairs, Punch and Judy shows flourished on city streets and in the countryside in familiar oneman booth shows. After a decline in popularity after the 1850s, the shows revived towards the end of the century with increased public leisure time following the introduction of Bank Holidays. New audiences followed the shows at parties and social events as well as on the streets and at the seaside. Mr. Punch is still celebrated annually at Covent Garden in May by Punch and Judy 'professors', and can be found all over the country especially during the summer. Punch and Judy were in 2006 voted by the nation as one of its top hundred icons - www.icons.org.uk
About the V&A
The V&A is the world's greatest museum of art and design with collections unrivalled in their scope and diversity. The V&A's Theatre and Performance Galleries opened in March 2009 and explore all performance types from theatre and ballet to pantomime and rock music. More than 250 objects from the V&A's collections are on display including set models, stage props, costumes, original posters, paintings and photographs, representing live performance in Britain over the last 350 years. www.vam.ac.uk
About the Acceptance in Lieu Scheme
The Acceptance in Lieu scheme, administered by MLA on behalf of the Government, enables taxpayers to transfer important works of art and other important heritage objects into public ownership while paying Inheritance Tax, or one of its earlier forms. The taxpayer is given the full open market value of the item, which then becomes the property of a public museum, archive or library. www.mla.gov.uk
For further PRESS information and images of the archive please contact Zoë Franklin in the V &A press office on 0207 942 2497 or email z.franklin@vam.ac.uk.