Ten Chimneys Foundation

From 1800 to 1870, English children and adults devoted countless free hours to the creation of glimmering paper and paste portraits of their favorite theatrical stars. These “tinsel prints,” aptly named for their sparkling metallic ornaments, captured actors and actresses in their most famous roles. Thrusting arms, planted feet, and melodramatic plot lines speak of a long-gone acting style.

“All That Glitters…19th Century Tinsel Prints” features 32 tinsel prints collected by Alfred Lunt. Dating from 1820 to 1880, they are exceptional examples of this homey art form. Alfred collected these prints while performing in London during the Second World War. Long out of fashion, completed tinsel prints and undecorated “theatrical portraits” were still to be found gathering dust in the nooks and crannies of secondhand shops. Ten Chimneys Foundation is fortunate that Alfred snapped these up when he did. Today, few of these fragile artworks remain and Ten Chimneys is proud to be home to one of the largest collections in the United States.

In the winter of 2004, the Ten Chimneys tinsel prints underwent professional cleaning and conservation treatment. Over time, dust had worked its way behind backing boards, dulling the prints’ brilliant colors and slowly abrading the delicate silk and satin fabrics that formed the costumes. In a few cases, the hide glue or gum paste used to attach the tinsel ornaments had come loose. The backing board itself also presented a problem. The highly acidic wooden backing board was pressing directly up against the prints, staining them a yellow color as the acid migrated into the paper, and speeding the deterioration of the prints by attacking the fibers of the paper. While it was clear that the prints were in need of treatment, it was uncertain how well the fragile collages would survive removal from their nearly 200 year-old frame housings.

Conservator Doug Stone laid out a careful plan for treatment of the fragile prints. Each print was carefully cleaned, a fillet (or spacer) was added between the print and the glass, and detached tinsel pieces were reattached using a neutral adhesive. A barrier material was then added between the print and backing board to prevent further migration of deteriorating acids.

In keeping with Ten Chimneys’ guiding preservation philosophy, repairs and changes were made where needed to stabilize the artifacts, but no attempt was made to restore the artifacts to their newly made state by marrying in replacement tinsel ornaments or other contrivances. Rather, all conservation work was done with an eye to restoring the prints to the condition that they were in when Alfred purchased them. Though we can not halt their deterioration, this treatment has slowed the process, ensuring that the prints will be preserved for future generations to enjoy.

Though nearly 200 years old, these theatrical collages still have the power to enchant and delight, drawing us into the glittering world of the 19th-century British stage.
Alfred Lunt’s tinsel print collection will be on exhibit in the Ten Chimneys Program Center from April 12 – November 12, 2005.

WHAT ARE TINSEL PRINTS?

Tinsel prints are collages of fabric scraps and bits of glittering tinsel (foil) glued onto printed portraits of actors and actresses. Encased in frames, these tributes to the world of the 19th-century English stage graced the walls of theatre enthusiasts’ homes from about 1800 to 1870.

The prints that formed the foundation for these tinseled collages were created by London publishing houses. Publishers sent artists to the theatre to sketch the “stars” in their most important roles. The sketches were engraved and printed for theatre fans to purchase. Uncolored prints sold for one penny and hand colored prints for two pennies, and were referred to as “penny plain”
and “tuppence colored” prints.

Prints were sold out of the publisher’s shop, stationery stores, and toy shops – usually located near London’s theatres and burlesque houses. Though the prints were collected by theatre-goers of all ages, young boys were the most taken up by the theatrical portraits. The boys’ fascination with toy theatre kits, their miniature stage sets, and the tiny printed characters that they decorated for home juvenile drama productions, was a natural segue into the craft of tinseling.

The first tinseling experiments, historians speculate, were just simple embellishments of those affordable and readily available theatrical portraits and toy theatre character sheets. By 1820, however, the humble hobby had turned into a fad. Publishers recognized the possibilities of creating theatrical portraits specifically designed for tinseling. After 1830, the prints were designed with larger open spaces (to accommodate more tinsel bits that were also sold by the publishers) and featured actors in the “rough and ready” roles that appealed to young lads with a few pennies to spend.

Boys were not the only ones to be swept up in the tinseling hobby. Adult men and women, and some young girls, derived hours of pleasure from piecing together these delightful collages.

TINSELING A PRINT

COLOR, CUT and PASTE. If the tinsel print was of the “penny plain” variety, the hobbyist took the portrait sheet home and painted in his own colors. With colored sheet in hand, the next step was to cut out areas of the print that might be replaced with ribbon, silk, satin, velvet, or even fur scraps. The face and hands were usually left as the printer made them, with perhaps just a wash of color. Once the cuts in the print were made, fabric and other materials were attached to the back of the print with small scraps of paper tape and daubs of glue. Printed articles on tinseling encouraged crafters to experiment by hand painting the silks and satins, adding shadowing and folds for a more realistic look.

TINSELING. After the fabric had been added to the back, tinsel ornaments were glued to the front. It is from these glittering accessories that the craft took its name. The first tinsel accessories were made by Mr. J. Webb, a gunsmith, who had a range of steel punches and dies for stamping out tiny pistols, bits of armor, dragon scales, etc. from thin sheets of copper foil. The foil was produced in different colors – the most popular a snaky green – and backed with paper so that the pieces could easily be stuck to the print. Mr. Webb’s tinsel sample book from 1836 contained 13,000 tinsel items in a variety of colors. Tinsel pieces could be purchased at the same shops that sold the engraved sheets of theatrical portraits and toy theatre scenery. Prices ranged from a penny for 60 small sequins to elaborate shields or devices at the comparatively hefty price of a shilling (12 pence) each.

FINISHING. When the tinseling was complete, the figures were sometimes pasted onto a stiff Bristol board. Painted clouds or special background features were added, and a final feather or scrap of lace tucked into place. Then the completed collage was proudly displayed in a frame of walnut, rosewood, or bird’s-eye maple.

A FADING FANCY

After 1850, the fad began to wane, as melodramatic themes were replaced by a new Victorian romanticism and a sweeter sentimentality. As larger than life heroes and villains began to fade from the stage, so did interest in tinseling. Tinsel prints were taken down from the walls and “penny plain” and “tuppence colored” sheets were left to gather dust under shop counters and in store rooms.

By 1940, about the same time Alfred began to purchase his tinsel prints, these pieces became extremely collectable. There were still many to be found in secondhand shops and a few buried in the stock rooms of stores like Pollock’s Toy Shop (London).

Today, the prints themselves and their tinseled cousins are harder to come by. Many reside in museums and private collections, but a few “theatrical portraits” and occasionally a “tinsel print” can still be found in antiques shops and even on the internet.