PARK'S FAVOURITE CHARACTERS.
Thin must be few who have not had, in their boyish days, a passion for the purchase and illumination of those singular theatrical prints still occasionally to be seen in toy-shop windows, and known as Skelt's or Park's "favourite characters." Many will recollect hoard- ing their pocket-money from week to week to save sufficient where- with to purchase the tinsel, satin, and spangles requisite for the com- plete glorification of "Mr. Smith, as the Pirate of the Dark Blue Waters," or "Mr. Kean, as Richard III.," or devoting their winter evenings to essays in water colour, which the clear light of day frequently pronounced to be failures, by showing that under the influence of artificial light we had not unnaturally mistaken our colours, and painted skies green, and trees blue, while the complexion of a domestic heroine, which at night appeared of an interesting and delicate pallor, seemed in the morning to have suffered considerably from an attack of yellow jaundice. Some, more ambitious, aspired to the management of a miniature theatre, and great was the amount of time devoted to cutting out the figures from the plates of "rark's Characters and Scenes in the Miller and his Men," colouring them, mounting them on cardboard, fitting the stage with curtain, footlights, and proscenium, and when all was ready, inviting one's friends to witness the representation of the unexciting melodrama. The paste- board characters were pushed on to the stage in little tin slides, and made their exits and entrances with becoming gravity. The manager, generally actor as well, read the parts from the prompt book, behind the stage, and it was curious to notice the great similarity of voice possessed by the dramatis pomace; how in their wildest moments of passion they would yet conduct themselves with due decorum, and go through a scene of some minutes' duration in a fixed and rigid attitude not pleasant to behold. There were many hitches in the performance ; the wrong actor often appeared at the wrong moment and in the wrong place ; something was generally faulty about the scenery, and there was considerable delay in getting the red fire, which was to destroy the bad genius of the piece at the conclusion of the drama, to burn. Still much amusement was extracted upon these occasions, and though one's recollection of these juvenile performances may not be very cheering to look back upon, the refiexion occurs, that it is possible even now-a-days to witness theatrical representa- tions on a larger stage, and with living actors, that can scarcely be considered more entertaining.
Of the antiquity of the production of the theatrical character plates, I am unable to offer very precise data, but believe that they were unknown before the commencement of this or the latter end of last century. The originator of them was a Mr. West, who for many years kept open a shop devoted to their sale in Wych-street, opposite the Olympic Theatre. Skelt and Park followed, the latter of whom has, perhaps, the largest existing business in theatrical and twelfth- night characters, valentines, cheap coloured lithographs, and song- books. But the trade in theatrical characters is unfortunately rapidly declining, owing partly to the number of cheap illustrated periodicals now published, and partly, perhaps, to the rapid strides of that educational movement of which so much is heard at the pre- sent day. Whether or no, the fact remains the same; no new plates are issued, as the demand for them would not repay the cost of pro- Ouction, and when the old plates have become too worn to yield fur- ther impressions, it is possible that our "favourite characters" will become things of the past. The figures are engraved on plates of copper and steel, with deeply incised lines, so as to produce as large a number of copies as possible, and it is to be hoped the contingency hinted at above may be remote ; but it would be as well for anti- quarians to pay a visit to Leonard-street, Finsbury, at once, and pro- cure specimens of the works which may one day be regarded with curiosity and admiration. The expense attendant on such a course will not be heavy. "Mr. G. Honner, as the Fire King," or "St. George and the Dragon," may be obtained at the low rate of a penny each "plain," or " twopence coloured ;" and a book of the words of a popular play, with the six plates of characters, eight scenes, and four wings necessary for its effective representation, may be purchased for thirteenpence.
In the early days of pre-Raphaelitism, when the young disciples to the new creed were hotly enthusiastic, and believed they were about to revolutionize the world of art, when they called Reynolds " Sir Sloshy Kennels," ridiculed the old masters, and hung the copies which they had made (in unenlightened days) from Titian and Rubens upside down as a mark of contempt, they also compared "Park's favourite characters" with Raphael's cartoons, slightly to the disad- vantage of the latter. Without wishing to endorse an opinion, to which probably the pre-Raphaelites who uttered it would scarcely adhere in their wiser days, I may state that between the art of Park and that of the ancient Egyptians, or even that of the Greeks, there are many points of affinity. That mechanical regularity of proportion
in the limbs, that conventional treatment of form, and that limited variety of attitude, which are the chief characteristics of the works of the Egyptian artist, will be found also in Park's figures. The Greek, ever aiming at abstract beauty of form, seldom attempted to realize marked facial expression. With the exception of the Dying Gladiator and the La0000n there are scarcely any known antiques which depict violent emotion. The faces are generally calm and passionless. So it is with Park; the slightest possible contraction of the brow is deemed sufficient for the portrayal of grief, rage, or terror. We find but few traces of humour in the art of Egypt or of Greece; nor is it a quality exemplified in a high degree by Park. I can find no higher example than is afforded by giving a very rotund paunch to Falstaff, or a pair of knock-knees and a button-like nose to a clown. Such are the principal points of resemblance discoverable between the monuments of antiquity and the works of Park, but a strong dissimilarity will be discovered in the fact that whereas in the former energetic action is seldom seen, in the latter it becomes a prominent feature. As Demosthenes considered action to be the prime element in oratory, so Park holds it to be the one thing need- ful in dramatic art. His figures are always in violent attitudes. That which occurs most frequently is a kind of tragic start, ob- tained by throwing the whole weight of the body on one leg, and stretching out the other as far as it will go. One hand must point defiantly to an imaginary object, the other must grasp a cutlass or a pair of pistols, or anything else that is convenient and looks bloodthirsty. The cast of features is in all cases pretty much the same. The face of a doll, black staring eyes, strongly corked eyebrows and moustache, an aquiline nose, small mouth, and a profusion of dark ringlets (fair hair is out of the question), are given alike to the " Green Knight" or the "Demon of the Deep." Small feet and well-developed calves are also much dwelt upon, and other peculiarities might be noticed. Thus pistols are always car- ried at full cock whether in the hand or in the belt—the belt is found also to be a more convenient means for the stowage of purses than the capacious pockets of the Jack Sheppard era. The high- wayman always wears a laced cocked-hat, gilt epaulettes, ruffles, and Life Guards' boots. The pirate embroiders his garments with the perennial skull and marrow-bones, and wears the sailor's large shirt collar and loose handkerchief of to-day over a brazen corslet of no particular period whatever.' The etherial nature of the fairy is expressed by a more than wasp-like thinness of waist, and the insect character is further enhanced by a pair of butterfly wings. St. George, in an odd mixture of nudity and scale armour, fights with a small green dragon. The sword which our patron saint holdsis so short, and the horse he rides so tall, that it is problematical how he will ever get a cut at his enemy without dismounting to finish the combat on foot. This plate is the most popular ever published, and it is no uncommon thing to see it hanging up in a neat black frame and en- veloped with all the glories tinsel can bestow upon it in the homes of the London poorer classes. A plate containing a number of little portraits of European celebrities is not without a certain un- conscious fun. By it we find that the Empress of the French does
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not wear her hair in the style which'she is popularly supposed to have originated, but in ringlets ; that Sir Colin Campbell is a beard- less youth, wearing scarf and trews of tartan; and that Sir Charles Napier has at length followed the moustache movement. The land- scapes which form the subjects of some of the scenes from plays are drawn with great freedom, if not with much truth or knowledge. A uniform touch expresses foliage or sea-foam with equally pleasing results ; houses and other buildings are drawn in noble defiance of perspective law; the specimens of rock.drawing would scarcely satisfy the critical acumen of Mr. Ruskin, nor would he greatly prefer the ramification of stem and branch in "Park's new Tree Wings" to the " india-rubber boughs" of Gaspar Poussin.
The "Juvenile Dramas written for Park's characters and scenes in the same," are chiefly melodramatic. The works of Shakspeare, i though they have been tortured in many ways, find no place in the Parkian drama. The "Miller and his Men" is more in request than any other of the plays. Next in favour is the "Red Rover," "Der Freischutz," "Blue Beard," and "Jack Sheppard"—also enjoy ex- tensive popularity. In the adaptation of these dramas from the ori- ginal plays much licence is taken, and it is more than probable the author would scarcely recognize his work in its later form. The plot is, in most cases, obscure, strikingly improbable, and deficient in constructive skill. The personages perform acts for which it would be difficult to assign motives, and when you expect them to be going to do one thing, they invariably do the exact opposite. These trifling defects are in some measure remedied by the stirring incidents of the action; the young mind cares little for the dramatic unities, provided there be a tolerable amount of fighting and blue fire. The dialogue can scarcely be considered sparkling in its wit, or thrilling from the intensity of passion it conveys. Thus in Scene I., Act 2, of the "Red Rover,' which takes place on the main deck of the pirate vessel, the Rover enters to Madame de Lacy and Gertrude, and the following brilliant conversation ensues :
" Rover. Good morning, ladies—I dare say you think our lives a very du! one.
" Madame. On the contrary, sir, nothing can be more delightful than to witness the setting of the sun on the ocean.
" Rover. Perhaps the young lady would like to witness a little sport with the crew on deck; I have no doubtbut what some of my men will amuse you."
Whereupon an energetic hornpipe is performed by some of the sailors, but we are left in doubt as to whether the young lady is amused or bored. She offers no opinion or thanks for the performance, being, indeed, of a very impassive nature, for she opens her mouth only four
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