THE SHOP GIRL. Souvenir Presented at the Gaiety Theatre. Wednesday, April 8th, 1896.

London: Waterlow & Sons Ltd., 1896. Folio portfolio (c. 39 x 29 cm). Original cream pictorial portfolio printed in sepia and gilt, containing 12 fine Solio-Chrome colour photographic plates after Alfred Ellis depicting the principal cast and scenes from The Shop Girl, including portraits of Bessie Brent, Bertie Boyd, John Brown, Maud Plantagenet, Ada Smith, Charles Appleby, The Foundlings, Faith, Hope and Charity, together with the composite cast portrait and the three-character plate featuring Colonel Singleton, Count St. Vaurien and Sir George Appleby. Portfolio lightly soiled and marked, with minor wear to joints and edges; plates generally clean and bright with only occasional light age toning to margins. A very good, complete example.

An attractive and increasingly uncommon theatrical souvenir issued during the enormously successful run of George Edwardes’ landmark musical comedy The Shop Girl, with music by Ivan Caryll and additional songs by Lionel Monckton. First staged at London’s Gaiety Theatre in 1894, the production ran for over 500 performances and helped define the modern Edwardian musical comedy, launching the careers of performers including Seymour Hicks and George Grossmith Jr. The beautifully produced Solio-Chrome plates, photographed by the celebrated theatrical photographer Alfred Ellis, rank among the finest surviving visual records of the original production and late Victorian stage costume.

The success of A Gaiety Girl in 1893 confirmed to George Edwardes that the lighter "musical comedy" was the right path for musical theatre. The Shop Girl heralded a new era in musical comedy, and the critics were amazed at the coherent story, as there was hardly any narrative in burlesque.

A scarce survival, particularly complete with all eleven colour plates and the original portfolio. Copies are infrequently encountered on the market.

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