The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-01 00:00:00

The Late Shaksperian Tercentenary,

The last act but one of the Shaksporian Tercente-
nary drama was performed on Tuesday last in the
spacious and beautiful. pavilion erected at Stratford
for the musical and dramatic specialties of the
late festival. On Tuesday Messrs. Pattick and
Simpson, of Leicester-square, sold by public auction
the effects belonging to the committee, consisting of
an elegant act drop painted by Mr. Telbin, of her
Majesty's Theatre; a proscenium, designed by Mr.
O'Connor, of the
Haymarket ; fly-borders of
drapery, sky, &c. ; stage machinery and appliances
of such a perfect and expensive kind that any one
would have supposed the building was to be per-
manently used us a theatre, with drawing-room
foruiure, and other et ceteras to match. There
was a good attendance of persons engaged in
theatrical speculations from Liverpool, London,
Leeds, Birmingham, Bradford, &a., bideing for the
act drop, which is exquisitely painted, and repre-
sents Shakspere standiog before an architectural
design; the church of Stratford in the distance; me-
dalions of Thalia and Melpomene, &c. This was
accompanied by the most complete machinery for
working the drop. The lot was bought by Mr. Shep-
herd, of the Surrey Theatre, for £26. The prosce-
nium, with inner proscenium, borders and wing,
with Royal arms surmounting the whole, was pur-
chased by Mr. Hobson, of the Amphitheatre, Leeds,
for six guineas. The gas fittings offered fcr sale
were costly, including eying
lights, batten lights,
shadowless argand burners, brackets throughout
the building, and a range of foot lights for the
stage, having 45 shadowless burners, with shades
and glasses complete ; they were knocked down to
The principal itc-sere
was the centre chandelier or corona of above 300
Mr. Shepherd for £3 15s. ye
jets, arranged in two rings
with groups of jets and
six-star burners, bearing treble lights, &e., and
this lot was bought by Mr. Clapham, of the Royal
Park, Leeds, for 465. Among the other purchasers
of theatrical properties was Mr. Simpson, Theatre,
Birmingham; Mr. Wild, of Bradford; Mr. Day,
Crystal Palace Music-hall, Birmingham ; Mr.
Montague, secretary to the Christy's Minstrels, &c.
There was not less than 1,700 official programmes
of the late festival, published at ls., selling in lots
of about 50 at about 45., and about 3,000 chairs in
sets of six, twelve, and two dozen, ranging from 2s.
to ls. 6d. each. The result of the sale cannot have
materially benefited the fond. The last act of the
festival is yet to be performed—namely, the pre-
sentation of the committee's balance-sheet. It is
discouraging and disappointing to them to know
sectionnag em
of encommittee, with
t the • or the local un-
popularity a very considerable deficiency will be shown;
whet er from
of
a isma
mwhom the county and resident families would have
no connection, it is useless to dwell upon. The Lord-
Lieutenant of the county (Lord Leigh) has acted
generously and marked his appreciation of the
labours of the committee and his desire to lessen the
deficit by voluntarily transferring his subscription
of 100 guineas from the Scholarship to the Festival
Fund. Lord Leigh's example will, in all pro-
bability, ba followed by the county gentry and
residents of Stratford generally, who are contribu-
tors in some form to the threefold objects of the ter-
centary, although not to the fund wholly appropri-
ated to the payment of festival expenses, and many
vice-presidents at a distance are only waiting the
publication of a balance sheet to co-operate with the
committee in relieving the latter body from all in-
cuoiary responsibility and loss.