Lyceum Theatre, London
On 16 October 1874 Henry Irving wrote to Caine agreeing to his request to use his portrait in "Stray Leaves" a new monthly magazine he was launching. In his capacity as critic of the Liverpool "Town Crier", Caine attended the first night of "Hamlet" at the Lyceum Theatre, London, on 31 October 1874, with Irving in the title role. Caine was enthralled by Irving's performance and after his enthusiastic review was published in the newspaper, he was asked to reprint it as a broad-sheet pamphlet, as it was of such a high quality.