Ghost Hand Puppet used by Rev. Hitchcok in Punch & Judy Show
date: label: Date made
content: 1890 - 1900
name: label: user
content: Hitchcock, William E.
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Ghost hand puppet from Punch and Judy Show. White cloth puppet with blue painted face on cloth and a skull and crossbones half-way down his costume. It was used by Reverand William E. Hitchcock of Brimfield, Massachusetts, itinerant preacher and showman, c. 1890-1900, during his public temperance lectures.
label: Description (Brief)
content: One of seven puppets in the set. The Punch and Judy show has evoked sympathy and laughter from American audiences since the early 1800s, when traveling punchmen, also known as Professors brought this traditional farce from England. Punch came to England from Italy, where he had been a minor character in the Commedia dell'Arte, where he was known as Punchinella. A similar character is called Poloichinelle in France, Kasperle in Germany, and Petrushka in Russia. These puppets share similar characteristics including a high, squeaky voice, a large nose, and sometimes a humped back. Punch has a universal appeal as the common man at odds with his surroundings. His bizarre responses have provoked laughter whether it be hanging the policeman, or tossing his wife and baby out the window. Ultimately, these antics were the demise of this raucous puppet show in America, where the public was increasingly concerned with public morality. They even introduced an alligator to the show to make Punch pay for his crimes but even this did not save the play.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: general subject association
content: Puppetry
label: related object association proper name
content: Punch and Judy
label: Subject
content: Protestantism
label: Subject
content: Temperance
label: Subject
content: Orations
label: Subject
content: Education
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Puppets
label: See more items in
content: Religion
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1981.0185.07
label: accession number
content: 1981.0185
label: catalog number
content: 1981.0185.07
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Puppet
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paint (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: cotton (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 17 in x 6 in; 43.18 cm x 15.24 cm