Characters, from Jack and the Giant Killer, Plate 4 for a Toy Theater 1870 - 1890

Benjamin Pollock created this etching around the turn of the 20th century for a toy theater production of "Jack the Giant Killer." It offers us a fascinating glimpse into the popular entertainment of the time and how it reflected social hierarchies. The exaggerated features and costumes of the characters, like the grotesque giant and the pompous Duke, would have been instantly recognizable to audiences familiar with the morality plays performed in Victorian England. The toy theater itself was a microcosm of the larger theater world, with its own stars, scripts, and devoted fans. Pollock's toy theaters were produced and sold in London, at a time when the Industrial Revolution created a new class of urban workers with money to spend. It would be interesting to explore the history of toy theaters and their place in the broader landscape of popular culture.