“ONE OF THE GREATEST HUMAN CURIOSITIES IN THE WHOLE WORLD. THE CAMBRIAN PORCUPINE LAD” – a 9 nine year old boy with a growth on his back being sadly exhibited and exploited for money in May, 1840. “EXTRODINARY EFFECT IN VENTRIOLQUISM” in the Black Lion Hotel, Cardiff in October 1840. “THE GREAT LIVING WONDER OF THE WORLD… PIG TOBY”, a pig on a tour of Britain in 1820 showing off his numerous talents which apparently included reading and writing. “THE ROYAL WIZARD OF THE WEST, AND EMPEROR AND GRAND MASTER OF ALL PROFESSORS OF MAGIC!”, exhibiting his skills in Cardigan in 1843. These are just a few examples of the bizarre and amazing topics which are advertised in the Library’s Archive of Historical Posters which contains over 2,600 items and which is currently being digitised.
It’s impossible in just a few words to give a full description of the variety of events and topics which are advertised in the archive, but the ones which have caught my eye are a collection of posters from the 1930s. Wales has always had a tradition of hosting variety shows with programmes such as Noson Lawen still very popular amongst the nation today. Variety shows were at their peak in popularity during the 1930s and this can be seen by looking at the collection of attractive posters from the Queen’s Theatre, Rhyl from 1939. They advertise such diverse performers as Claude Damper ‘The Professional Idiot’, Tom O’Halloran ‘whistling in the dark’ and Al Preston ‘The Ace Impressionist’.
The 1930s also saw Hollywood’s Golden Age with most films being produced in sound by this period. This popularity can be seen in the colourful posters of the Odeon Cinema, Colwyn Bay from 1936 advertising such films as And so they were married with Melvyn Douglas and Mary Astor, popular actors from the period.
The posters are precious for many reasons but the main reason is that they give us an insight into a society which has well and truly disappeared by today.