Friday, October 19, 2012

Print of the Day: Grimaldi and the Alpaca, 1813

Click on image to try to get your own alpaca.

"Grimaldi and the Alpaca"
London, 1813
The Victoria & Albert Museum



Dated 11 January, 1813, this chromolithograph published by Rudolph Ackermann depicts a scene from the Popular Pantomime of The Red Dwarf which was performed at the Theatre Royal Covent Garden. The panto starred Joseph Grimaldi as “Joey the Clown.

Part of Grimaldi’s routine at this 1813 show involved “Joey’s” interaction with a man attired as an Aztec. The clown would try to trick the Aztec into giving away his Alpaca. I must confess, I never thought I’d be typing the words “Grimaldi and the Alpaca” together. But, that’s what the print is entitled. The image was drawn by one R. Norman. 




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