This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/25/2023
FLOCKTON, John (d. 1794). Mr. Flockton’s Theatre. [London, ca. 1775]. Letterpress broadside advertising the mechanical puppet show billed as “The Italian Fantoccini” as presented by Flockton, who will also “display his amazing art of dexterity of hand, different from all pretenders of the said art” along with vocal performances, a tragedy entitled “The Grecian Hero,” and to conclude with a “grand and amazing piece of Breaking Machinery never exhibited before called Marlin: Or, the British Enchanter.” 9 3/4 x 7 3/8”. Old inked marks to bill, corner clipped, one tiny loss. Flockton, more a puppeteer and general showman than a famous conjuror, was said to be the mentor of Gyngell, who inherited his show upon Flockton’s death. He was one of the many performers who exhibited at the annual London Fairs, where he used magic tricks to draw a crowd to his booth, in which he exhibited a trained monkey, his puppet show, and his mechanical clock as a sort of proto-automaton.