This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/17/2024
VATTEMARE, Nicolas Marie Alexandre (1796 – 1864). Pair of Monsieur Alexandre Playbills. 1822. Includes: One-color letterpress broadside playbill detailing a run of performances by the French ventriloquist at the Adelphi Theatre. London: W. Glindon, n.d. Linen backed. Scattered spotting — One-color letterpress broadside playbill for November performances by Alexandre. Southampton: Elizabeth Skelton and Co., n.d. The text states that the “celebrated dramatic ventriloquist, will deliver an entirely new comic, characteristic, vocalic, mimitic, multiformical, maniloquos, ubiquitarical entertainment, in three parts.” Unbacked. Tiny tears, old creases, and trimmed close with some loss to text at perimeter. Both approx. 14 ½ x 9 ½”.Vattemare was trained as a surgeon but never completed his schooling; it was reported that after making the cadavers speak – thanks to his early mastery of the art of ventriloquism – he was forced to leave school. Even so, his talent for “belly talk” made him famous and wealthy and afforded him many luxuries. Instead of performing with a puppet, Alexandre presented plays in which he acted as dozens of different characters, each with a distinct voice. He used his fame and wealth to promote libraries, culture, and many philanthropic efforts.