| Ref No | DDP/DES/1/19 |
| Collection | David Drummond Pantomime Collection |
| Title | Costume designs by Wilhelm |
| Date | 1886-1996 |
| Extent | 34 costume designs |
| Description | Costume designs by the designer Wilhelm. Costumes are for the pantomimes Aladdin, the Forty Thieves, Humpty Dumpty, Katrina and for the characters the Police Sergeant played by Mr D'Auban, Mrs Cassim Baba played by M A. Victor, standard bearer in Cupid's Army, Chee-Kee, Mrs Inch, Aladdin played by Ada Blanche, Kzaroc Nor, Slave of the Ring, Silver Pages, Heralds, Coolies, Abanezar played Herbert Campbell, the Genius of the Lamp, the Widow, Fanbearers, Pages, Tea Blossoms (Apple), the Princess played by Decima Moore, Little Dancers, Mandarins, Slave of the Lamp played by M. Cinquevalli, Tax Gatherer, Chinese Flower Girl, Priest of Temple, Coiffeur, Widow Twankey played by Dan Leno, and Sawcee played by Clara Jecks. |
| Notes | Cultural appropriation and terms used are present in these records and reflect contemporary attitudes used during the period. This is represented in the interest of historical accuracy, as altering them would risk falsifying the historical record. It would also be problematic to source non-offensive modern equivalents with a similar meaning. These items do not reflect the views or opinions of the University of Kent, Special Collections & Archives or our staff. We apologise for any offence that our inclusion of these terms may cause. |
| The derogatory term "Coolies" is used within these materials to describe a character for whom Wilhelm designed a costume. Derived from the Hindi word quli meaning “day worker” or Mandarin word ku li, it is a controversial term used to describe untrained contract/indentured labourers from Asia who in the 1850s worked in the Dutch East Indies and Suriname as well as contract labourers, especially from India, working in British colonised regions of the Caribbean and East and South Africa. The term is still used as a term of abuse towards people of African descent. “Coolie” is also a racial epithet for Indo-Caribbean people especially in Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, and South African Indians. |
| Subject | Costume design |
| Related Person | Pitcher, Charles William (1858-1925), otherwise known as Wilhelm the designer |
| Category | Costume designs |
| Access conditions | This material is available for consultation at the University of Kent's Special Collections & Archives reading room, Templeman Library, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NU (specialcollections@kent.ac.uk). |
| Copyright | Material within the archive may remain within copyright under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Special Collections & Archives staff will assist where possible in helping trace copyright holders, but it is ultimately the responsibility of users to obtain the permission of the copyright holder for reproduction of copyright material for uses other than research or private study. |
| Level | File |