| Ref No | DDP/DES/1/20/2 |
| Collection | David Drummond Pantomime Collection |
| Title | Costume Designs for Cinderella |
| Date | 1955 |
| Extent | 1 postcard, 57 costume designs |
| Description | Costume designs for characters in Cinderella are Town Crier, Girls, Fairy, Prince as Dandini, House Maids, Military Guards, Ballroom characters, Emerald, Ruby, Black Pearl, Amethyst, Crystal Fairy, Topaz, Diamond, Sapphire, Pearl, characters in the Crystal Ballet, Ponies, the Prince, Flankey, Children in the Village, Dandini, Pages, and Cinderella.
The costume designs contain notes about the costumes, as well as swatches of fabric. These costume designs were for a performance of Cinderella staged at the Palace Theatre in London and were the property of Emile Littler. A postcard for a performance of Cinderella at the Grand Theatre Pantomime in Glasgow featuring Dan Rolyat and John Humphries is also included. |
| Notes | Cultural appropriation is used in these records reflect contemporary attitudes and language used during the period. All such terms are used 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 costume design for Pages shows a type of performance costume called blackface, designed to demean African American people. The phenomenon became popular in the USA after the Civil War, although it can be dated back to centuries-old European theatrical productions. Thomas Dartmouth Rice is considered the “father of Minstrelsy''. His infamous “blackface” characters include “Jim Crow”, “The Jazz SInger”, “Mammy”, and “Zip Coon”.
The origins of the practice of white performers playing Black roles in European theatre predate in the 18th century, however. It was practised in Britain as well, surviving longer than in the U.S. |
| Subject | Costume design |
| Related Person | Zinkeisen, Doris (1897-1991), stage and costume 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 |