| Collection | David Drummond Pantomime Collection |
| Description | The David Drummond Pantomime Collection spans four centuries of British pantomime history. It is particularly strong in material relating to Joseph Grimaldi (1778–1837), Dan Leno (1860–1904), The Harlequinade, Pantomime dames and Principal boys.
While pantomimes in all their forms are represented, the collection has a wealth of material relating to performances of ‘Cinderella’, ‘Aladdin’, ‘Babes in the Wood’ and ‘Dick Whittington’.
The collection is highly visual, with an extensive range of promotional material and prints. As well as a rich and diverse collection of posters, playbills, and other pantomime ephemera, particular highlights of the collection include photographs, pantomime show cards, cartoons, costume and set designs, scripts and early programmes. |
| Admin history | David Drummond (b.1930) was a prominent secondhand bookseller, who from 1967 until his retirement in 2015 ran a specialist theatrical bookshop in central London called “Pleasures of Past Times”. During this time he built up his own substantial collection of books, posters, prints, and ephemera relating to the history of British pantomime, of which he became an acknowledged expert. |