76
SELLING SHOCK AT THE SANS PAREIL:
THE EARLY SHOWS OF JANE AND JOHN SCOTT
Hen y James Mason
DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.14712/2571452X.2025.69.6
Abs ac : In No embe 1806, he Sans Pa eil hea e, la e enamed he Adelphi, s aged
i s i s e ening o en e ainmen . This consis ed o a pe o mance by Jane Sco o he
own songs, ollowed by a se ies o op ical en e ainmen s de ised by he a he John,
p op ie o and manage o he hea e. These included a shadow puppe display, a
i ewo k display, and a magic lan e n show in he manne o a phan asmago ia. This
a icle examines his magic lan e n show in he con ex o John Sco ’s ca ee –
p eexis ing and concu en wi h his managemen o he Sans Pa eil – as a shopkeepe .
The p oduc s sold in his es ablishmen a 417 S and had included magic lan e ns since
he beginning o he p e ious decade. I show how Sco ’s hea e, cons uc ed nex o his
shop, was an ex ension o his comme cial endea ou s, his use o magic lan e ns in he
hea e p o iding bo h an ad e isemen o hese p oduc s and an al e na i e,
economically p oduc i e use o hem. This comme cial exploi a ion o s age machine y
in he hea e’s ea lies shows con inued o go e n he plays which he Sans Pa eil would
go on o s age, such as he many wo ks w i en by Jane Sco o he hea e, including
he mos success ul melod ama, The Old Oak Ches , i s pe o med in 1816.
Keywo ds: ad e ising, magic lan e n, phan asmago ia, hea e managemen , mino
hea es, melod ama.
In he Oxbe y’s D ama ic Biog aphy en y on Geo ge Da idge, ac o and ea ly
manage o London’s Cobu g Thea e, he au ho jus i ies he so-called “ho o s
displayed a mino hea es” by sugges ing ha “a hea ical manage is bu a kind
o shopkeepe , and will na u ally deal in hose goods o which he inds he
eadies demand.”1 This compa ison inds li e al illus a ion in he pe son o John
1 “Memoi o M . Da idge,” Oxbe y’s D ama ic Biog aphy, and His ionic Anecdo es 6
(Janua y 1826): 116.
Selling Shock a he Sans Pa eil
77
Sco , he manage o whom Da idge i s ac ed upon his a i al in London om
he p o incial hea es.2 Sco was a shopkeepe p io o and du ing his hea ical
ca ee , selling a is ’s ma e ials and magic lan e ns, alongside o he oys, a his
business in he S and, while also, om 1806, managing he Sans Pa eil Thea e,
whe e his daugh e Jane was he s a pe o me and main a is ic o ce. The
p oduc ions s aged a his hea e we e la gely ypical o he oman ic spec acles
which we e a popula ea u e o he ea ly nine een h-cen u y s age. As
Ch is ophe Baugh sugges s, he scale and complexi y o hese p oduc ions we e
made possible by he echnological de elopmen s which ook place in he
playhouses o he pe iod, enabling he hea e o engage wi h he “explosion o
isual in e es s” aking place ac oss socie y.3 John Sco ’s ca ee as bo h hea e
manage and shopkeepe demons a es he sui abili y o he ep oducible spec acles
o e ed by hese echnologies o he aims o he business-minded playhouse
manage s o he pe iod.
Sco had, o decades p io o he es ablishmen o his hea e, wo ked as a
colou man, manu ac u ing and selling inks, dyes and wa e colou s bo h o a is s
and o domes ic use. Sco ad e ised his wa es ex ensi ely om 1782, ini ially
ope a ing om 419 S and be o e eloca ing o n° 417 in 1788; almos om he
beginning o his ca ee , he o e ed his p oduc s in e na ionally, his wa e colou s
being sold in Pa is as ea ly as 1783.4 The popula i y o hese wa es is sugges ed by
he exis ence o coun e ei imi a ions, which we e o en e e ed o in Sco ’s
ad e isemen s. A lis ing ad e ising Sco ’s “Liquid T ue Blue” ells buye s ha
“ he e a e nume ous Coun e ei s” and ha “ he only Genuine Liquid T ue Blue”
is sold in sealed s one bo les ma ked wi h John Sco ’s name and add ess.5 This
blue dye was he p oduc o which Sco was bes known and was in ended o be
used o applica ions om dyeing s ockings and linen o w i ing and d awing.
2 “Memoi o M . Da idge,” 110.
3 Ch is ophe Baugh, “Scenog aphy and Technology,” in The Camb idge Companion o
B i ish Thea e 1730-1830, ed. Jane Moody and Daniel O’Quinn (Camb idge: Camb idge
Uni e si y P ess, 2007), 55. Fo mo e on spec acle and hea ical echnology, see Shea e
Wes , “Manu ac u ing Spec acle,” in The Ox o d Handbook o he Geo gian Thea e, ed. Julia
Swindells and Da id F ancis Taylo (Ox o d: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess, 2014), 286-303.
4 Jacob Simon, “B i ish A is s’ Supplie s, 1650-1950,” Na ional Po ai Galle y, las
upda ed Augus 2019, accessed 25 June 2025, h ps://www.npg.o g.uk/collec ions/
esea ch/p og ammes/di ec o y-o -supplie s/.
5 “J. Sco ’s O iginal Liquid T ue Blue,” Soap 12 (33), John Johnson Collec ion o P in ed
Epheme a, Bodleian Lib a y, Uni e si y o Ox o d, accessed 10 June 2025, h ps://
www.p oques .com/pamphle s-epheme al-wo ks/j-sco s-o iginal-liquid- ue-blue-shel ma k-
soap/doc iew/2823557504/se-2.
Hen y James Mason
78
Sco was accus omed o exploi ing oman ic opes in his ad e ising, as is made
clea by he pu po ed o igins o his amous blue dye, which he claimed o ha e
disco e ed by acciden while a elling in Eu ope: he loca ion o his disco e y
a ied be ween ad e isemen s om a “ ude hu ” in Russia o Ge many’s Black
Fo es .6 Sco ’s cus ome s included he a is Thomas Gainsbo ough, and he
ad e ised his s a us as wa e colou -p epa e o he oyal amily om as ea ly as
1788.7 As well as he inks and dyes which we e manu ac u ed on si e a 417 S and,
Sco also impo ed a is ’s p oduc s om ab oad, including c ayons om
Swi ze land and colou ed pencils om I aly.8
These impo ed goods would come o include magic lan e ns. Sco ad e ised
be ween 1791 and 1801 ha he was impo ing la ge quan i ies o lan e ns om
Ge many, which could be pu chased in boxes alongside 12 slides, on which we e
pain ed abou 60 g o esque minia u es, which could be – as desc ibed in Sco ’s
ad e isemen s – p ojec ed, “by e lec ion,” o be “as la ge as na u e.”9 These
ad e isemen s con inued in o he nine een h cen u y wi h ew changes o hei
ex . No ices om 1792 and 1808 bo h cha ac e ized he magic lan e n as “a pleasing
amily amusemen ” sui able o “all ages and sexes,” while insis ing on he no el y
o he accompanying slides. The inclusion o ins uc ions alongside he package
emphasized he ease wi h which he lan e n could be used.10 F om he la e 1790s,
Sco ’s no ices s a ed ha he magic lan e n, when “humo ously displayed,” could
“en e ain 20 pe sons o mo e a he same ime.” Sco was hus al eady concei ing
o he la ge -scale en e ainmen s made possible by he lan e ns, some hing he would
come o exploi a his own hea e.11 In Janua y 1802, Sco added o his lan e n
package, o e ing “30 Magic, magne ic and anci ul en e ainmen s o he i eside,
wi h ins umen s o hei use, being upon an en i ely new p inciple such as has
no been seen in his coun y, being jus ecei ed om a manu ac o y in Saxony.”12
This insis ence on he no el y o his p oduc s was likely a esponse o he
popula i y o magic lan e n shows elsewhe e in London. Me yn Hea d specula es
6 A.V. Campbell, “Fo y Yea s’ Recollec ions o a London Ac o ,” Ben ley’s Miscellany 27
(Janua y 1850), 482; H. Ba on Bake , His o y o he London S age and i s Famous Playe s
(1776-1903) (London: Rou ledge, 1904), 413.
7 Simon, “B i ish A is s’ Supplie s.”
8 Simon, “B i ish A is s’ Supplie s.”
9 Deac Rossell, “Some Though s on he Bull’s-Eye Magic Lan e n,” The New Magic Lan e n
Jou nal 9, no. 5 (2003): 72; The Obse e (19 Feb ua y 1792).
10 The Obse e (19 Feb ua y 1792); The Obse e (3 Janua y 1808).
11 The Obse e (15 Decembe 1799).
12 Me yn Hea d, “Paul de Philips hal and he Phan asmago ia in England, Sco land and
I eland, Pa Th ee: Phew!” The New Magic Lan e n Jou nal 8, no. 4 (1999): 8.
Selling Shock a he Sans Pa eil
79
ha Sco ’s lan e ns may ha e been pu chased by audience membe s e u ning
home om Paul de Philips hal’s phan asmago ia shows, which ook place om
Oc obe 1801 a he Lyceum Thea e, a sho dis ance along he S and om Sco ’s
shop.13 A phan asmago ia consis ed o a magic lan e n used alongside o he isual
and au al e ec s. Fo example, ea ly playbills o Philips hal’s Lyceum show
s a ed ha “ o ende hese Appa i ions mo e in e es ing” hey would be
in oduced “du ing he P og ess o a emendous Thunde s o m, accompanied
wi h i id Ligh ning, Hail, Wind, e c.”14 Philips hal had been, unde he name
Philido , pe o ming phan asmago ie shows in Pa is since 1792; indeed, he possibly
was he o igina o o such en e ainmen s in he ci y.15 Philips hal’s London show
was an immedia e hi , Richa d Al ick a ibu ing his success o he “popula elish
o spec al isi a ions” which had also made Go hic no els bes selle s.16
Philips hal insis ed on his iden i y as o igina o o such spec acles in an ea ly
playbill o his Lyceum show in which he esponded o “ he ad e isemen o
a ious Exhibi ions” unde he i le o Phan asmago ia, sugges ing ha hese
would “mislead he unsuspec ing pa o he public […] in hei Opinion o he
ORIGINAL PHANTASMAGORIA,” namely Philips hal’s own.17
This exhibi ion, as was made clea on playbills, was b oken up in o an “op ical
pa ” – which was he phan asmago ia i sel – and a “mechanical” sec ion, du ing
which a numbe o au oma ons, including a mechanical peacock and an
“INGENIOUS SELF-DEFENDING CHEST,” we e displayed.18 This playbill’s
dis inc ion be ween he op ical and he mechanical seems mean o aise he
phan asmago ia abo e simple exhibi ions o s age machine y, pe haps in an
a emp o p ese e an illusion o he supe na u al. This illusion was main ained
by keeping he audience in o al da kness and he eby hiding he anspa en
sc een on which Philips hal’s ghos ly images we e p ojec ed.19 These a emp s o
disguise he machine y by which i was ope a ed belie he ac ha he
phan asmago ia was en i ely dependen on he ma e ials o he hea e, i s a ec i e
powe coming om a con ol and exploi a ion o a ious o ms o s age echnology,
including magic lan e ns hemsel es.
13 Hea d, “Paul de Philips hal… Pa Th ee,” 8.
14 “Phan asmago ia” playbill, p obably ea ly 1802, Folio 74 OL1 . 2, Lewis Walpole Lib a y,
Yale Uni e si y, Fa ming on, CT, accessed 25 June 2025, h ps:// indi .lib a y.yale.edu/
ca alog/digcoll:5002658.
15 Me yn Hea d, “Paul de Philips hal and he Phan asmago ia in England, Sco land and
I eland, Pa One: Boo!” The New Magic Lan e n Jou nal 8, no. 1 (1996): 2.
16 Richa d D. Al ick, The Shows o London (Camb idge, MA: Belknap P ess, 1978), 217.
17 Hea d, “Paul de Philips hal... Pa One,” 4.
18 “Phan asmago ia” playbill.
19 Al ick, Shows o London, 217-18.
Hen y James Mason
80
Be o e desc ibing he lan e n show e en ually exhibi ed a he Sans Pa eil, I will
in oduce he playhouse’s mos impo an c ea i e o ce, John Sco ’s daugh e
Jane. Jane, who had ecei ed a musical educa ion in childhood, wo ked in he yea s
p io o he es ablishmen o he Sans Pa eil as a piano and singing eache , as well
as w i ing songs.20 Jane’s singing lessons we e ad e ised in he same newspape s
as he a he ’s p oduc s; an 1804 lis ing in he Obse e add essed “ he Nobili y,
Gen y, and Ladies in gene al, who design Music as a p o ession o an
accomplishmen ,” s essing he “g ea ad an age” o Jane’s ha ing “s udied
p o essionally,” while gi ing he same add ess – 417 S and – as was associa ed
wi h he a he ’s business.21 John Sco would manu ac u e many o his p oduc s
on si e a n° 417, and he ea lies pe o mances pu on by him and his daugh e
ook place amongs hese comme cial endea ou s, since he had epu posed he
la ges oom in his wa ehouse – in which he colou s o his dyes we e g ound –
and gu ed his pa o he manu ac o y in o de o i i up as a makeshi hea e.22
I was in his enue ha Jane i s pe o med he songs and en e ainmen s,
assis ed by a class o he own pupils, o a subsc ibing audience made up mos ly
o iends.23 The Thea ical Obse e , in Decembe 1844, cha ac e ized John’s
cons uc ion o he hea e as an indulgence o his daugh e ’s “p edilec ion o he
s age,” a sugges ion ha some his o ians ha e ollowed: Jacob Simon, o ins ance,
w i es in he Na ional Po ai Galle y’s di ec o y o a is s’ supplie s ha John
Sco buil he hea e “ o his daugh e .”24 Howe e , R.J. B oadben asse s ha
John had also odden he boa ds, pe o ming a London’s Pan heon Thea e. This
possibili y, aken alongside John’s close in ol emen in he managemen o he
Sans Pa eil’s s age, sugges s he cons uc ion o a playhouse was o pe sonal
in e es o a he as well as daugh e .25
The case o John Sco ’s ansi ion om businesspe son o hea e owne and
manage p o ides a clea example o he comme cial possibili ies o he s age,
especially o he machine y-dependen spec acles which we e he Sans Pa eil’s
usual a e. Sco , o ins ance, would e e ence he hea e in ad e isemen s o his
20 Jacky B a on, “Sco [ma ied name Middle on], Jane Ma ga e (bap. 1779, d. 1839),
hea e manage and ac ess,” Ox o d Dic iona y o Na ional Biog aphy, accessed 24 June 2025,
h ps://www.ox o ddnb.com/sea ch?q=Sco +%5Bma ied+name+Middle on%5D%2C+
Jane+Ma ga e +&sea chB n=Sea ch&isQuickSea ch= ue.
21 The Obse e (5 Feb ua y 1804).
22 Wal e Tho nbu y, “London Thea es and London Ac o s,” Belg a ia: A London Magazine
9 (Oc obe 1869): 477.
23 Thea ical Obse e (11 Decembe 1844).
24 Simon, “B i ish A is s’ Supplie s.”
25 R.J. B oadben , The Annals o he Li e pool S age (Li e pool: Edwa d Howell, 1908), 207.
Selling Shock a he Sans Pa eil
81
“Flesh-Colou Dye,” an example om 1798 s essing ha he colou is “ ashionable,”
hanks in pa o he ac ha i is “now apidly appea ing on he s age.”26 This
makes e y clea he use ulness o managing a hea e as a o m o ad e ising o
someone selling p oduc s ela ed o ex iles and cos uming. The na u e o John’s
exis ing business made he opening o a hea e ela i ely s aigh o wa d. As
Al ed Nelson sugges s, John “had he ing edien s o a hea e: he magic lan e n,
his knowledge o ab ics such as hose used in cu ains, d apes, and sc eens; his
skill as a dye and colou e ; and a alen ed daugh e who could sing and play.”27
In 1804, ha ing achie ed some no o ie y o p i a e hea icals, Sco u ned
he makeshi hea e in his wa ehouse in o a small p i a e playhouse, be o e
inally cons uc ing he i s Sans Pa eil p ope in 1806.28 In o de o build he
playhouse, Sco in es ed p o i s om his shop by pu chasing 12 p ope ies on an
adjoining alley, Bailey’s Cou , and demolished hese o p o ide space o he
hea e building.29 Ad e isemen s in ad ance o he Sans Pa eil’s opening make
clea he small size o he hea e, o e ing o sale pi and box sea s, while s a ing
ha he e is no galle y ( he uppe balcony ound in mos playhouses).30 Po en ial
audience membe s a e in o med ha he hea e is “pe ec ly d y, ha ing been
inished upwa ds o wo yea s,” ha “A is s o he i s abili ies ha e been
engaged in he Deco a i e, as well as he Op ical and Mechanical Pa ,” and ha
“ he com o and accommoda ion o he Audience ha e been mos pa icula ly
a ended o.”31
These ea ly ad e isemen s also lay ou he show which audiences could
expec o see on hei i s isi o he Sans Pa eil. The opening sec ion o his show
was “The Rou ,” a 45-minu e pe o mance by Jane o a numbe o he own songs.
Jane’s au ho ship o hese songs was made clea in ad e ising, which o en
emphasized he iden i y as a “young lady” making he “ i s appea ance on any
s age.”32 The no el y o Jane, as a p e iously unseen a is ic o ce, and – in
pa icula – as a young woman, was undoub edly a selling poin in he hea e’s
26 The Caledonian Me cu y (7 June 1798).
27 “Calenda o 1806-1807,” ed. John W. B okaw, The Adelphi Thea e Calenda P ojec , gen.
eds. Al ed L. Nelson and Gilbe B. C oss, upda ed 2016, accessed 25 June 2025,
h ps://www.umass.edu/AdelphiThea eCalenda /m06d.h m.
28 Cha les Smi h Chel nam, “His o y o he London Thea es,” in The D ama ic Yea Book
o he Yea Ending Decembe 31s , 1891, ed. Cha les Smi h Chel nam (London: T ischle ,
1892), 1.
29 Jacky B a on, “Sco [ma ied name Middle on], Jane Ma ga e .”
30 The Obse e (21 Decembe 1806).
31 The Obse e (21 Decembe 1806).
32 The Obse e (21 Decembe 1806).
Hen y James Mason
82
ea ly his o y. Jane’s mode o pe o mance mos closely esembled ha o Cha les
Dibdin, he Mon hly Mi o desc ibing he in 1807 as a “Dibdin in pe icoa s,” while
Richa d Klepac lis s Jane amongs London’s “solo en e aine s” o he pe iod,
alongside pe o me s like Jack Bannis e and Cha les Ma hews.33 On Sa u day,
4 Ap il 1807, he closing nigh o he hea e’s i s season, Jane made an add ess
o he audience ha highligh ed, wi h much sel -dep eca ion, he lack o p e ious
hea e expe ience, saying: “A li le spa k, a s ange he e I came, / Unchee ’d by
pa onage, sca ce known by name […] Ye some kind iends, o Genius dea , /
O imes he ading spa k o chee ; / And doubly all my poo a emp s ewa ding, /
Ha e kep hemsel es om sleeping, by applauding.”34
This season-closing add ess also e e s o he o he pa s o he Sans Pa eil’s
ea ly shows. Jane says o he a he : “Ou manage , no like him o whom ’ was
said, / Failing o aise he li ing ied o aise he dead; / Ou ’s by he dead, he
li ing ied o aise, / And ain would igh en you o dea h, o me i p aise.”35 This
cha ac e iza ion o John Sco ’s magic lan e n show highligh s i s a ec i e powe ,
sugges ing ha he success o he show came om i s abili y o inspi e ea in
audiences. This a ec i e in en ion is no made immedia ely clea in ea ly lis ings
o he hea e, whe e Sco ’s show is desc ibed in e ms o i s echnological
cons uc ion, cha ac e ized as an “op ical exhibi ion o isiona y objec s […]
some hing in he manne o ha admi ed exhibi ion he Phan asmago ie, bu
a ying ma e ially in he e ec .” He e, Sco demons a es again his business-
minded conce n wi h o iginali y.36
The images displayed in his exhibi ion we e, as Jane’s audience add ess
sugges s, o he mos pa o a oman ic and supe na u al cha ac e . The show
began wi h an exhibi ion o spec es “a e he manne o ” Johann Geo g
Sch öp e , who had pe o med pu po edly eal seances, using his own sys em o
magic lan e ns, ac oss Ge many in he 1770s. Sco ’s magic lan e n pe o mance
hus opened wi h an in en ionally shocking pe o mance o supe na u al ea .37
33 The Mon hly Mi o , Volume 1 (1807), 73; Richa d L. Klepac, M Ma hews a Home (London:
The Socie y o Thea e Resea ch, 1979), 10-11. Fo he hea ical song cul u e o his
pe iod, see Oska Jensen, Da id Kenne ley and Ian Newman, eds., Cha les Dibdin and
La e Geo gian Cul u e (Ox o d: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess, 2018).
34 Jane Sco , “Add ess, W i en and Spoken by Miss Sco , on he Closing o he Sans Pa eil
Thea e o he Season, on Sa u day, Ap il 4,” The Gen leman's Magazine: and His o ical
Ch onicle (May 1807): 451.
35 Sco , “Add ess, W i en and Spoken by Miss Sco ,” 452.
36 The Obse e (21 Decembe 1806).
37 Hea d, “Paul de Philips hal… Pa Th ee,” 9. Fo mo e in o ma ion on Sch öp e , see
Renko Ge a h, “The Masonic Nec omance : Shi ing Iden i ies in he Li es o Johann
Selling Shock a he Sans Pa eil
83
This was ollowed by images o his o ical igu es, p esumably alongside he
“his o ical ema ks” men ioned in he playbill, who we e pa icula ly associa ed
wi h dea h, o a leas he g o esque: such igu es had been widely depic ed in
d ama and isual a o he p e ious cen u y.38 The igu es included he Man wi h
he I on Mask; Siwa d, he medie al ea l who, acco ding o my h, insis ed on
wea ing his a mou while dying o dysen e y; El ida, a medie al queen o England
who was long associa ed wi h emale e il and had been he subjec o a 1751 agedy
by William Mason; and Jane Sho e, ano he medie al woman who had been he
subjec o mul iple s age wo ks including Nicholas Rowe’s 1714 agedy, in which
Sa ah Siddons had s a ed in he inal decades o he eigh een h cen u y.39 The
exhibi ion ended wi h a depic ion o he g uesome classical s o y o Ixion being
o u ed on he wheel.40 These his o ical subjec s would emain o wide cul u al
in e es in he ollowing cen u y: Siwa d, o example, was he subjec o wo ks by
he P e-Raphaeli e pain e s Valen ine Came on P insep and James Sme ham.41
Clea ly, a signi ican pa o he a ec i e powe o Sco ’s phan asmago ic show
came om he cul u al in e es al eady p esen in hese subjec s. The magic lan e n
as a echnology enhanced he shock e ec o his subjec ma e , allowing Sco o
ha ness i s comme cial po en ial in he o m o oman ic en e ainmen .
This engagemen wi h he cul u al li e o he ci y would emain a no able
ea u e o he Sco s’ shows. In The Anima ed E igy, a a ce w i en by Jane in 1811,
a weal hy olde woman eigns he dea h and poses as he own waxwo k in o de
o moni o he ela i es’ eac ion o he passing. One o hese ela i es, commen ing
on he g o esque appea ance o he supposed s a ue, sugges s ha i should be
exhibi ed a “Salmon’s waxwo k,” on Flee S ee .42 This was a e e ence o M s.
Geo g Sch ep e ,” in Polemical Encoun e s: Eso e ic Discou se and i s O he s, ed. Ola
Hamme and Kocku on S uck ad (Leiden: B ill, 2007), 181-97.
38 The Obse e (21 Decembe 1806).
39 Hea d, “Paul de Philips hal… Pa Th ee,” 9; Hen y o Hun ingdon, The His o y o he
English People, 1000-1154, ans. Diana E. G eenaway (Ox o d: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess,
2002), 22; William Mason, El ida: A D ama ic Poem (London: J. and P. Knap on, 1752);
Richa d Helge son, “Weeping o Jane Sho e,” The Sou h A lan ic Qua e ly 98, no. 3
(1999): 451.
40 Hea d, “Paul de Philips hal… Pa Th ee,” 9.
41 Valen ine Came on P insep, The Dea h o Siwa d he S ong, pain ing, be o e 1882,
GA0926, Sou hwa k A Collec ion, Sou hwa k He i age Cen e and Walwo h Lib a y,
London, accessed 20 June 2025, h ps://he i age.sou hwa k.go .uk/objec s/1109/dea h-
o -siwa d- he-s ong; Susan P. Cas e as, James Sme ham: A is , Au ho , P e-Raphaeli e
Associa e (Alde sho : Scola P ess, 1995), 20.
42 Jane Sco , Manusc ip o “The Anima ed E igy,” 28 Janua y 1811, LA1660, John La pen
Plays, Hun ing on Lib a y, San Ma ino, CA, accessed 10 June 2025, h ps://0-www-
Hen y James Mason
84
Salmon’s waxwo k museum, which was in ope a ion a his loca ion om as ea ly
as 1787.43 Again, his ela ionship be ween he Sco s’ wo k and he cul u al and
comme cial landscape o he ci y as a whole si ua es he hea e amongs he isual
en e ainmen s on o e in London, especially wi h he Sans Pa eil’s ocus on
echnology-d i en, oman ic and a ec i e spec acles. In pa icula , he
a o emen ioned de ice in which Sco has a cha ac e imi a e a s a ue – some hing
which Jane had also employed in 1808’s The Red Robbe ; o , The S a ue in he Wood –
allows o a compa ison be ween he wo k o ac o s and ha o he machine y
hey pe o m alongside.44 This de ice o Jane’s equi ed ac o s o employ hei
basic unc ion as pa o he s age appa a us, aking hei place amongs he
senso y echnologies upon which London’s cul u e o en e ainmen depended.
The comme cial aims o he hea e we e equi alen o hose o a business such as
Salmon’s Waxwo k.45
The mos s iking example o his is he ela ionship be ween John Sco ’s
hea ical wo k and his own business. Sco con inued o sell colou s and lan e ns
du ing he exis ence o his hea e, he Sans Pa eil’s phan asmago ia show
unc ioning in pa as an ad e isemen o his magic lan e ns. Besides his use o
he s age as a show oom o his p oduc s, John’s use o his own lan e ns o
hea ical e ec sugges s he economic mo i a ions behind his kind o echnology-
dependen s age spec acle. An easily eplicable s age p oduc ion ep esen ed a
p o i -gene a ing use o his unsold s ock. The emainde o he Sans Pa eil’s i s
show also made use o lan e n echnology, pa h ee o he playbill echoing
Philips hal’s language o he imma e ial by p omising a spec acle “ ep esen ing
appa en ly in he Ai , An Ancien G and Ba le in Shadow,” depic ing a ision o
he i s c usade.46 The show concluded wi h an “a i icial Fi ewo k” display,
which was – acco ding o pe o me A.V. Campbell – “in en ed” and “wo ked”
by John, and he would go on o p oduce mechanical e ec s o a numbe o shows
in he Sans Pa eil’s his o y.47 These included mo e “mechanical i ewo ks” o
Ul hona he So ce ess, i s pe o med in No embe 1807, and a “mechanical all o
eigh een hcen u yd ama-amdigi al-co-uk.ca alogue.lib a ies.london.ac.uk/Documen s/
Sea chDe ails/HL_LA_mssLA1660.
43 William Ha ey, London Scenes and London People (London: W.H. Colling idge, 1863), 58-62.
Fo mo e on Salmon’s Waxwo k, see Al ick, The Shows o London, 52-53.
44 Fo o he examples o hea ical pe o me s imi a ing sculp u es, see Sophie Thomas’s
essay in his special issue.
45 Thea e: o , D ama ic and Li e a y Mi o 1, no. 3 (6 Ma ch 1819): 42.
46 The Obse e (21 Decembe 1806).
47 The Obse e (21 Decembe 1806); A.V. Campbell, “Fo y Yea s’ Recollec ions o a London
Ac o ,” 483.
