A history of English sexual morals / by Ivan Bloch ; translated by William H. Forstern.

  • Iwan Bloch
Date:
1936
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: A history of English sexual morals / by Ivan Bloch ; translated by William H. Forstern. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    l othel in Brompton, gave balls which were attended by as any as 150 * pretty ladies \ During the ball the most ominable orgies took place in the upper storeys of the i buse. In addition to variety and ballet, pantomime also occupied |L important place in the entertainment of Londoners in the ighteenth century. During that period pantomime was lainly performed at three of the smaller theatres: the ' Royal ircus ', ' Astley's Theatre ' and ' Sadler's Wells However, lie big theatres, like Drury Lane and Covent Garden, were Iso obliged to give pantomime each evening after the rdinary programme in order to attract the poorer classes, rho were admitted at half-price to this final item. With hem came the girls, who during the pantomime played I similar game with the male members of the audience. I Up till about 1800 English pantomimes were on the lowest evel imaginable. There was no sensible plot, and what there as was performed in a coarse or obscene manner. On the ther hand, there were many changes of scenery, which ippeared to satisfy the public of that day. No less popular than pantomime were rope-walking, icrobatics and, of course, clowns. When opera was first introduced, it was found advisable to include such essentially circus ' turns '. The English circus itself probably had its origins in ' The Three Hats ' tavern in Islington, where Tom Johnson, the 1 Irish Tartar ', made his debut as an equestrian artist in the year 1758. He galloped round a circle standing first on one horse, then on two. Once he stood on his head on the back of a galloping horse. Tom Johnson's performance was once, on 17th July 1766, attended by the Duke of York and 500 other spectators. In the summer of the same year Sampson introduced his [623]