Trade Card for the Theater in Oxford
18th century
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 6 1/4 × 8 3/8 in. (15.8 × 21.3 cm)
Classification
Prints|Ephemera
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Bella C. Landauer, 1926
Accession Number
26.28.267
Art Historical Context
Step into 18th-century Britain with this charming *Trade Card for the Theater in Oxford*, petite engraving (6 1/4 × 8 3/8 in.) that captures the vibrancy of commercial life and entertainment. Produced anonymously by a British artist, these cards served as early advertising tools— precursors to modern business cards— by businesses to promote their services. Here, itises the Oxford theater, highlighting the growing popularity of live performances amid the Enlightenment's cultural boom, when provincial theaters flourished alongside London's stages. As ephemera from the Prints and Drawings depart...