The Stage

The Theatre Staff, 1866

I came across the following wonderful illustrations of backstage theatre from 1866. It’s all in French. I thought I could try translating it on my own, but no luck, so here it is in its untranslated glory. If any of my readers know French and would love to take a crack at it, let me know!

The staff, big and small things, a scenic study by Bertall.

The Stage
The Stage

The next few illustrations show some manual sound effects and props.

Thunder and lightning
Thunder and lightning
Wind and rain
Wind and rain
Shooting
Shooting
Sound and food
Sound and food

Bertall. “L’envers Du Théatre.” L’illustration: Journal Universel, vol 48. 1866: 204.Google Books. Web. 26 July 2016. <https://books.google.com/books?id=-rRLAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA204#v=onepage&q&f=true>.