According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the use of the word “property” in the theatrical sense first appeared around 1425 A.D. Â In the prologue to the play, The Castle of Perseverance, the second flag-bearer announces to the audience:
Grace, if God wyl graunte us, of hys mykyl myth,
þese parcellis in propyrtes we purpose us to playe
þis day seuenenyt
(emphasis mine)
This transcription comes from The Macro Plays, edited by Frederick James Furnivall and Alfred William Pollard, published in 1904. You can see the original manuscript below:
first known written appearance of "properties" (in the theatrical sense) in the Castle of Perseverance
Grace, if God will grant us of his great might,
On scaffolds with costumes the roles we will play
This day sevennight
While certainly clearer in meaning, this translation has the unfortunate side effect of replacing “properties” with “costumes”, thus nullifying the Oxford English Dictionaries assertion of the word’s first appearance. Still, I think we can give the OED a little more scholarly weight in this instance.
According to Wikipedia, The Castle of Perseverance is not only the earliest known full-length vernacular play in existence, it is also important for its inclusion of a set drawing. The drawing is also one of the earliest known surviving examples of its kind. It hints that the play may have been performed in the round.
“Props”— provides, cares for, and places in proper position on the stage all furniture, draperies, lugs, carpets, lamps, telephone, letters, documents, etc. — in fact, all articles needed in the play except the personal properties of the actor. Things only used by a single actor — such as a fan, a cane, an eyeglass, a parasol, a handkerchief, a letter, if it remains with the one person and not given to another or is not left on the stage — these are personal “props.” A small table should be provided on either side of the stage for offstage “props,” such articles as are needed to be carried on stage, or for properties brought off stage. The property man should see that actors do not carry such “props” to their dressing rooms, but that they are left on the table provided. Stage drinks — which are made of grape juice, ginger-ale, or root beer, according to the color needed, are cared for and bought by “props” on order of the director countersigned by the business manager.
The property man should take an artistic pride in his stage picture and spend a good deal of time to secure, by renting or borrowing or making, the exact style of furniture and things needed for the play. A period play with modern furniture which one sees in stock performance is ludicrous. Charlie Millard, the veteran property man of the Salt Lake Theatre made all his properties and furnished the actors in Brigham Young’s time with even personal “props.” The stage manager furnishes “props” with a property plot containing a list of properties needed for each scene in the play.
This was originally published in the February 1907 issue of Popular Mechanics. As such, it does not include over a hundred years of chair evolution. Still, it’s a good starting point for narrowing down what kind of chair your production needs.
There are 40 distinct styles of chairs embracing the period from 3000 B.C. to 1900 A.D. — nearly 7,000 years. Of all the millions of chairs made during the centuries, each one can be classified under one or more of the 40 general styles shown in the chart. This chart was compiled by the editor of Decorative Furniture. The Colonial does not appear on the chart because it classifies under the Jacobean and other styles. A condensed key to the chart follows:
Click for a larger view
Egyptian — 3000 B.C. to 500 B.C. Seems to have been derived largely from the Early Asian. It influenced Assyrian and Greek decorations, and was used as a motif in some French Empire decoration. Not used in its entirety except for lodge rooms, etc.
Grecian — 700 B.C. to 200 B.C. Influenced by Egyptian and Assyrian styles. It had a progressive growth through the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian periods. It influenced the Roman style and the Pompeian, and all the Renaissance styles, and all styles following the Renaissance, and is still the most important factor in decorations today.
Roman — 750 B.C. to 450 A.D. Rome took her art entirely from Greece, and the Roman is purely a Greek development. The Roman style “revived” in the Renaissance, and in this way is still a prominent factor in modern decoration.
Pompeian — 100 B.C. to 79 A.D. Sometimes called the Grecian-Roman style, which well describes its components. The style we know as Greek was the Greek as used in public structures. The Pompeian is our best idea of Greek domestic decoration. Pompeii was long buried, but when rediscovered it promptly influenced all European styles, including Louis XVI, and the various Georgian styles.
Byzantine — 300 A.D. to 1450 A.D. The “Eastern Roman” style, originating in the removal of the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople (then called Byzantium). It is a combination of Persian and Roman. It influenced the various Moorish, Sacracenic and other Mohammedan styles.
Gothic — 1100 to 1550. It had nothing to do with the Goths, but was a local European outgrowth of the Romanesque. It spread all over Europe, and reached its climax of development about 1550. It was on the Gothic construction that the Northern European and English Renaissance styles were grafted to form such styles as the Elizabethan, etc.
Moorish — 700 to 1600. The various Mohammedan styles can all be traced to the ancient Persian through the Byzantine. The Moorish or Moresque was the form taken by the Mohammedans in Spain.
Indian — 2000 B.C. to 1906 A.D. The East Indian style is almost composite, as expected of one with a growth of nearly 4,000 years. It has been influenced repeatedly by outside forces and various religious invasions, and has, in turn, influenced other far Eastern styles.
Chinese — 3500 B.C. to 1906 A.D. Another of the ancient styles. It had a continuous growth up to 230 B.C., since when it has not changed much. It has influenced Western styles, as in the Chippendale, Queen Anne, etc.
Japanese — 1200 B.C. to 1906 A.D. A style probably springing originally from China, but now absolutely distinct. It has influenced recent art in Europe and America, especially the “New Art” styles.
Italian Gothic — 1100 to 1500. The Italian Gothic differs from the European and English Gothic in clinging more closely to the Romanesque-Byzantine originals.
Tudor — 1485 to 1558. The earliest entry of the Renaissance into England. An application of Renaissance to the Gothic foundations. Its growth was into the Elizabethan.
Italian Renaissance, Fifteenth Century — 1400 to 1500. The birth century of the Renaissance. A seeking for revival of the old Roman and Greek decorative and constructive forms.
Italian Renaissance, Sixteenth Century — 1500 to 1600. A period of greater elaboration of detail and more freedom from actual Greek and Roman models.
Italian Renaissance, Seventeenth Century — 1600 to 1700. The period of great elaboration and beginning of reckless ornamentation.
Spanish Renaissance — 1500 to 1700. A variation of the Renaissance spirit caused by the combination of three distinct styles—the Renaissance as known in Italy, the Gothic and the Moorish. In furniture the Spanish Renaissance is almost identical with the Flemish, which it influenced.
Dutch Renaissance — 1500 to 1700. A style influenced alternately by the French and the Spanish. This style and the Flemish had a strong influence on the English William and Mary and Queen Anne styles, and especially on the Jacobean.
German Renaissance — 1550 to 1700. A style introduced by Germans who had gone to Italy to study. It was a heavy treatment of the Renaissance spirit, and merged into the German Baroque about 1700.
Francis I — 1515 to 1549. The introductory period when the Italian Renaissance found foothold in France. It is almost purely Italian, and was the forerunner of the Henri II.
Henri II — 1549 to 1610. In this the French Renaissance became differentiated from the Italian, assuming traits that were specifically French and that were emphasized in the next period.
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Louis XIII — 1616 to 1643. A typically French style, in which but few traces of its derivation from the Italian remained. It was followed by the Louis XIV.
Elizabethan — 1558 to 1603. A compound style containing traces of the Gothic, much of the Tudor, some Dutch, Flemish and a little Italian. Especially noted for its fine wood carving.
Jacobean — 1603 to 1689. The English period immediately following the Elizabethan, and in most respects quite similar. The Dutch influence was, however, more prominent. The Cromwellian, which is included in this period, was identical with it.
William and Mary — 1689 to 1702. More Dutch influences. All furniture lighter and better suited to domestic purposes.
Queen Anne — 1702 to 1714. Increasing Dutch influences. Jacobean influence finally discarded. Chinese influence largely present.
Louis XIV — 1643 to 1715. The greatest French style. An entirely French creation, marked by elegance and dignity. Toward the end of the period it softened into the early Rococo.
Georgian — 1714 to 1820. A direct outgrowth of the Queen Anne, tempered by the prevailing French styles. It includes Chippendale, Hepplewhite and Sheraton, but these three great cabinetmakers were sufficiently distinct from the average Georgian to be worthy separate classification.
Chippendale — 1754 to 1800. The greatest English cabinet style. Based on the Queen Anne, but drawing largely from the Rococo, Chinese and Gothic, he produced three distinct types, viz.: French Chippendale, Chinese Chippendale and Gothic Chippendale. The last is a negligible quantity.
Louis XV — 1715 to 1774. The Rococo period. The result of the efforts of French designers to enliven the Louis XIV, and to evolve a new style out of one that had reached its logical climax.
Hepplewhite — 1775 to 1800. Succeeded Chippendale as the popular English cabinetmaker. By many he is considered his superior. His work is notable for a charming delicacy of line and design.
Louis XVI — 1774 to 1793. The French style based on a revival of Greek forms, and influenced by the discovery of the ruins of Pompeii.
Sheraton — 1775 to 1800. A fellow cabinetmaker, working at same time as Hepplewhite. One of the Colonial styles (Georgian).
R. & J. Adam — 1762 to 1800. Fathers of an English classic revival. Much like the French Louis XVI and Empire styles in many respects.
Empire — 1804 to 1814. The style created during the Empire of Napoleon I. Derived from classic Roman suggestions, with some Greek and Egyptian influences.
New Arts — 1900 to date. These are various worthy attempts by the designers of various nations to create a new style. Some of the results are good, and they are apt to be like the “little girl who had a little curl that hung in the middle of her forehead,” in that “when they are good they are very, very good, but when they are bad they are horrid.”
Ron DeMarco, head of props at Emerson University, had these images on a CD he shared with me showing a visual history of the telephone. It’s great for research! Click on any of them for a larger view.
A visual history of telephones from 1876 to 1976
The next image is virtually identical to the previous, but it includes some additional models.
Telephones from 1876 to 1965
I can’t wait for that picture phone! Finally, here’s a quick history of public telephone styles:
Public telephones from 1890 to 1985
If you have a play that requires a public telephone in a contemporary setting… what play are you doing? Just kidding; though rare, you can still find payphones in many cities these days.
The two things to be aimed at are to have what is actually wanted, and to make the scene look natural and effective, always remembering that a very great point is gained if your stage looks attractive. To this end bring everything to bear upon the stage setting that will please the eye, and make a good picture. The aid of the ladies may often be relied upon to arrange such a scene as this with the best results.
Everything used in the scene should be set at rehearsal, and the actual furniture and properties wanted at night should be used, not substitutes. Thus the actors will be able to regulate their movements on the stage; the table will be of the proper shape, the chairs will be well placed, not too high nor too low, nor too heavy to move easily. If the couch is used it must be placed in the exact spot, and not in the way, and a few books, writing materials, a lamp, handbell, etc., can be distributed in any way that seems desirable either for use or ornament.
For a drawing-room the draperies should be of a lighter shade than for a dining or other room, in fact, everything should be appropriate to the place and occasion.
For a cottage scene there should be plainer draperies, the floor covered with a drugget or plain carpet, a plain wooden table, two or three windsor chairs, and, where possible, a few kitchen utensils displayed to give the scene an air of reality.
Much taste and ingenuity may be exercised in the arrangement of the stage should a garden scene be required.
The screens should be covered with a trellis work, with branches of evergreen arranged upon it, or a piece of green baize may be hung over them, with a quantity of ivy fastened on it, and perhaps a few artificial flowers fixed here and there. Pots of shrubs and flowers may be placed at the back and sides of the scene, and green baize should be used in place of a carpet.
In short, whether the scene represents an interior or exterior, amateurs will do well to utilise anything and everything that will not only be suggestive of the real thing, but that will approach reality as nearly as possible.
