Playbill 1837 Samuel Weller, or, The Pickwickians

''Samuel Weller, or, The Pickwickians'' is an 1837 comedy in three acts adapted from

Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

's novel ''

The Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was Charles Dickens's first novel. Because of his success with ''Sketches by Boz'' published in 1836, Dickens was asked by the publisher Chapman & Hall to s ...

'' by

William Thomas Moncrieff William Thomas Moncrieff (24 August 1794 – 3 December 1857) commonly referred as W.T. Moncrieff was an English dramatist and author. Biography He was born in London, the son of a Strand tradesman named Thomas. The name Moncrieff he assumed for ...

. It was first performed at the

Royal Strand Theatre The Royal Strand Theatre was located in the Strand in the City of Westminster. The theatre was built on the site of a panorama in 1832, and in 1882 was rebuilt by the prolific theatre architect Charles J. Phipps. It was demolished in 1905 to ...

in London on 17 July 1837. W. T. Moncrieff's 'Farcical Comedy' ''Sam Weller; or the Pickwickians'' opened at the Royal Strand Theatre in 1837 in a production directed by

William John Hammond William John Hammond (1 July 1797–23 August 1848) was a British actor-manager and singer of comic songs of the early 19th-century. He played Sam Weller in ''Samuel Weller, or, The Pickwickians'' in 1837. Early life W. J. Hammond was born ...

(1797–1848) and that ran for 80 performances before touring the provinces.Charles Dickens Theatre Collection: ''The Pickwick Papers''

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

Collection The production was memorable for the

Alfred Jingle Alfred Jingle is a fictional character who appears in the 1837 novel ''The Pickwick Papers'' by Charles Dickens. He is a strolling actor and an engaging charlatan and trickster noted for his bizarre anecdotes and distinctive mangling of English ...

of John Lee and the Sam Weller of Hammond. In the same year a production opened in New York and Philadelphia where it had a good run despite poor reviews. Dickens complained against this adaptation with Moncrieff defending his plagiarism in a long advertisement on the playbill in which he stated, 'Late experience has enabled him to bring Mr. Pickwick's affairs to a conclusion rather sooner than his gifted biographer has done, if not so satisfactorily as could be wished, at all events quite legally.' While Moncrieff had apologised to ‘Boz’ in his notes on the playbill this failed to placate Dickens, who

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...

d Moncrieff as the 'literary gentleman' and

actor-manager An actor-manager is a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the business, sometimes taking over a theatre to perform select plays in which they usually star. It is a method of theatrical production used co ...

Vincent Crummles in his novel ''

Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...

'' "who had dramatized in his time two hundred and forty-seven novels, as fast as they had come out – some of them faster than they had come out". Moncrieff's response was to plagiarise ''Nickleby'' in another production in 1839. At least four productions of ''Pickwick'' were being performed on the London stage while the novel was still being serialised, with Moncrieff's adaptation described as the most successful.Grego, Joseph (ed)
'Pickwick on the Stage'
''Pictorial Pickwickiana: Charles Dickens and his Illustrators'', Vol. II, London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd. (1899), p. 9 As the title suggests, Moncrieff decided to focus on Sam Weller, the main comic character in the novel, rather than on

Samuel Pickwick Samuel Pickwick is a fictional character and the main protagonist in ''The Pickwick Papers'' (1836), the first novel by author Charles Dickens. One of the author's most famous and loved creations, Pickwick is a retired successful businessman an ...

himself. The play had a revival at the New Strand Theatre in May and July 1838 with largely the original cast. The play was adapted in 1850 by

Thomas Hailes Lacy Thomas Hailes Lacy (1809 – 1 August 1873) was a British actor, playwright, theatrical manager, bookseller, and theatrical publisher. Life Lacy made his West End stage debut in 1828 but soon turned manager, a position he held from 1841 at The ...

as ''The Pickwickians; or the Peregrinations of Sam Weller'' as a comic drama in three acts in prose.

Original cast

* Mr Pickwick (a single gentleman of Fortune, Founder of the Pickwick Club, seeking adventures in pursuit of Knowledge) - Mr A Younge *

Augustus Snodgrass Augustus Snodgrass is a fictional character in Charles Dickens's first novel, ''The Pickwick Papers'' (1836). He considers himself a Romantic poet, though there is no mention of any of his own poetry in the novel. A founder and younger member ...

, Esq., MPC (corresponding associate of the Pickwick Club) - Mr Melville *

Tracy Tupman Tracy Tupman is a fictional character in Charles Dickens's first novel, ''The Pickwick Papers'' (1836). Although fat and middle-aged he considers himself a young lover and has an unfortunate amorous entanglement with the spinster Rachael Wardle. ...

, Esq., (ditto) - Mr E Burton *

Nathaniel Winkle Nathaniel Winkle is a fictional character in Charles Dickens's first novel, ''The Pickwick Papers'' (1836). A founder and younger member of the Pickwick Club created by the retired businessman Samuel Pickwick, Winkle is a young friend of Pickwi ...

, Esq., (ditto) - Mr Roberts *Mr Wardle (A fine old English Gentleman, friend of Pickwick) - Mr George Cooke *Mr Nupkins, Esq., (Mayor of Ipswich) - Mr Chicheley *Mr Leo Hunter - Mr Nicholson *

, Esq., (A walking Gentleman, living on his wits) - Mr John Lee * Mr Samuel Weller (the faithful attendant of Mr Pickwick) - Mr W. J. Hammond * Mr Weller, sen. (A long short stage Coachman) - Mr H Hall *Job Trotter (A very dubious character attendant on Mr. Jingle) - Mr Attwood *Master Joseph Dumpling (A Corpulent young Gentleman, addicted to cold pudding and Somnambulism, officiating about the person of Mr. Wardle ) - Mr A Richardson *Mr Stiggins (the Shepherd - fond of Mrs. Weller's Pine-apple Rum-and-Water) - Mr Searle Honorable Simon Slumkey; Horatio Fizkin, Esq.; Rackstraw, a patent Cabman; Dogsflesh, a Waterman; Canteen, a Suttler; Alleycampain, his man; Two-Good, a Drunken Liberal; Catnach, a Ballad Singer; Allpine, a Match Seller; Roker, a Turnkey; Grammer; and numerous other characters by Messrs Dearlove, Burton, Searle, Chapman, &c. &c. and numerous Supernumeraries engaged for the occasion.Original playbill for the New Strand Theatre production of ''Sam Weller! Or the Pickwickians'' dated Monday, 10th July, 1837

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

Collection *Miss Rachel Wardle - Sister of Mr Wardle - a maiden lady late in her Climacteric, in love with Mr. Alfred Jingle, and Mr. Tupman - Mrs Johnson *Miss Isabella Wardle - Daughter of Mr Wardle, laying siege to the heart of Mr. Winkle - Miss Hammond *Miss Emily Wardle - her Sister, Sympathising with Mr. Snodgrass - Miss Daly * Mrs Bardell - A Widow letting furnished lodgings, having an eye on Mr. Pickwick - Mrs Melville *Mrs Leo Hunter - Looking out for Lions - Miss E Hamilton *Miss Tabby - Proprietress of Dilworth House Establishment for Young Ladies - Mrs H Hall *Mary Summers - Housemaid to Mr. Wardle, keeping company with Mr. Samuel Weller - Miss Petifer *Miss Lucretia Kitchener - Cook to Miss Tabby - Miss Brookes Mrs Barclay, Landlady of White Horse, Boarders, Visitors, Servants, &c. &c.''Samuel Weller, or, The Pickwickians''
Published for the Author, T. Stagg, printer (1837), Google Books

References

External links

Full text of ''Samuel Weller, or, The Pickwickians'' (1837)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuel Weller, or, The Pickwickians Works based on The Pickwick Papers 1837 plays English plays Plays based on novels West End plays Plays based on works by Charles Dickens