Day: January 16, 2013

Front facade of Houghton Library

Penny Plains and the Toy Theatre

Long before Nintendo or choose you own adventure books the toy theatre was a beloved pastime in 19th-century England. Though its beginning is somewhat unclear, the origins of the toy theatre, also referred to broadly as juvenile drama, can be traced to the early 1800s. Publishers J. K. (John Kilby) Green, William West and R….