“'Helena at Troas' at Hengler's Circus, London," and 'An Agricultural Station'” from “The Graphic” (5 June 1886)

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"Helena at Troas" at Hengler's Circus, London," and "An Agricultural Station."

5 June 1886

wood-engravings

Each 15.1 cm high by 22.5 cm wide or 12 inches, or 6 inches high by 8 ⅞ inches wide

Illustrations for The Graphic, p. 597.

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'Helena at Troas — The Death of Oenone" at Hengler's Circus, London by H. M. Paget. An Agricultural Station by the late Randolph Caldecott. The play opened on 17 May 1886, and ran for five further afternoon performances in the Argyll Street venue. The Graphic, No. 862, Vol. XXXIII, 597.

Commentary

The first performance of "Helena at Troas — The Death of Oenone" took place on May 17, 1886, and then was given on five subsequent afternoons throughout the month, at Hengler's Circus, in Argyll Street, London. See The Graphic (5 June 1886) No. 862 Vol. XXXIII. The artist, H. M. Paget (Henry Marriott Paget), was born at Clerkenwell, London, on 31 Dec 1857, and died in Hampstead, London, on 27 March 1836. Although a portrait painter, he is chiefly remembered for his periodical illustrations in The Illustrated London News. Using photographs and sketches as the basis for illustrations of the Turkish-Greek War (1897) and of the Boer War for The Sphere, Paget provided vivid images to accompany reports of these international conflicts. For commentary on the work of the three Paget brothers see Walter Paget.

An Agricultural Station — satirical drawing about the inconveniences attached to travelling by rail through the rural counties. — Randolph Caldecott. The Graphic, No. 862, Vol. XXXIII, 597.

Commentary

The high culture of Greek tragedy in the upper register by a noted war artist contrasts with the physical satire of an almost farcical scene at an “agricultural station,” complete with well-dressed, upper-middle-class passengers on the rural railway platform, almost gagging from methane gas emitted by dairy herds from surrounding pastures. Such was the range of material for the magazine's illustrators in late spring.

Bibliography

Caldecott, Randolph, and Henry M. Paget, illustrators. 'Helena at Troas' at Hengler's Circus, London, and 'An Agricultural Station'; The Graphic: An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper, Vol. 33 (5 June 1886): 597.

Created 20 March 2025