Description
The large version of this poster is an imposing three‑sheet stone‑lithograph announces the festive pantomime The Forty Thieves. A richly robed young woman stands before a rank of giant earthenware jars, up‑ending a golden ewer of boiling oil as steaming vapours billow up.
First staged at Drury Lane in the early 19th century, The Forty Thieves remained a Christmas favourite into the 1930s. This 1935 campaign poster was printed by Oldfield & Co., London, the leading supplier of stock images to touring companies; its outsized format (over seven feet tall) was designed to dominate provincial billboards and railway stations.
Technically, the work exemplifies late‑Art‑Deco British poster craft: crisp key lines, air‑brushed shading and a limited yet vibrant palette laid down on three separate stones, then joined on linen for durability. The present example retains strong colour saturation and displays historic fold configuration typical of pre‑war distribution.
Smaller versions printed on a single sheet 30 × 20 in are available backed on linen or unbacked. Trimming, linen backing or framing is advised for the unbacked version.
