William West
Encouraged by the success of his invention, the toy theater, William West spent years designing sets for these little paper toys, while constantly perfecting his art. This publisher and merchant played such a major role in the distribution of souvenir plates that the name West became directly associated with paper theater.
William West's business card, engraved by W.B.
Famous for his marketing strategy, later divulged as a proverb: “a penny plain and two pence colored,” he offered a wide variety of plates featuring unique designs that showcased the technical advances in printing machinery of the time.
From black and white to color printing, paper theater became a vast field open to the creativity of publishers.
The West Store, pantomime plate
West's brilliance faded in 1832 when other merchants such as Skelt offered boards at half price. Outdone by the competition, he sank into a deep melancholy that led to the downfall of his paper empire. However, the legacy of paper theater remained alive throughout the 19th century.
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Bibliography
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KURYLUK Ewa, “The Fragile World of the Papier theater”, TDR (1988-), vol. 32, no. 3, 1988, pp. 101–08
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POWELL David, William West & the Regency Toy Theatre, Sir John Soane’s Museum, 2003
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SPEAIGHT George, Juvenile Drama : The History of the English Toy Theatre, London : Macdonald & Co., Ltd., 1946
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WILSON Albert Edward, Penny plain, two pence coloured ; a history of the juvenile drama, New York B. Blom, 1969