Royal Gallery of Illustration

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The Royal Gallery of Illustration was a performance venue located at 14 Regent Street near Waterloo place in London, in what was formerly the home of John Nash, designer of Regent Street, Regent's Park, and other urban improvements undertaken at the commission of George IV. From 1855 to 1867, it presented the entertainments of Thomas German-Reed and his wife, Priscilla, a theatrical couple who specialized in brief, humorous musical sketches and impersonations aimed at a middle- to upper-class audience. It was also home to a wide variety of other entertainments, including numerous moving panoramas, dioramas, and lectures.

In 1857, it hosted a command performance before Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens's play The Frozen Deep. Under the German-Reeds, it was home to some of the earliest productions of W. S. Gilbert. According to period accounts, the Gallery could seat about 500 persons, and was "one of the most popular and fashionable places of recreation in the Metropolis."

The address is presently the site of an office tower.

[edit] References

Lee Jackson's Victorian London page on the Gallery of Illustration