Coins, Tokens and Historical Medals

Theatre and Entertainment, CLERKENWELL [Sadler’s Wells Theatre], Joseph Askins, Jacobs’ Halfpenny, 1796, man standing with wooden leg, mr joseph askins around, rev. the celebrated ventriloquist 1796 in 4 lines, edge grained, 9.30g/6h (DH Middlesex 252a). Light spotting, otherwise extremely fine with a hint of original colour, rare £120-£150

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Tickets and Passes of London from the David Young Collection.

View
Collection

Provenance: Fawcett/Litman Collection; D.L. Spence Collection, Part II, DNW Auction 67A, 29 September 2005, lot 1447 (part).

Joseph Askins (b. 1771), a one-legged potato planter from Walsall, used his peg leg for drilling holes to drop the seed potatoes in. He developed an astonishingly convincing voice-throwing technique which he would demonstrate at local shows and pageants. In 1796, word of his talents reached London and he was engaged for two weeks at Sadler's Wells Theatre as The Man With One Leg and Two Voices. The show was a phenomenal success, and in the course of a two-year run Askins single-handedly established ventriloquism as mainstream entertainment