The mikado – Vintage Poster Wall Art
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
This rare vintage poster captures The mikado in remarkable detail. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.
Choose the framed print, ready to hang the day it arrives, or the unframed print for a frame of your own. A conversation-starting piece for home, office, or as a meaningful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
The mikado
Order a print
Thank you. Your order went through, and a receipt is on its way by email.
Secure checkout · SSL encryptedPowered by Stripe and PayPal
Free shipping in the lower 48 states. The checkout page shows the picture, size and price before you pay.
The Mikado (1885) is a large color woodcut poster, roughly seven feet tall, that advertises the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta of the same name. Its caption singles out Nanki-Poo, the disguised prince who is the romantic lead, and the figure is shown in Japanese-style dress with a shamisen, the three-stringed lute that signals the staging's imagined Japan. The Mikado premiered in London in 1885 and became one of the most popular works of the Savoy theater partnership, with its satire of British institutions wrapped in a fictional Japanese setting. American producers quickly staged their own versions, and posters like this one were printed to pull audiences into the theater.
| Created / published | 1885 |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print (poster) : woodcut color ; 207 x 105 cm. |
| Notes | Created by The Jno. B. Jeffery Print.-Eng. Co. Chicago. Poster advertising operetta by Gilbert & Sullivan. Caption: Nanki-Poo. · Gilbert W. S. (William Schwenck) 1836-1911. Sullivan Arthur Sir 1842-1900. |
| Subjects | Japanese--Performances & portrayals. Japanese--Clothing & dress. Shamisans. Operas & operettas. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 996 × 1,922 px · prints to 3 × 6 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-THR-273551 |
More from the Vintage Theater Posters collection
Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.
