Selection of Programmes from the Opera House, Manchester from 1940s and 1950s

A collection of seven programmes from the Opera House, Manchester dating from the 1940s and 1950s. Four of the programmes are folded 4pp leaflets; two are 8pp stapled booklets and one, the only one featuring colour printing, is a slightly larger 10pp stapled booklet in colour covers. The shows featured are (1) Can-Can, Dec 1945-January 1946; (2) The Last of Mrs Cheyney, April 1945; (3) Can-Can, December 1945; (4) Arsenic and Old Lace, August 1945; (5) Bob's Your Uncle, March 1948; (6) The Merry Widow, April 1948; and (7) Paint Your Wagon, December 1952-January 1953. Several feature remains of labels urging those purchasing the programme to check that the seal is unbroken and not to accept programmes with broken seals. As well as details of the productions, the programmes are packed full of contemporary advertisements for local business, the famous Manchester department store, Kendal's, featuring heavily, with its illustrated advertisements adding an atmosphere evocative of the fashions of the era. (Kendal's became House of Fraser in 2005). 8vos. All programmes have edge wear, with chapping and curling corners, some creasing and oxidisation around staples, some discolouration to covers.