American History: Premier Auction

Printed broadside, 7.5 x 14 in., promoting the final headlining performance of Ira Aldridge, "the celebrated African Roscius," in the Shakespearean tragedy Othello. Manchester, England: James Phenix, 1827. Met with "enthusiastic applause" during his previous performance at Manchester's Theatre-Royal, Aldridge will be "engaged for ONE NIGHT MORE" as the jealous Moorish general in command of the Venetian army. His race ("the singular novelty of an actor of colour") has "rendered [his] performances highly attractive in the Theatres."

A New York native, Ira Aldridge (1807-1867) developed an interest in acting at an early age and gained experience working backstage at the Chatham Theatre. Discouraged by the dearth of parts for African American actors, however, Aldridge settled in England in 1824 and was cast as the lead in Othello at London's Royalty Theatre the following year. His talents were quickly recognized, and Aldridge toured throughout England and continental Europe, playing a range of Shakespearean roles. In Europe, as opposed to the United States, he found it professionally advantageous to emphasize his race and even began claiming the lineage of Senegalese royalty. His title, "The African Roscius," was flippantly ascribed to him in an early theatrical review as an allusion to Quintus Roscius Gallus, a former Roman slave who became an actor. Aldridge took ownership of the nickname, using it to craft his identity and market his abilities as a rare theatrical phenomenon.