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History Of Use

Punch and July is a well-known puppetry tradition in England, UK. The first recorded show took place in London in 1662, but the tradition dates back to 16th century Italian commedia dell’arte and the character Punchinello. The performance is a series of skits full of humour, violent episodes, political satire, and puns, with audience participation encouraged. The main characters are Mr. Punch, his long-suffering wife Judy, their baby, and a host of set characters: the Policeman, the Devil, the Ghost, the Doctor, the Crocodile, Joey the Clown, Toby the Dog, etc. (from Shadow, Strings & Other Things, 2019).

Description

Showtime clock prop, from a Punch and Judy puppet set. Thin piece of painted wood screwed into plain wooden block at base. Painted wood depicts a yellow mantel clock. Clock has hourglass shape, with a double curve on top. Shape highlighted with wavy and curled lines along edges, painted in light orange and dark red. Has white clock face with two, adjustable metal hands in its centre. Above, in capital letters, “Next Show” is painted in dark red with black shadows outlining the words. Operated by manually moving the clock hands.