Conserving Toy Theaters

The following is a guest post by Gwenanne Edwards, Senior Paper Conservator in the Conservation Division.

Before television, toy theaters were a visual way to bring stories to life in the home. Incorporating a miniature stage, scenes, and puppets, the theaters made acting out plays and stories readily accessible to children and adults alike. Popular throughout Europe in the nineteenth century, there are dozens of extraordinary examples of these toy theaters in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress.

Although there are numerous variations of toy theaters, the theater usually comprised a stage and a proscenium made of paperboard and wood. The scenery was printed on single sheets of paper that could be interchanged or a roll of paper that could be turned to progress to different scenes. Puppets were cut out by the user at home from papers printed with multiple characters.

These toy theaters bring paper conservators in the Conservation Division at the Library of Congress great joy and present us with unique challenges. Largely made of materials with which we are familiar and experienced (paper and paperboard), the theaters push us to work out of our normal comfort zone of flat, relatively inactive materials (think: prints, drawings, manuscripts) and into the world of movement and three dimensions.

An especially captivating toy shadow theater that we worked on is from 1895, France (PN1979.S5 T33 1895). This shadow theater includes eight colorful scenes printed on a roll of paper. To move from one scene to another, the roll is turned with the metal hand cranks on the side of theater. Instead of depicting a continuous play, the scenes are not associated with one another. Some of the scenes are intended to depict multiple subjects, to be used with a variety of puppets.

Shadow puppets accompanying the theater are placed on a circular rotating stand behind the scenes. A light (originally an oil lamp or candle) is placed behind the theater to illuminate the silhouettes of the shadow puppets onto the scenes. As if this theater could not be more charming, there is also a music box under the puppet stand. As the music box is wound with a small hand crank, a pleasant melody plays and the puppet stand rotates simultaneously, moving the puppets through the scene.

Our conservation treatment of this theater included structural repair of the theater box, the theater structure, and theater components to restore safe movement and use; reduction of heavy overpainting and application of a more discrete, reversible inpainting in areas of loss in the stage and scenes; removal of old, poor-quality repairs and new repair of the paper scenes and shadow puppets; and washing of the uncut sheets of shadow puppets to reduce discoloration and staining. The condition of the music box was assessed by our knowledgeable objects conservator, who has more experience with metals and mechanical movements. The minor tarnish of the brass and minor corrosion of the steel components of the music box did not require treatment. Overall, the complex conservation treatment of the toy theater stabilized all the components, restored its operability, and improved its aesthetics.

The preservation of toy theaters does not end with conservation treatment. Just as important to their longevity is how they are stored. Because there are so many fragile parts of varying sizes and needs, their housings take careful consideration. We make a custom box for each toy theater, which hold all its components on several trays and in enclosures so that each element – the theater box, theater, scenes, stand, puppets, and even a music box – are adequately supported and can be safely accessed.

Learn more about the history and conservation of toy theaters at the Library of Congress here!

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