Theatrical Financing
THE PATENT THEATRES
The financial arrangements of the patent tlieatres11
؛
this period did
not differ radically from those described by Dr Avery and Dr Scouten for the
first part of the century. Certain elements, however, whicli were experi-
mental then became routine in Garrick’s time, and actually more docu-
ments are extant in this later period upon wliich to base conclusions.
SOURCES. These documents are thirteen Account Books for Covent
Garden, and eiglit Treasurer’s Books for Drury Lane. Eleven of the Covent
Garden books are in the Egerton Collection, Britisli Museum Additional
Manuscripts, the otlier two and seven of the Drury Lane books are in tlie
Folger Shakespeare Library. The final Drury Lane book, a fragment, was in
1954 in tile possession of Mrs
H.
B. Atkins, Tressillian Road, Brockley,
bondon, who has generously allowed US to microfilm it. I refer to it hereafter
as tile Clay MS.
A note of caution, similar to that given earlier by Dr Avery, should be
repeated here with reference to use of these fascinating books and to con-
elusions drawn from them. Though they appear to be tlie sole survivors of
a tlieatrical accounting system, eacli refers to Ledgers, journals, and Folios
now lost, wliich would have to be consulted before an accurate accountant’s
history of financing could be reconstructed. I can but generalize from partial
evidence, but believe my reconstruction of the wliole system is basically
sound. Additional aids, such as box-receipts recortled in round numbers in
the Cross-Hopkins Dianff (Folger) must be used with even more care. They
appear to be the estimates made by tire prompter’s eye of tire value of the
house, useful to him as a log of the popularity ofeaclr piece for guidance iir
making up the repertory for tire following seasoir. Jolrn Bowel’s Tit for Tat
includes exact figures of income for Drury Lane during the seasoirs 1747-49.
INCOME. Each of the patent theatres seems to lrave maintained a
capital fund derived from selling renter’s (investor’s) shares. The Covent
Garden share sold originally for £300 in 1732, and was to be amortized over
a period of sixty-one years. It returned from 21. to 21. 6،/. to the investor
each niglrt tire company acted. For a normal season of 185 nights the interest
amounted to
ت
or 7 per cent of tire investment. The origins of the capital
xlv