A Cheat-Sheet for the Theatre

One of the best places for celebrity spotting in eighteenth-century London was the theatre, where one could see royalty, peers, and famous actors all together in one room.  But how did one know which box a scandalous duchess or naughty count that were frequently talked about in the press would be sitting in?  The papers would publish diagrams of the box subscribers so you could pick out who was sitting where.

One amazing article from the V&A's collection shows that people took this plan one step further.  On one side of this fan is your usual fan decoration.  But on the other side is a theatre layout with a list of subscribers.  That way the owner of the fan could attend the theatre and do their usual people-watching with a cheat sheet of just who they were spying on- in case they forgot.  What a handy tool for gossiping!