Pidgeon Hole. A Convent Garden Contrivance to Coop up the Gods

Pidgeon Hole. A Convent Garden Contrivance to Coop up the Gods

Thomas Rowlandson

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A close up view of one of the "pigeon holes" which provided the cheapest seats in upper galleries close to the ceiling at the second Theatre Royal, Covent Garden. This was constructed by manager John Philip Kemble and opened in September 1809. Heads are closely packed together framed by a lunette, many suffering from heat or discomfort, and are caricatured. Central man in uniform is a coachman in livery.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pidgeon Hole. A Convent Garden Contrivance to Coop up the GodsPidgeon Hole. A Convent Garden Contrivance to Coop up the GodsPidgeon Hole. A Convent Garden Contrivance to Coop up the GodsPidgeon Hole. A Convent Garden Contrivance to Coop up the GodsPidgeon Hole. A Convent Garden Contrivance to Coop up the Gods

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.