Drawing

The bulk of the illustration focuses on the interior of the assemly hall, at the centre of which is a huge Christmas tree on the stage in front of the organ, decorated with toys and gifts. A group of families is seated in the stalls on the left, the majority of them young children. There are two further sketches framed in circles on the right hand side, one shows a detail of a Father Christmas figure wearing a fur-trimmed, hooded cloak, distributing chocolate and Bovril, providing 'Food for the body'. The sketch below shows the five members of the Tyrolean musical group 'The Meier Family' in national costume with their instruments including a guitar, a violin and a zither, providing 'Food for the mind'.

This item is one of several theatrical drawings from a collection of sketches commissioned from contemporary artists to be printed in illustrated magazines. The collection was donated to the museum by Sir William James Ingram in 1914.