Theatre going was a popular pastime in the 19th century, especially amongst the working class who flooded the major English cities as a result of the Industrial Revolution.

The toy theatre was invented in England around 1811. Originally, individual souvenir character sheets were produced but these proved so popular that soon entire plays were being reproduced. Artists attended opening nights and sketched the characters and scenery so that the miniature versions closely resembled the actual play. Sketches were then engraved and prints made. The sheets for plays were sold individually. They could be bought plain and hand coloured or you could pay a little more for them brilliantly complete. Some plays, such as Forty Thieves, had 12 sheets of characters and 15 scenes.

By the mid-19th century over 300 plays were reproduced in miniature. Toy theatres captured the sets, styles and manner of performance bringing drama, comedy and adventure into middle-class parlours.