Pantheon (McKechnie Section 1)

A place of entertainment which was opened in Oxford Street, London, in 1777. It housed galleries and sideshows, one of which was a centre for the taking of silhouettes. One silhouette, apparently taken at the Pantheon, survives. The sitter is no less a person than John Field. On the reverse are two inscriptions: 'A. Compton, Tavistock Hotel' and (in Field's handwriting) 'Done for J. Field at the Pantheon'. This profile was apparently taken during the late 1820s and it is possible that the silhouette sideshow had not existed for long by this time. Compton may have been one of the artists who worked for the Pantheon (we have no information about any others), and he probably cut profiles with a machine. The extant example is a plain black bust-length piece. No trade label is known.

Ill. 545