FESTIVAL OF EMPIRE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLV, Issue 55, 6 March 1911, Page 6

FESTIVAL OF EMPIRE.

DRESSING THE PAGEANT OF

LONDON

JONDON, Jan. 27. Elaborate preparations are now being made for the Pageant of London, which..is to be .one of the principal features^ of the forth opining Festival of Empire, to be held at the Crystal Palace*''from May to October next, under the patronage and with the support of his Majesty's Government —a distinction rarely accorded to events of this kind. The Pageant promises to be one of the greatest historical spectacles ever witnessed, for neither money nor pains are being spared in the effort to makfe the 24 scenes,' which are to be enacted, accurate representations of events of the various periods selected. The costumes and dresses, for this huge undertaking are in themselves a very bie:

item, and some idea of the work that is being done in the way ot dressing the Pageant in the .exact mode or the respective periods may be gathered from the fact that there are/no fewer than 15,000 performers taking part in the various scenes. In order that every little detail of the costumes may be absolutely accurate, a research committee was formed, whose duty it was to trace in the various museums and private houses old masterpieces and tapestries portraying characters and*, scenes in-star-, ring times long sone by. Then a large staff of artists, all specialists in this kind of work/ was engaged to make copies from the paintjngs, arid from these colored drawings the designs for the dresses were executed., Of the ten thousand or more costumes required for the Pageant there are nearly seven thousand already completed, work which necessitated a staff of over 200 workers being engaged practically night and day during the past twelve months. All the material employed in the manufacture is of the finest quality; and all the principals, and there are many hundreds of them, will be clad in the finest satins, silks, and richest velvets, compatible with' the dignity of the characters they are impersonating. It will thus be seen that the- cost of dressing the Pageant alone is a very, big item of expenditure, ,for the Presses range in • price from two" pounds to thirty guineas, the latter price having been paid for the outfit for the ..lady who will play the part of Queen Elizabeth.

Another important item is the armour for the Knights. It is doubtful whether there is sufficient available armour in the country for the hundreds of characters that will be thus clad in the Pageant, so 'it was decided to manufacture special suits for tho occasion. In order to do this a special armoury has been established at the Crystal Palace, where, no fewer than 80 workmen are busily engaged in turning out the mail armour. The chain armour, another big item in itself, has been contracted out.

. These are only a few of the facts and figures connectpd with the staging and dressing of the Pageant of London. There are a thousand and one other minor oxtails, all more or less important in themselves.