A very rare, perhaps unique, survival of a playbill for one of his performances with his Fantoccini figures, the place of the performance left blank to be filled in by hand as he proceeded from Fair to Fair. The playbill with creasing but no loss.

Printed by R. Stobbs, Durham. c.1823. The playbill, 20 x 7 3/4 inches, headed "GREAT NOVELTY. MR PURVIS Respectfully informs the Ladies, Gentlemen.......the Performance of his Liliputian Theatre or SUPERB MECHANICAL FIGURES for a short time only.......the Performance will commence with Mr. P's GRAND DECEPTIONS with Cards, Rings, Medals, Watches, Boxes, Trinkets etc.............After which will be performed....THE CHILDREN OF THE WOOD; or the Cruel Uncle. Performed by Figures three feet four inches high.......after which will be exhibited the Grand Theatre FANTOCCINI. THE GRAND MOGUL TURK who will come forward....dance...move his head, roll his eyes......RAMO SAMEE the East Indian Juggler......17inches high, ...throwing the Golden Ball in a wonderful manner.....BEN BLOCK, the Sailor....only 12 inches high...take off and put on his Hat, and perform a real English Hornpipe, consisting of twenty-one steps,.....MORGIANA, the Musical Hoop Dancer, will perform a waltz.......THE ANIMATED SKELETON will perform a Dance of Death.................chatter his teeth and move every joint.......PANTALOON AND PANTILINA, will ...dance a Jig......THE POLANDER...A Tight Rope Dance ....and conclude with his Antipodean Feats by standing on his head on the Pole......THE ITALIAN SCARAMOUCH, Or the Representation of Joe Grimaldi, who will make his Appearance without his Head, then with his Head......The whole to conclude with the laughable burlesque Farce of BILLY BUTTON and his Man Jeremiah here correctly represented by Liliputian Performers and a Fairy Horse........"From J. P. Robson's "The life and adventures of the far-famed Billy Purvis" [1849]:"I commenced manufacturing a set of Fantoccini figures myself. My first attempt was on 'Ben Block, the Sailor', and I succeeded in blocking out my Ben in a style that proved I was no blockhead. Mr Hardy, Sen., Carver, who is still living, materially assisted me in cutting of my heads. I worked away, and in a short time I finished nine excellent figures, which I named in the following order: - 'Ben Block' was my eldest born. Then followed 'The Grand Mogul Turk', 'The Indian Juggler', 'Morgiana, the Musical Rope Dancer', 'Pantaloon and Pantalina', 'Scaramouch',' The Boy and the Butterfly', and lastly the figure that always must come last 'Death, or the Skeleton!' whose astonishing convolutions, evolutions, dislocations, and evaporations, were witnessed by thousands with unmitigated pleasure". From T. Arthur's "The life of Billy Purvis : the extraordinary, witty, and comical showman; with many facts not before published" [1878]."Now he felt that he had so many strings to his bow that it could not fail to hit some marks. He was a comic singer, dancer, conjuror, Phantasmagoria, Fantoccini exhibitor, all of which he was well up in; and the public yielded their patronage willingly. His figures completed, he prepared for the October Fair, and he attended Houghton Feast, next Sunderland Fair..."