Engraved concert ticket signed by composer Samuel Arnold dated 1802

ARNOLD, Samuel (1740-1802). Signed concert admission ticket issued to Lady Bolton for a concert at the King's Theatre, Haymarket. London, 12 May 1802.
 
Large engraved admission ticket with allegorical vignette of St Cecilia seated at the organ attended by angels, after Robert Smirke and engraved by Francesco Bartolozzi. Printed heading "Concert Room, King's Theatre, Haymarket" with manuscript date 12 May 1802. Issued to Lady Bolton at head and signed at foot by Samuel Arnold. Blind embossed stamp of the Theatre Royal Covent Garden. Approximately 230 x 280 mm. Old folds, light creasing and edge wear with small losses at lower edge; otherwise very good.
 
An attractive and unusually large engraved admission ticket for a concert held in the Concert Room of the King's Theatre, Haymarket. The design shows St Cecilia, patron saint of music, seated at the organ accompanied by angels, a typical allegorical image used for musical performances in Georgian London. The plate is after the painter Robert Smirke and engraved by the Italian engraver Francesco Bartolozzi.
 
The ticket is issued to Lady Bolton, almost certainly Catherine Powlett, Duchess of Bolton, a member of the London aristocratic circle that patronised concerts and the theatre during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Such engraved tickets were often produced for distinguished subscribers.
 
Signed by the composer Samuel Arnold (1740-1802), organist of Westminster Abbey, theatre composer and editor of Handel's works. Arnold played a prominent role in London's musical life and was associated with performances at the King's Theatre and other major venues.