The many playbills and advertisements for performances in Alnwick's theatre in the collection are a valuable source of information about the wide variety of entertainments available in the town. They also provide a vivid illustration of 19th century advertising techniques, which used extravagant language and diverse fonts to attract the public's attention. Mr Barnado Eagle, the 'Wizard of the South', was travelling around the country with his musicians, his wife (the 'second-sighted lady'), and his daughter, to be surrounded with 'a halo of Grecian fires.' To encourage repeat visits to the theatre he promised 'new novelties' on each of the four evenings he performed in Alnwick.