Coventry Fair part 09

The illustration depicts the annual 'Coventry Fair', held on Greyfriars Green. Many working class families, who would have had a long-awaited afternoon free from work, would have attended this kind of event. They would have been attracted by the sideshows, musicians, bands and street traders. The illustration depicts posters for the 'Largest Elephant in the world' and 'Wombell's Menagerie'. Leisure was a popular subject for music hall performers as audiences would have had personal experiences of activities and would have been able to identify with lyrics and understand the exaggerated nuisances of particular situations.