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Event Poster
Edwardian Ball San Francisco 26 Sperry (LE) - Regular Edition
About this poster
I made this year’s poster over-the-top to celebrate the Edwardian Ball on its 25th Anniversary. It’s a great pleasure to work with Justin Katz, the Edwardian Ball impresario, and once again I had a lot of fun making this poster!
This year’s poster is a portrait of Lillie Langtry — secret mistress of Edwardian Era’s namesake King Edward VII. My poster from 2023 featured his portrait [see poster]. As I mentioned, Edward was a cad’s cad, and was known as “Dirty Bertie”.
Lillie Langtry was remarkable woman and led a colorful public life: professional beauty, royal mistress, actress, racehorse owner, gambler and squanderer of fortunes, eventual Lady of a Baronet, Oscar Wilde’s friend, and royal consort. She shocked discrete society as Prince of Wales’ lover — before he ascended to the throne as King Edward.
Lillie was the quintessential “Professional Beauty” a new class of glamorous royal socialite in late Victorian circles, who parlayed her charms into Edward’s arms, and parleyed that vantage into building a huge mansion in Bournemouth called the Red House — a luxurious lover’s nest — paid for by Edward Prince of Wales.
Edward lavished her with expensive gifts, jewels and mountains of cash. The soon-to-be-King gave her a magnificent Egyptian Revival necklace bedecked with jeweled winged scarabs, and she wore it on stage for her role as Cleopatra.
There was a prolific and lurid correspondence between Lillie and her captivated royal lover. When Edward ascended to the throne, finding those letters became the Epstein Files Scandal of the Edwardian Era. Without the letters as evidence, King Edward and Lillie Langtry’s affair was said to have not existed, would have been redacted from history.
Most of the letters were destroyed by the Royal Family, its stuffy minions in the bowels of the royal palace, or by Miss Langtry, but a few slipped into hiding. Some surviving notes and letters always slip through un-redacted. One particular exchange — had it been made public during Edward’s reign — would have left no doubt about the torrid lovers. King Edward wrote: “I’ve spent enough on you to build a battleship!” To which Lillie is said to have replied: “And you’ve spent enough in me to float one!”
- Chuck Sperry
Edition Details
- Class: Event Poster
- Release Date: 01/30/2026
- Print Type: Limited Edition (LE)
- Designer: Chuck Sperry
- Status: Official
- Technique: Screen Print
- Size: 18" x 35" (45.72 x 88.90 cm)
- Colors: 5
- Quantity: 200
- Paper: Archival Cream Paper
- Markings: Artist Signed, Numbered
Event Details
- Event: Edwardian Ball
- Date: 01/30/2026, 01/31/2026
- Venue: The Regency Ballroom
- City: San Francisco
- State: California
- Country: United States
Awards
Statistics
- Sold: 0
- 6 Month Average: $0
- Average Price: $0
- Lowest Price: $0
- Highest Price: $0
- Original Price: $0
Price History
| 08/16/2021 | $350.00 | Private Sale |
| 08/16/2021 | $800.00 | Private Sale |
| 07/29/2021 | $75.00 | Private Sale |
| 07/27/2021 | $50.00 | Private Sale |
| 07/06/2021 | $70.00 | Private Sale |
| 08/16/2021 | $350.00 | Private Sale |
| 08/16/2021 | $800.00 | Private Sale |
| 07/29/2021 | $75.00 | Private Sale |
| 07/27/2021 | $50.00 | Private Sale |
| 07/06/2021 | $70.00 | Private Sale |
| 08/16/2021 | $350.00 | Private Sale |
| 08/16/2021 | $800.00 | Private Sale |
| 07/29/2021 | $75.00 | Private Sale |
| 07/27/2021 | $50.00 | Private Sale |
| 07/06/2021 | $70.00 | Private Sale |
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