Caricature
May 1907 (drawn)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This caricature is of Tom Foy when he was performing at the Grand Theatre of Varieties, Hanley, during the week of 13 May 1907. He was billed as ‘The Famous Little Comedian’. It is one of the many superb caricatures of Edwardian music hall performers that were drawn by the artist George Cooke when he was based at the Grand Theatre. He compiled them in a series of albums. Foy was on the bill at Hanley that week with Jordan and Harvey, who were also drawn by Cooke.
Tom Foy (1879–1917), ‘The Lancashire Lad’, was born into the business and started performing in circus. He made his name in the halls with ‘The Lancashire Lad in London’, the sketch he performed at Hanley. Foy played the innocent lad from Sowerby Brig with a broad Yorkshire accent who, trying to get a job in a gentleman’s house in London, had fits that could be stopped only by the gift of a shilling. A local reviewer said that Foy and his company kept the audience ‘in a continuous roar of laughter at the funny dialogue and grotesque antics of the Yorkshire lad’. Like most music hall performers, Foy also worked in pantomime. He played Idle Jack in Dick Whittington at the Shakespeare Theatre, Liverpool, in 1909.
Tom Foy (1879–1917), ‘The Lancashire Lad’, was born into the business and started performing in circus. He made his name in the halls with ‘The Lancashire Lad in London’, the sketch he performed at Hanley. Foy played the innocent lad from Sowerby Brig with a broad Yorkshire accent who, trying to get a job in a gentleman’s house in London, had fits that could be stopped only by the gift of a shilling. A local reviewer said that Foy and his company kept the audience ‘in a continuous roar of laughter at the funny dialogue and grotesque antics of the Yorkshire lad’. Like most music hall performers, Foy also worked in pantomime. He played Idle Jack in Dick Whittington at the Shakespeare Theatre, Liverpool, in 1909.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Pen and ink and wash on paper |
| Brief description | Caricature of the Edwardian music hall performer and comedian Tom Foy 'The Lancashire Lad' (1879-1917), from an album of caricatures drawn by George Cooke. May 1907. |
| Physical description | Pen, ink and wash caricature on pink paper of Tom Foy, full-length, dressed as a boy in a brown suit and waistcoat with a large white Eton collar, a floppy red bow tie and a straw boater with a black crepe band. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | 'ELLOA'
'Yours always Tom Foy 10/5/0..' (illegible, but probably '7') (Signature; Hand written; Pen and ink) |
| Object history | This caricature is of the music hall performer and comedian Tom Foy 'The Lancashire Lad' performing at the Grand Theatre of Varieties, Hanley, during the week of 13 May 1907, when he was on the bill with Jordon and Harvey. He previously appeared at the Grand during the week of 7 August 1905. Foy, who was born in the business and made his name with a sketch about a Lancashire lad in London. The caricature comes from the second album of caricatures in a collection of albums owned by the Theatre Museum compiled by the graphic artist George Cooke. It is labelled by the artist 'Geo Cooke HYS BOOKE' and features music hall performers working in the early 20th century. |
| Summary | This caricature is of Tom Foy when he was performing at the Grand Theatre of Varieties, Hanley, during the week of 13 May 1907. He was billed as ‘The Famous Little Comedian’. It is one of the many superb caricatures of Edwardian music hall performers that were drawn by the artist George Cooke when he was based at the Grand Theatre. He compiled them in a series of albums. Foy was on the bill at Hanley that week with Jordan and Harvey, who were also drawn by Cooke. Tom Foy (1879–1917), ‘The Lancashire Lad’, was born into the business and started performing in circus. He made his name in the halls with ‘The Lancashire Lad in London’, the sketch he performed at Hanley. Foy played the innocent lad from Sowerby Brig with a broad Yorkshire accent who, trying to get a job in a gentleman’s house in London, had fits that could be stopped only by the gift of a shilling. A local reviewer said that Foy and his company kept the audience ‘in a continuous roar of laughter at the funny dialogue and grotesque antics of the Yorkshire lad’. Like most music hall performers, Foy also worked in pantomime. He played Idle Jack in Dick Whittington at the Shakespeare Theatre, Liverpool, in 1909. |
| Bibliographic reference | 'The Last Empires' edited by Benny Green |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.393:44-2002 |
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| Record created | October 21, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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