Caricature
September 1907 (drawn)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This caricature depicts the acrobatic knockabout comedy duo The Griffiths Brothers, who performed at the Grand Theatre of Varieties, Hanley, during the week of 16 September 1907. They were billed as ‘The Irresistible Humorists’. 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.
The Griffiths Brothers are seen here in their sketch ‘The Motor Car and the Duel’. This was about an Englishman and a Frenchman who argue about their motoring experiences and end up in a wrestling bout, ‘the Frenchman inexpressibly funny in his make-up’.
Fred Delaney (1856–1940) and Joe Ridgeway (1852–1901) were the original act. After Joe’s death, Fred was joined by his son Fred Junior, who is seen here on the left, and also occasionally by his daughter Lutie. The act worked the halls for more than 60 years with its famous ‘animal burlesque’ routines, ‘The Blondin Donkey’ and ‘The Performing Horse’.
The Griffiths Brothers are seen here in their sketch ‘The Motor Car and the Duel’. This was about an Englishman and a Frenchman who argue about their motoring experiences and end up in a wrestling bout, ‘the Frenchman inexpressibly funny in his make-up’.
Fred Delaney (1856–1940) and Joe Ridgeway (1852–1901) were the original act. After Joe’s death, Fred was joined by his son Fred Junior, who is seen here on the left, and also occasionally by his daughter Lutie. The act worked the halls for more than 60 years with its famous ‘animal burlesque’ routines, ‘The Blondin Donkey’ and ‘The Performing Horse’.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Pen and ink and wash on paper |
| Brief description | Caricature of the music hall acrobatic knockobout act The Griffiths Brothers (fl.1867-1937), from an album of caricatures drawn by George Cooke. September 1907. |
| Physical description | Pen, ink and wash caricature of the music hall performers, the Griffiths Brothers. Fred Griffiths Jnr. (left) is dressed as a strong man with a red leotard, upturned moustache and goatee beard, while Fred Griffiths (right), clean-shaven, has black tights and top, over which he has a blue leotard. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Fred Griffiths Jnr. Griffiths Brothers Fred Griffiths Sept 19th (Signature; Hand written; Pen and ink) |
| Object history | This caricature is of the acrobatic knockabouts The Griffiths Brothers (fl.1867-1937), originally Fred Delaney (1856-1940) and Joe Ridgeway (1852-1901). After Joe's death Fred was joined by his son Fred Jnr., who is seen here, and also occasionally by his daughter Lutie. The act worked the halls for over sixty years, its famous 'animal burlesque' routines 'The Blondin Donkey' and 'The Performing Horse'. This 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 depicts the acrobatic knockabout comedy duo The Griffiths Brothers, who performed at the Grand Theatre of Varieties, Hanley, during the week of 16 September 1907. They were billed as ‘The Irresistible Humorists’. 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. The Griffiths Brothers are seen here in their sketch ‘The Motor Car and the Duel’. This was about an Englishman and a Frenchman who argue about their motoring experiences and end up in a wrestling bout, ‘the Frenchman inexpressibly funny in his make-up’. Fred Delaney (1856–1940) and Joe Ridgeway (1852–1901) were the original act. After Joe’s death, Fred was joined by his son Fred Junior, who is seen here on the left, and also occasionally by his daughter Lutie. The act worked the halls for more than 60 years with its famous ‘animal burlesque’ routines, ‘The Blondin Donkey’ and ‘The Performing Horse’. |
| Bibliographic reference | Grace, Beauty and Banjos by Michael Kilgarriff |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.393:53-2002 |
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| Record created | November 20, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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