Caricature
26 October 1904 (drawn)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This caricature is of Cliff Ryland who was performing at the Grand Theatre of Varieties, Hanley, during the week of 24 October 1904. He was billed as ‘Comedian, Vocalist and Story Teller’. 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.
Ryland always carried a cane on stage, and often wore a straw hat, a loud blazer, a red cummerbund and wide trousers with large turn-ups known as Oxford bags. He often tried to mislead the audience into believing that the limelight was the large pale moon, which may explain the moon shape in the background of this caricature. One person remembered seeing him perform at the Dudley Empire, when the theatre’s much-vaunted sliding roof failed to close quickly enough during a thunderstorm, making the audience very wet. He was on the bill at the Grand with Gilbert Girard and Joe Peterman, both of whom were also drawn by Cooke.
Ryland always carried a cane on stage, and often wore a straw hat, a loud blazer, a red cummerbund and wide trousers with large turn-ups known as Oxford bags. He often tried to mislead the audience into believing that the limelight was the large pale moon, which may explain the moon shape in the background of this caricature. One person remembered seeing him perform at the Dudley Empire, when the theatre’s much-vaunted sliding roof failed to close quickly enough during a thunderstorm, making the audience very wet. He was on the bill at the Grand with Gilbert Girard and Joe Peterman, both of whom were also drawn by Cooke.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Pen and ink and wash on paper |
| Brief description | Caricature of the music hall comedian Cliff Ryland, from an album of caricatures drawn by George Cooke. Dated 20 October 1904. |
| Physical description | Pen, ink and wash caricature of Cliff Ryland, full-length, carrying a cane and wearing a blue checked suit, a blue and white bow tie, and a black top hat. To his right is a much smaller image of 'my pal Casey' wearing a black hat, striped grey trousers and a black top hat |
| Marks and inscriptions | MY PAL CASEY Cliff Ryland Oct 26 1904 "Himself" (Signature; Hand written; Pen and ink) |
| Object history | This caricature is of the music hall comedian Cliff Ryland who carried a cane on stage and often wore a straw had, a loud blazer, a red cummerbund and wide trousers with large turn-ups known as Oxford bags. He often tried to mislead the audience into believing that the lime-light was the large pale moon, which may explains the moon shape against which he is standing in this caricature. One contemporary remembered seeing him perform at Dudley Empire when the theatre's much-vaunted sliding roof didn't close quickly enough during a thunderstorm. |
| Summary | This caricature is of Cliff Ryland who was performing at the Grand Theatre of Varieties, Hanley, during the week of 24 October 1904. He was billed as ‘Comedian, Vocalist and Story Teller’. 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. Ryland always carried a cane on stage, and often wore a straw hat, a loud blazer, a red cummerbund and wide trousers with large turn-ups known as Oxford bags. He often tried to mislead the audience into believing that the limelight was the large pale moon, which may explain the moon shape in the background of this caricature. One person remembered seeing him perform at the Dudley Empire, when the theatre’s much-vaunted sliding roof failed to close quickly enough during a thunderstorm, making the audience very wet. He was on the bill at the Grand with Gilbert Girard and Joe Peterman, both of whom were also drawn by Cooke. |
| Bibliographic reference | 'Red Plush and Greasepaint' by Clarkson Rose |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.392:26-2002 |
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| Record created | November 25, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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