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Not currently on display at the V&A

Caricature

November 1903 (drawn)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This caricature is of A. G. Spry when he was performing at the Grand Theatre of Varieties and Circus, Hanley, during the week of 30 November 1903. He was billed as ‘An Excellent Comedian. Direct from Australia’. 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.

A. G. Spry was a supporting act at Hanley. He is described as a ‘low comedian’ in the list of performers compiled by Cooke. Stand-up comedians and singers were an indispensable item on any music hall or variety bill, not least because they could be ‘front-cloth’ performers, working in front of a drop-cloth while scenery was changed behind for another item.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Pen and ink and wash on paper
Brief description
Caricature of the music hall comedian A.G. Spry, from an album of caricatures drawn by George Cooke. November 1903.
Physical description
Pen, ink and wash caricature on pink paper of A.G. Spry, full-length, with an elongated neck, wearing a grey and white striped suit and black bowler hat, carrying a black umbrella under his left arm.
Dimensions
  • Height: 15.6cm
  • Width: 12.4cm
Cut from another piece of pink paper and pasted into the album near the end.
Marks and inscriptions
Yours faithfully A.G. Spry (Signature; Hand written; Pen and ink)
Object history
This caricature is of the music hall comedian A.G. Spry, an Australian comedian, appearing at the Grand Theatre of Varueties and Ciurcus, Hanley in November 1903. Cooke described him in a list of performers as a 'low comedian'. The caricature comes from the first of several albums compiled by the graphic artist George Cooke, featuring performers working in music hall in the early 20th century. The album is dated 1903-4-5.
Summary
This caricature is of A. G. Spry when he was performing at the Grand Theatre of Varieties and Circus, Hanley, during the week of 30 November 1903. He was billed as ‘An Excellent Comedian. Direct from Australia’. 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.

A. G. Spry was a supporting act at Hanley. He is described as a ‘low comedian’ in the list of performers compiled by Cooke. Stand-up comedians and singers were an indispensable item on any music hall or variety bill, not least because they could be ‘front-cloth’ performers, working in front of a drop-cloth while scenery was changed behind for another item.
Collection
Accession number
S.392:51-2002

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Record createdNovember 28, 2003
Record URL
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