Not on display

Poster

ca.1903 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Harry Tate (1872-1940), born Ronald McDonald Hutchison, assumed his stage name from the company Henry Tate & Sons, Sugar Refiners, for whom he worked before becoming a professional performer. He first appeared under it at the Oxford Music Hall on 13 April 1895 when his early act consisted of sketches in which he mimicked music-hall stars of the day, using clip-on paper costumes to allow as many as forty-two changes in one act. He went on to develop various sketches based on middle-class leisure pursuits such as fishing, golfing and gardening which he performed with a small company.

Motoring,Tate's first great success, became hugely popular for his company in the music halls. The sketch is about a father, an idiotic son in his Eton suit, and a chauffeur attempting to take the son back to school in a car that won’t start. The son sat in the back of the car making inane comments such as ‘It’s amazing, pa-pa’, and ‘Goodbye-eee’. 'Goodbye-eee' became Tate’s best-known catchphrase and the inspiration for the popular World War I song.

Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
colour lithograph on paper
Brief description
Poster advertising the Variety sketch Motoring performed by Harry Tate (1872-1940). Colour lithograph printed by David Allen & Sons Ltd., ca.1903.
Physical description
Colour lithograph poster printed in yellow, black and red, showing the back of Harry Tate dressed as a motorist wearing mustard-coloured driving trousers, yellow shirt and gaiters, carrying an axe and walking towards a red open-top car by which stands his son, whistling, dressed in a red beret and shirt and black trousers. 'HARRY TATE' appears in red upper-case lettering above the image, and below 'MOTORING A SMILE! A LAUGH!! A YELL!!!'
Dimensions
  • Height: 76.3cm
  • Width: 50.8cm
Subjects depicted
Summary
Harry Tate (1872-1940), born Ronald McDonald Hutchison, assumed his stage name from the company Henry Tate & Sons, Sugar Refiners, for whom he worked before becoming a professional performer. He first appeared under it at the Oxford Music Hall on 13 April 1895 when his early act consisted of sketches in which he mimicked music-hall stars of the day, using clip-on paper costumes to allow as many as forty-two changes in one act. He went on to develop various sketches based on middle-class leisure pursuits such as fishing, golfing and gardening which he performed with a small company.

Motoring,Tate's first great success, became hugely popular for his company in the music halls. The sketch is about a father, an idiotic son in his Eton suit, and a chauffeur attempting to take the son back to school in a car that won’t start. The son sat in the back of the car making inane comments such as ‘It’s amazing, pa-pa’, and ‘Goodbye-eee’. 'Goodbye-eee' became Tate’s best-known catchphrase and the inspiration for the popular World War I song.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
S.40-2011

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Record createdMarch 11, 2011
Record URL
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