Smiles!
Sheet Music
ca.1890 (published)
ca.1890 (published)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Sheet music for Smiles!,written and composed by Felix Mc. Glennon. Sung by the music hall comedian and dancer 'Little Tich' (1867-1928), published by Francis, Day and Hunter, London, ca. 1890.
Harry Relph (1867-1928), who used the stage name Little Tich became one of the highest paid performers of his day and a celebrity in Britain and Europe. As a child he performed comic routines in public houses but moved on to appear in music halls, calling himself 'Little Tichborne' after a notorious legal case. In 1866 the missing heir to the estate of Sir James Tichborne had mysteriously re-appeared but was subsequently revealed as a imposter. Relph borrowed the name as a a joke: the 'Tichborne Claimant' was enormously fat while Relph was 1.4m tall. When shortened to Tich his stage name gave the English language a new word for a small person.
Little Tich's size enabled him to create the most famous of his stage routines, 'A Big Boot dance'. He was not the first to perform such a routine, other artistes had used elongated 'flap shoes' in dances that derived from the clog dancing popular in the 19th century. Like clogs the 'flaps' had wooden soles, allowing the performers to beat out a rhythm by slapping their feet heavily on the floor. Tich developed the dances into a comic tour de force which would have been impossible for a tall performer and which even the agile Lupino Lane would not have been able to reproduce exactly. Tich wore 71cm boots, equivalent to half his height. The flaps balanced him while he leaned forward at 45 degrees to pick up a hat or a walking cane, keeping his legs completely straight. He was able to perform the splits by sliding his feet sideways and could balance on the square toes of the boots and walk as if on stilts. He was also an accomplished juggler, and would balance a battered top hat on his chin by its brim, make it somersault and catch it on his chin or on a boot.
Harry Relph (1867-1928), who used the stage name Little Tich became one of the highest paid performers of his day and a celebrity in Britain and Europe. As a child he performed comic routines in public houses but moved on to appear in music halls, calling himself 'Little Tichborne' after a notorious legal case. In 1866 the missing heir to the estate of Sir James Tichborne had mysteriously re-appeared but was subsequently revealed as a imposter. Relph borrowed the name as a a joke: the 'Tichborne Claimant' was enormously fat while Relph was 1.4m tall. When shortened to Tich his stage name gave the English language a new word for a small person.
Little Tich's size enabled him to create the most famous of his stage routines, 'A Big Boot dance'. He was not the first to perform such a routine, other artistes had used elongated 'flap shoes' in dances that derived from the clog dancing popular in the 19th century. Like clogs the 'flaps' had wooden soles, allowing the performers to beat out a rhythm by slapping their feet heavily on the floor. Tich developed the dances into a comic tour de force which would have been impossible for a tall performer and which even the agile Lupino Lane would not have been able to reproduce exactly. Tich wore 71cm boots, equivalent to half his height. The flaps balanced him while he leaned forward at 45 degrees to pick up a hat or a walking cane, keeping his legs completely straight. He was able to perform the splits by sliding his feet sideways and could balance on the square toes of the boots and walk as if on stilts. He was also an accomplished juggler, and would balance a battered top hat on his chin by its brim, make it somersault and catch it on his chin or on a boot.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Parts | This object consists of 2 parts. (Some alternative part names are also shown below)
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Title | Smiles! (published title) |
Materials and techniques | Coloured print, Intermediate pages composed of printed text. |
Brief description | Sheet music for Smiles!,written and composed by Felix Mc. Glennon. Sung by the music hall comedian and dancer 'Little Tich' (1867-1928), published by Francis, Day and Hunter, London, ca. 1890. |
Physical description | Sheet music for Smiles!,written and composed by Felix Mc. Glennon. Sung by the music hall comedian and dancer 'Little Tich' (1867-1928), published by Francis, Day and Hunter, London, ca. 1890. |
Dimensions |
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Credit line | Gabrielle Enthoven Collection |
Subject depicted | |
Association | |
Literary reference | Smiles! |
Summary | Sheet music for Smiles!,written and composed by Felix Mc. Glennon. Sung by the music hall comedian and dancer 'Little Tich' (1867-1928), published by Francis, Day and Hunter, London, ca. 1890. Harry Relph (1867-1928), who used the stage name Little Tich became one of the highest paid performers of his day and a celebrity in Britain and Europe. As a child he performed comic routines in public houses but moved on to appear in music halls, calling himself 'Little Tichborne' after a notorious legal case. In 1866 the missing heir to the estate of Sir James Tichborne had mysteriously re-appeared but was subsequently revealed as a imposter. Relph borrowed the name as a a joke: the 'Tichborne Claimant' was enormously fat while Relph was 1.4m tall. When shortened to Tich his stage name gave the English language a new word for a small person. Little Tich's size enabled him to create the most famous of his stage routines, 'A Big Boot dance'. He was not the first to perform such a routine, other artistes had used elongated 'flap shoes' in dances that derived from the clog dancing popular in the 19th century. Like clogs the 'flaps' had wooden soles, allowing the performers to beat out a rhythm by slapping their feet heavily on the floor. Tich developed the dances into a comic tour de force which would have been impossible for a tall performer and which even the agile Lupino Lane would not have been able to reproduce exactly. Tich wore 71cm boots, equivalent to half his height. The flaps balanced him while he leaned forward at 45 degrees to pick up a hat or a walking cane, keeping his legs completely straight. He was able to perform the splits by sliding his feet sideways and could balance on the square toes of the boots and walk as if on stilts. He was also an accomplished juggler, and would balance a battered top hat on his chin by its brim, make it somersault and catch it on his chin or on a boot. |
Collection | |
Accession number | S.1258-2014 |
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Record created | May 29, 2014 |
Record URL |
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