By the time Henry Lytton (1865-1936) gave this fan to Francis Cave, he had been a respected performer of D'Oyly Carte productions for over thirty years and the leading exponent of the comic patter-baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1909 to 1934. It is inscribed with best wishes from fellow D'Oyly Carte opera performers Bertha Lewis, Helen Gilliland and Le Sheffield, all of whom appreared with him in The Mikado.

After joining one of Carte's touring companies with his wife Louie Henri in 1884, he began performing with the company at the Savoy Theatre from 1897 to 1903, playing a range of baritone parts, from romantic leads to character parts in new operas and revivals.

Apart from the role of Ko-Ko in The Mikado, Lytton was known for his performances as Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Pinafore and Major-General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance. He was knighted in 1930 and is the only actor to be honoured for his involvement in Gilbert and Sullivan operas. His last central London appearance was as Ko-Ko at the Savoy in January 1933. This was probably the fan used by Lytton as Ko-Ko but it must date from before May 1931, the date that Bertha Lewis, one of the signatories, was killed in a car accident in a car driven during a rainstorm by Henry Lytton.