Caricature
July 1905 (drawn)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This caricature is of the American performer Wieland when he was topping the bill at the Hippodrome, Stoke-on-Trent, during the week of 24 July 1905. He was billed as ‘The Great Wieland. America’s Foremost Comedy Juggler’. 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 of Varieties, Hanley. He compiled them in a series of albums.
A review of his performance that week gives a flavour of his act,
Wieland is adroit and original in his manipulation of everything he takes in his hand, and there is an element of absurdity in his performance which keeps one on a titter. When he makes a slip, which is generally intentional, he punishes himself by means of a mechanism turning a handle which causes a pair of hands to box his own ears.
A review of his performance that week gives a flavour of his act,
Wieland is adroit and original in his manipulation of everything he takes in his hand, and there is an element of absurdity in his performance which keeps one on a titter. When he makes a slip, which is generally intentional, he punishes himself by means of a mechanism turning a handle which causes a pair of hands to box his own ears.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Pen and ink and wash on paper |
| Brief description | Caricature of the Edwardian music hall performer Wieland (d.1938), from an album of caricatures drawn by George Cooke. 29 July 1905. |
| Physical description | Pen, ink and wash caricature on pink paper of Wieland, full-length, dressed in a red checked shirt with frilled collar, baggy brown trousers held up with braces, a floppy red bow tie and a pork pie hat pierced through by a huge hat pin. He has a very small dog on an oversized rope lead, and is talking to a cockerel on a table. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | Yours faithfully The Great Wieland July 29, 1905 (Signature; Hand written; Pen and ink) |
| Object history | Caricature of the American performer Wieland performing at the Hippodrome, Stok-on-Trent, during the week of 24 July 1905. Wieland had appeared there previously, during the week of 23 April 1906 when he was described as 'America's Foremost Comedy Juggler'. The caricature comes from the second album of caricatures in a collection of albums owned by the Theatre Museum compiled by the graphic artist George Cooke. It is labelled by the artist 'Geo Cooke HYS BOOKE' and features music hall performers working in the early 20th century. This sheet was loose in the album, and although in the numerical sequence of the list accompanying the albums, it is earlier than others in a similar position in the album. |
| Summary | This caricature is of the American performer Wieland when he was topping the bill at the Hippodrome, Stoke-on-Trent, during the week of 24 July 1905. He was billed as ‘The Great Wieland. America’s Foremost Comedy Juggler’. 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 of Varieties, Hanley. He compiled them in a series of albums. A review of his performance that week gives a flavour of his act, Wieland is adroit and original in his manipulation of everything he takes in his hand, and there is an element of absurdity in his performance which keeps one on a titter. When he makes a slip, which is generally intentional, he punishes himself by means of a mechanism turning a handle which causes a pair of hands to box his own ears. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.393:20-2002 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | October 22, 2003 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
