Caricature
27 August 1904 (drawn)
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This drawing is of Will Meaton in Harry Tate’s ‘Motoring’ sketch. This was on the bill at the Grand Theatre of Varieties, Hanley, during the week of 22 August 1904. It was advertised (with a reference to the motor-racing event of the time) as ‘Motoring, or How We Lost the Gordon Bennett Race’. This 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.
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.
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
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| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Pen and ink and wash on paper |
| Brief description | Caricature of Will Meaton in Harry Tate's 'Motoring' sketch, from an album of caricatures drawn by George Cooke. Dated 27 August 1904. |
| Physical description | Pen, ink and wash caricature on pink paper of the music hall performer Will Meaton, full-length, in Harry Tate's 'Motoring' sketch. The car is seen in the background, the chauffeur at the wheel, with a policeman to his left, and the annoying son playing a mouth organ to his right. Meaton stands in the foreground with his large peaked hat, black moustache, red waistcoat, brown striped trousers and gaiters, carrying an axe. |
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| Object history | This caricature shows Will Meaton performing with Harry Tate's Company in the Motoring sketch in 1904. 'Motoring' was a hugely popular sketch for Tates's company on the music halls, a story about a father, idiotic son and chauffeur attempting to take the son back to school in a car that won't start. The caricature comes from the first of albums owned by the Theatre Museum compiled by the graphic artist George Cooke, and features music hall performers working in the early 20th century. The album is dated 1903-4-5. |
| Summary | This drawing is of Will Meaton in Harry Tate’s ‘Motoring’ sketch. This was on the bill at the Grand Theatre of Varieties, Hanley, during the week of 22 August 1904. It was advertised (with a reference to the motor-racing event of the time) as ‘Motoring, or How We Lost the Gordon Bennett Race’. This 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. 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. |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.392:12-2002 |
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| Record created | November 25, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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