Alfred Concanen (1835 – 10 December 1886) was, for over twenty-five years, one of the leading
lithographers of the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
, best remembered for his illustrated
sheet music covers for songs made popular by famous
music hall performers of the time. These covers usually featured portraits of the performers or humorous scenes from their songs.
[ ]Sacheverell Sitwell
Sir Sacheverell Reresby Sitwell, 6th Baronet, (; 15 November 1897 – 1 October 1988) was an English writer, best known as an art critic, music critic (his books on Mozart, Liszt, and Domenico Scarlatti are still consulted), and writer on a ...
said of him, "The most painstaking of the Pre-Raphaelites must fail beside Concanen!"
Biography
His family originated from the borders of County Roscommon and County Galway, while one of his ancestors was a well-known artist in that area in the 1760s. His parents were Edward John Concanen (c. 1814–1868), a portrait painter in Ireland in the early decades of the 19th century, and Mary Ann Concanen ( née Burgess) (1815–1884).[Irons, Neville - 'Alfred Concanen, Master Lithographer' ''Irish Arts Review'' Vol. 4, No. 3 (Autumn 1987) pp. 37–41]
Alfred Concanen was born in the High Street in Nottingham
Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
. Described as "slight of build with a fair full moustache
A moustache (; en-US, mustache, ) is a strip of facial hair grown above the upper lip. Moustaches have been worn in various styles throughout history.
Etymology
The word "moustache" is French, and is derived from the Italian ''mustaccio'' ...
, something of a dandy
A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle des ...
, good natured, generous, a play copy of the '' lions comiques'' whom he immortalised in his lithographs
Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
", for a period he was a staff illustrator for the ''Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News
The ''Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News'' was a British weekly magazine founded in 1874 and published in London. In 1945 it changed its name to the ''Sport and Country'', and in 1957 to the ''Farm and Country'', before closing in 1970.
His ...
'' where he sometimes used photographs (which could not be reproduced in the newspapers or magazines of the time) as a basis for his illustrations. At other times he might be seen in a theatre sketching a scene from a new comic opera
Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue.
Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...
or in a music hall drawing a performer such as Jenny Hill or Nellie Farren for a sheet music cover.
Concanen made his sheet music debut in 1860, succeeding John Brandard as master of that art form, a position he held until his own death twenty-six years later. The 1860s were the peak of British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
music hall tradition and gave rise to the lion comique
The ''lion comique'' was a type of popular entertainer in the Victorian music halls, a parody of upper-class toffs or "swells" made popular by Alfred Vance and G. H. MacDermott, among others. They were artistes whose stage appearance, resplen ...
– such song and ' patter' performers as George Leybourne
George Leybourne (17 March 1842 – 15 September 1884) was a '' Lion comique'' of the British Victorian music hall who, for much of his career, was known by the title of one of his songs, " Champagne Charlie". Another of his songs, and one tha ...
( 'Champagne Charlie'), Alfred Vance – billed as 'The Great Vance', and G. H. MacDermott were hugely popular, and Concanen captured both their acts and their personalities in his beautifully executed lithographs.
During his career Concanen probably created thousands of designs for sheet music covers, usually charging between two and twenty guineas each, depending on the work involved and the amount of detail desired by the publishers. In addition, in 1869 he illustrated ''Carols of Lockayne'' by H. S. Leigh; in 1874 ''The Wilds of London'' and, in 1876 ''Low Life Depths'', both by James Greenwood. He also designed a number of theatre posters.[ He was a member of the ]London Irish Rifles
The London Irish Rifles (LIR) was a reserve infantry regiment and then company of the British Army. The unit's final incarnation was as D (London Irish Rifles) Company, the London Regiment. On 1 April 2022 soldiers in the company transferred to ...
.
The theatrical designer Edward Gordon Craig
Edward Henry Gordon CraigSome sources give "Henry Edward Gordon Craig". (born Edward Godwin; 16 January 1872 – 29 July 1966), sometimes known as Gordon Craig, was an English modernist theatre practitioner; he worked as an actor, director a ...
, the son of the noted actress Ellen Terry
Dame Alice Ellen Terry, (27 February 184721 July 1928), was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and tour ...
, recalled meeting Concanen in a tavern in the Strand
Strand may refer to:
Topography
*The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a:
** Beach
** Shoreline
* Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida
Places Africa
* Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa
* Strand Street ...
near to the Lyceum Theatre, where the sixteen-year-old Craig was working for Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...
. Craig may have been the last person to see Concanen alive, because he died that evening, 10 December 1886, in Marylebone
Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary.
An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it me ...
.
Comprehensive collections of his sheet music covers are held by the Victoria & Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
and the British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
, among others.
Family life
On 8 September 1858 Concanen married the 18-year-old Mary Anne Tholen (born April 1840) at a registry office in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. They lived at 43 Bloomsbury Street in London, while his studio was at 12 Frith Street in Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develo ...
. According to the 1861 census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
, by that year Concanen was living in 66 Greek Street in Soho with his wife and two children, Eleanor Maud Concanen (born 1859), and Hugh Tholen Transton Concanen (1861–1917); his occupation was listed as a 'Lithographic Artist'.[
Later, at their home in St. Mary Square in Lambeth, more children were born: Georgina Susane Concanen (1863–1869), George William Concanen (1864), Kate A. Concanen (c.1864 ), Barry Percy Concanen (1865), and Violet Eileen Concanen (1874).]['Alfred Concanen: Artist']
on the ''Look and Learn
''Look and Learn'' was a British weekly educational magazine for children published by Fleetway Publications Ltd from 1962 until 1982. It contained educational text articles that covered a wide variety of topics from volcanoes to the Loch Ness ...
'' website According to the 1881 census, by that time Concanen was married to Ellen (1856–1916).
He had two grandsons from his daughter Violet Eileen, the actors Derrick De Marney
Derrick Raoul Edouard Alfred De Marney (21 September 1906 – 18 February 1978) was an English stage and film actor and producer, of French and Irish ancestry.
Actor
The son of Violet Eileen Concanen and Arthur De Marney, and the grandson of ...
and Terence De Marney
Terence Arthur De Marney (1 March 190825 May 1971) was a British film, stage, radio and television actor, as well as theatre director and writer.
Career
Actor
The son of Violet Eileen Concanen and Arthur De Marney, and the grandson of n ...
.Derrick De Marney
on the British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...
website
Gallery
File:Jenny-hill-arry.jpg, Cover for Arry'' (1882) - sung by Jenny Hill
File:G. H. MacDermott's "I Like A Little Toddle Down Regent Street".jpg, Cover for ''I Like A Little Toddle Down Regent Street'' (1882) - sung by G. H. MacDermott
File:GeorgeLeybourne1.jpg, Cover for ''Lounging in the Aq.'' (1880) - sung by George Leybourne
George Leybourne (17 March 1842 – 15 September 1884) was a '' Lion comique'' of the British Victorian music hall who, for much of his career, was known by the title of one of his songs, " Champagne Charlie". Another of his songs, and one tha ...
File:roundabout-concanen.jpg, Cover for ''Roundabout Quadrilles'' by Warwick Williams (1885)
File:leybourne-dolly-concanen.jpg, Cover for ''Where's My Dolly Gone'' (1870) - sung by George Leybourne
George Leybourne (17 March 1842 – 15 September 1884) was a '' Lion comique'' of the British Victorian music hall who, for much of his career, was known by the title of one of his songs, " Champagne Charlie". Another of his songs, and one tha ...
File:Rosa Richter by Alfred Concanen.jpg, Poster advertising Rossa Matilda Richter's circus show at the Royal Aquarium
File:Zazel valses by Alfred Concanen.jpg, Poster advertising Rossa Matilda Richter's circus show at the Royal Aquarium
File:The Black Crook Georges Jacobi.jpg, Sheetmusic cover for ''The Black Crook'' by Georges Jacobi
Georges Jacobi (3 February 1840 –13 September 1906) was a German violinist, composer and conductor who was musical director of the Alhambra Theatre in London from 1872 to 1898. His best-known work was probably ''The Black Crook'' (1872) writt ...
(1872)
References
External links
Concanen prints
in the Victoria & Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
Collection
Alfred Concanen Gallery
on Irish Sheet Music Archives Digital Collection at the Ward Irish Music Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Concanen, Alfred
1835 births
1886 deaths
London Irish Rifles officers
British lithographers
Anglo-Irish artists
Artists from Nottingham