Vaudeville

[dennison]

Hi, can anyone point me in the direction of Vaudeville and vaudeville acts in Liverpool in the early 1900s, ive tried without success to find anything. A distant relative has told me that my 2 great uncle James Michael Henry b 1878 had an act with a Edwin Pearson, James played the banjo.
I dont know if they went by their own names or had an separate name as a duo,she has a photo of them together she is going to send so that might have more info on it.
If anyone can help it would be most appreciated,
Thanks, Chris

[Sue H]

Hi Chris

I too have struggled with this. My great grandfather was a music hall artiste but have not been able to find anything about.

[retiringtype]

If you know their stage name(s) then the newspaper databases (BNA/FMP, Gale) and The Stage Archive ( https://archive.thestage.co.uk/ ) can be very helpful. The Stage Archive is now £15 for a week's access but you can search for mentions without subscribing.

[MaryA]

Do you have a Lancashire Library Card? This will give you access to the old newspapers which are very useful.

[dennison]

Hi all, thanks again for the help. I have been sent the photo and there is no act mentioned, just your typical double act. James the straight man in evening dress and violin , while Edwin the strange one with baggy pants , hat and huge bow tie. lol

I think the only way ill trace them is if i come across the same publicity shot., or come across their own names in The Stage Archives

Thanks again
Chris

[BarbaraW]

Have you tried doing an image search using either Google images or Image Sherlock or the likes to see if you get a match?

[dennison]

Thanks Barabara, ive never used these before , didnt find a match, but spent a good half hour looking at the fascinating photos it brought up. Wonderful stuff
Chris

[Blue70]

This form of entertainment was known as Music Hall in Britain and Ireland:-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_hall

I found information about a distant relative (my grandfather's sister's mother-in-law) being in Music Hall and found a lot of mentions in the 1890s in "The Era" newspaper. Divorce proceedings followed her stint on the road the divorce was in the newspapers of the time and the divorce records are on Ancestry. Quite a character.


Blue

[luxor]

There were a lot of ads for a 'banjo duo', 'Elton and Edwin', around that time. Mostly Portsmouth, London and Dublin...