Description
Sloman, Charles and Sam Cowell. The Artful Dodger. Written by Charles Sloman & Sam Cowell, the Music Arranged by Fred Bridgeman. Sung by Sam Cowell with Immense Applause. Glasgow: [Morrison Kyle], [1848?]. 3 pages, for voice and piano, 7 verses. Colored lithograph of a male full-figure in Dickensian dress on the front cover. Written in Sloman’s style as a tavern singer, making plays on words like “All-of-a-twist,” and in the first person, with dialect, the Dodger speaks directly to the audience, “Vhat paints my features in: I means good Mister Crooked-Shanks, Vhat never drinks no gin.” Charles Sloman 1808-1870 (originally Solomon) used his skills of improvisation to make people laugh. Samuel Houghton Cowell (1820-1864) known as Sam Cowell, was an actor and star of early music halls. Cowell began his career in the United States and emigrated to Edinburgh, where he began his career in the United Kingdom. See Lowe, Arnott and Robinson, 2649. Disbound, trimmed slightly across the bottom, good paper in good condition. Another copy was found in the Royal Danish Library.
Original Cruikshank Sketch Signed Twice Inscribed 1875
Blackface Minstrel Dan Bryant Performing in His Opera House New York 1875 Satan’s Circus
