George Grossmith, Poor Old 'Gee Gee' Self-portrait Cartoon – 1910 ink drawing

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George Grossmith, Poor Old 'Gee Gee' Self-portrait Cartoon – 1910 ink drawing
An original 1910 pen & ink drawing, George Grossmith, Poor Old 'Gee Gee' Self-portrait Cartoon.
This fabulous cartoon is by the English comic actor and writer George Grossmith (1847–1912), who is known for creating a series of characters in the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan and for writing The Diary of a Nobody, 1892, in collaboration with his brother Weedon. Grossmith was also famous in his day for performing his own comic piano sketches and songs, becoming the most popular British solo performer of the 1890s.
Grossmith had a distinctive bespectacled appearance which he humorously captures in this self-portrait cartoon. Due to his initials, he had the moniker 'Gee Gee', which is referenced at the top of this drawing: 'Poor old "Gee Gee" / The poor mountebank who was placed in the stocks and publicly whipped by Major Chambers'. The drawing is executed on writing paper blindstamped 'Radnor Club, Folkestone'. Grossmith retired to Folkestone in 1909, a town that he had visited for many years, and the Radnor appears to have been a private members club for military officers. This comic cartoon, with Grossmith himself placed in the stocks, perhaps satirises the exclusivity of the club and Grossmith's humiliation by military officer 'Major Chambers'.
On laid paper with 'Radnor Club, Folkestone' stamp.
Details
Signed:
Inscribed verso 'Drawn by G. Grossmith Folkestone Dec 20th 1910'.
Inscribed:
Inscribed lower centre and verso.
Dated:
Dated verso.
Height (inches):
6.93
Width (inches):
4.37
Condition:
In good condition for its age. The picture may have minor imperfections such as slight marks, toning, foxing, creasing or pinholes, commensurate with age. Please see photos for detail.
Presented:
Unframed.
Stock Number:
JT-392
All artworks come with a Certificate of Authenticity and—if it is a collection artwork—its accompanying collection text or artist biography.
George Grossmith (1847–1912), born in Islington, London, was a comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer. His career was long and prolific, performing for more than four decades and creating eighteen comic operas, nearly 100 musical sketches, some 600 songs and piano pieces, three books and both serious and comic pieces for newspapers and magazines. He wrote numerous comic pieces for the magazine Punch.
Grossmith created a series of nine characters in the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan from 1877 to 1889, and in 1892 he wrote, in collaboration with his brother Weedon, the comic novel 'The Diary of a Nobody'. He was also famous in his day for performing his own comic piano sketches and songs, becoming the most popular British solo performer of the 1890s.
Grossmith died at his home in Folkestone at the age of sixty-four.
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