“The German Prince” was written by Albert Hall (Ha!) andcomposed by Walter de Frece to be sung by Miss Vesta Tilley in the late Nineteenth Century. Tilley would have performed the song in her trademark male apparel.
Here, we see an original color song-sheet of “The German Prince” from the era.The art is by H.G. Banks.
This handsome scrap from 1890 was colored by hand and depicts a blonde female music hall performer, dressed in masculine garb--wearing a small grey bowler hat, and a monocle in her left eye. She is smoking a cigarette and holding a cane by her face. The scrap is titled “Pantomime Masher” and was printed by Siegmund Hildesheimer & Co.
The woman depicted here is the celebrated music hall male impersonator Vesta Tilley.
This caricature of music hall star (and male impersonator) Vesta Tilley is from the fourth album which was compiled by the commercial artist George Cooke as a way to preserve his caricatures of music hall and variety performers. This fourth album contains caricatures drawn from 1910 to 1919.
This pen, ink and wash drawing of the head of Vesta Tilley shows the performer wearing a top hat. She is shown in shadow on the left side of her face, and is set against a black background, with four small silhouettes of her in the left hand margin.
Since, the last few Saturdays, we’ve been
listening to the work of the “male-impersonator” and music hall darling Vesta
Tilley, I thought we’d continue with another one of her beloved hits. Enjoy this early recording of Miss Tilley
singing “When the Right Girl Comes Along.”
Dating to about 1908, this costume design by Robert Crafter was created for
Vesta Tilley for an unidentified production.
Miss Tilley is shown in male attire, but Crafter has feminized the outfit in
order to showcase Miss Tilley’s feminine figure.This was a departure for the star who, when
dressed as a man, strove to truly look the part.
“The
German Prince” was written by Albert Hall andcomposed by Walter de Frece to be sung by Miss Vesta Tilley in the late
Nineteenth Century. Tilley would have performed the song in her trademark male apparel.
Here, we see an original
color song-sheet of “The German Prince” from the era.The art is by H.G. Banks.
Miss Vesta Tilley (1864-1952) made her mark on the boards of London’s finest
music halls. Celebrated for her singing
voice and beauty, Miss Tilley also remains considered the greatest of the “male impersonators” on
the music hall stage.
Cross
dressing has long been a comedic staple of British theatre with roots in
pantomime. It remains a popular comic
device to this day, and Tilley was one of the pioneers in the theme of women
dressing as men.
Tilley
made her last appearance at the London Coliseum in May 1920. Enjoy this clip of Miss Tilley singing one of her hits--"The Seaside Smile."
This caricature of music hall star (and male impersonator) Vesta Tilley is from the fourth album which was compiled by
the commercial artist George Cooke as a way to preserve his caricatures of
music hall and variety performers. This fourth album contains caricatures drawn
from 1910 to 1919.
This pen, ink and wash
drawing of the head of Vesta Tilley shows the performer wearing a top hat.She is shown in shadow on the left side of
her face, and is set against a black background, with four small silhouettes of
her in the left hand margin.
“It’s Part of a Policeman’s Duty” was made famous in 1907 by the celebrated British
Music Hall Performer Vesta Tilley. The
song was composed by E.W. Rogers.
Matilda Alice Powles (May
13, 1864 – September 16, 1952), was an English male impersonator who performed
under the stage name Vesta Tilley, starting when she was eleven years old. She went on to become the most famous and
well paid music hall male impersonator of the period and starred both in
England and the US for over thirty years.
