Albert, 'Arold and Others

by Marriott Edgar, John Hassall (Illustrator)

PRE-ISBN

A book of popular humorous verse (British North-West). Date of publication not stated, but estimated no later than 1935.

Genres: Poetry

32 pages, Hardcover

Reviews

[^ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A snapshot of popular British humour between WW1 and WW2; this is a book of verse written by Marriot Edgar, and widely popularised through performance by him and Stanley Holloway.

Holloway’s rendition of ‘The Lion and Albert’ can be heard at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKovQR... [just beware of the obtrusive advert at the start]. He later won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in the 1964 film “My Fair Lady”. Edgar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriott... memorably starred in a number of Will Hay’s extremely popular comic films, for example “Oh Mr Porter” (1937).

The contents of this book are listed on its front cover. It’s a wonderful mix of what it was, & to a certain degree still is, to be British. Runcorn may no longer have the ferry that Albert and his parents would have known (excepting the fact they are fictional characters), but it remains difficult not to think of them when negotiating The Silver Jubilee (QEII's) Bridge (Runcorn Bridge) to cross the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal at Runcorn Gap (between Runcorn and Widnes). As an infrequent user, I find that it helps to have a good sense of direction, rather than rely on the road signage; so it’s good to see that improvements lie in the offing: http://www.merseygateway.co.uk/about-... BUT whatever would Albert’s father have said about a toll of £2.00 (!!!) per crossing; as opposed to the verse “Tuppence Per Person Per Trip” which Father flatly refuses to pay; instead energetically applying himself to finding a considerably more convoluted, but deeply satisfyingly economical, method of bringing costs down to a mere fivepence for three!

The verses within “Albert, ‘Arold And Others” are written in, and so ought to be recited in Lancastrian dialect (North-West England). Therein lies the glorious rhythm, repetitive, and right-humour of lines containing this region’s dropped ‘h’s (or ‘aitches’):

“ Leaving ‘Arold alone on the hill top
On his ‘orse with his ‘awk in his ‘and.”

(from “The Battle of Hastings” pp 8-10).

“Ow much for the three?” Mister Ramsbottom asked,
As ‘is ‘and to ‘is pocket did dip.”

(from “Runcorn Ferry” pp 4-5).



Postscript:

I ESTIMATE the date of publication of this book at no earlier than 1935 based on style of illustration [online examples at http://wuff.me.uk/monologues/P10.html: accessed 05-Feb-2014] and the content of the verse “The Jubilee Sov’rin”: where Albert’s grandmother comes to tea on Jubilee day, and gives her grandson a gold sovereign which ‘She’d saved since the last Jubilee’ Grandmother’s sovereign would thus be dated 1897 (Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee); relating this verse to the Silver Jubilee of King George V, in 1935.