Alfred Thompson (librettist)

Alfred Thompson (pseudonym: Thompson E. Jones,^[1] 7 October 1831, London – 31 August 1895)^[2] was a British musical theatre librettist, set designer, costume designer, theatre manager, journalist and artist, contributing to Punch and Vanity Fair (signed "ATn").

Biography

Thompson was educated at Rugby and Brighton. He matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1850 and graduated B.A. in 1855. He served as a cavalry officer in the 6th Dragoons from 1855 until he sold his commission in 1857; he started as cornet and rose to captain. In 1854 he sold his first drawing to Diogenes and in 1856–1858 sold numerous drawings to Punch.^[3] He studied art in Munich with private lessons from Karl von Piloty and in Paris under Thomas Couture. In 1867 at the behest of Arthur à Beckett, Thompson joined the literary staff of The Tomahawk.^[4]

From February to December 1868, Thompson and Leopold Davis Lewis edited a monthly review The Mask,^[5] which failed. In the 1860s Thompson became successful as a librettist, set designer and costume designer for the British musical theatre in London. For the English stage he designed over five thousand costumes.^[6] During the 1870s in Manchester he was managing director of the Theatre Royal and the Prince's Theatre. In May 1883 as a journalist, he represented the Daily News at the coronation of Tsar Alexader III. In the latter part of his career, Thompson moved to Manhattan and became successful as a librettist for New York City musicals similar to those he had worked on in London and Manchester.

Libretti

• The Lion's Mouth. London. 1867.
• Columbus, or The Original Pitch in a Merry Key. Gaiety Theatre, London. 1869.^[7]
• Aladdin II, or an Old Lamp in a New Light. London. 1870.
• Cinderella, the Younger. London. 1871.^[8]
• Belladonna, or The Little Beauty and the Great Beast. Prince's Theatre, Manchester. 1878.^[9]
• Pepita, or the Girl with the Glass Eyes. Union Square Theatre, NYC. 1886.^[10]
• The Arabian Nights, or Aladdin's Wonderful Lamp. NYC. 1887.
• The Crystal Slipper, or Prince Prettywitz and Little Cinderella. Star Theatre, NYC. 1888.^[11][12]

Gallery from Vanity Fair

• 

  John Villiers Stuart Townshend by "ATn" in the 26 February 1870 issue

• 

  Sir Robert Peel by "ATn" in the 19 March 1870 issue

• 

  Sir Frederick Pollock by "ATn" in the 2 April 1870 issue

• 

  Mansur Ali Khan of Bengal by "ATn" in the 16 April 1870 issue

• 

  Francis, Duke of Teck by "ATn" in the 14 May 1870 issue

See also

• Pepita; or, the Girl with the Glass Eyes
• Vanity Fair caricatures

References

1. Room, Adrian (2010). "Thérésa • Thompson". Dictionary of Pseudonyms (5th ed.). MacFarland & Co. p. 473.
2. "Thompson, Alfred (THM849A)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
3. Spielmann, M. H. (1895). "Alfred Thompson". A history of "Punch". Cassell & Co. p. 500.
4. À Beckett, Arthur William (1903). The à Becketts of "Punch". pp. 158–159.
5. The Mask ("a humorous and fantastic review") – Hathitrust Digital Library
6. "Alfred Thompson". The Biograph and Review. New Series.—Part I. I: 414–417. January 1882.
7. Adams, William Davenport (1904). "Columbus, Christopher". A Dictionary of the Drama. p. 314.
8. Hollingshead, John (1898). "Les Deux Arlequins/The Two Harlequins/Cinderella, the Younger". Gaiety Chronicles. London: Archibald Constable & Co. pp. 198–199.
9. "Belladonna, or The Little Beauty and the Great Beast". A Dictionary of the Drama. 1904. p. 139.
10. "UNION-SQUARE THEATRE". N Y Times. 17 March 1886.
11. "Crystal Slipper (The); or, Prince Prettywitz and Little Cinderella". A Dictionary of the Drama. 1904. p. 359.
12. Franceschina, James (2003). Harry B. Smith: A Biography. p. 38.

External links

• National Portrait Gallery – Person – Alfred Thompson (Atn)
• The log of the Water Lily, illustrated by Alfred Thompson — Hathi Trust Digital Library
• Fellows 1800 – 99 – Queens College Cambridge Thomas Perronet Thompson was Alfred's uncle.