1908 June Footnotes

[1] Rue du Bailli is a shopping street in the commune of Ixelles in Brussels. It runs from Avenue Louise to La Trinité , via Rue de Livourne, Rue Faider and Rue Simonis.

[2] Eugène Joseph Verboeckhoven (1798 – 1881), a Belgian painter, was born at Warneton in West Flanders. He was a painter, a sculptor, an etcher, an engraver, and a lithographer of animals, animated landscapes, and portraits.

[3] Barchester Towers, published in 1857 by Anthony Trollope, is the second novel in his series known as the “Chronicles of Barsetshire”.

[4] The Franco-British Exhibition was a large public fair held in London between 14 May and 31 October 1908. The exhibition attracted 8 million visitors and celebrated the Entente Cordiale signed in 1904 by the United Kingdom and France. The chief architect of the buildings was John Belcher.  The Exhibition was held in an area of west London near Shepherd’s Bush which is now called White City: the area acquired its name from the exhibition buildings which were all painted white. The 1908 Summer Olympics fencing events were held in the district alongside the festivities.

[5] “L’affaire des Poisons” – (The Affair of Poisons) is a historic drama in five acts by Victorien Sardou.  It was performed for the first time on December 7, 1907 at the Porte Saint-Martin theatre.  The poison affair is a strange affair where the burlesque mingles with the terrible, where the most diverse characters rub shoulders: poisoners, witches, unworthy priests, great ladies and great lords.

[6] Gifford House was a mansion on Putney Heath.  The house was originally built around 1760 and had a range of occupiers, including James MacPherson and Baron Charles Joachim Hambro, before being purchased by the Charrington brewing family in 1892.  The Charringtons carried out extensive remodelling of the house, including adding the ballroom for 120 people, but moved to Ashburton House around 1910.

[7] There is an Eye that Never Sleeps. Author: James C. Wallace, 1793-1841.

[8] John Eugene Vedrenne (1867 – 1930), often known as J. E. Vedrenne, was a West End theatre producer who co-managed the Savoy Theatre with Harley Granville-Barker.

[9] Sir Lewis Thomas Casson MC (1875 – 1969) was an English actor and theatre director, and the husband of actress Dame Sybil Thorndike.

[10] Gerald Spencer Pryse (1882–1956) was a British artist and lithographer.

[11] Sir George Alexander (1858 – 15 March 1918), born George Alexander Gibb Samson, was an English stage actor, theatre producer and theatre manager. After acting on stage as an amateur he turned professional in 1879 and, over the next eleven years, he gained experience with leading producers and actor-managers, including Tom Robertson, Henry Irving and Madge and W. H. Kendal.

[12] The Chelsea Historical Pageant was held in the Old Ranelagh Gardens, Royal Hospital. It took place between 25th June and 1st July 1908.  Most of the episodes were chosen to illustrate the importance of the riverside village to nationally significant events that had occurred throughout the previous thousand years.  Each of the ten episodes was written by a different person, and based upon extensive historical research that aimed to provide a mostly faithful account of history. There were around 1200 amateur performers, each in dress made locally by women volunteers, and a general committee of almost 90 people.