*GILBERT & SULLIVAN: W S GILBERT AUTOGRAPH SENTIMENT & PHOTO*

Description

A rare original  boldly signed autograph sentiment of W. S. Gilbert, together with a later copy print photograph of W. S. Gilbert. Perfect for matting and framing. Autograph dimensions four and a half by three and a half inches, with photograph six by four inches. Light wear otherwise fine.  See the story of Gilbert and Sullivan and W. S. Gilbert's extraordinary biography below.
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From Wikipedia:
Gilbert and Sullivan
refers to the
Victorian-era
theatrical partnership of the
dramatist
W. S. Gilbert
(1836–1911) and the composer
Arthur Sullivan
(1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen
comic operas
between 1871 and 1896, of which
H.M.S. Pinafore
,
The Pirates of Penzance
and
The Mikado
are among the best known.
[1]
Gilbert, who wrote the
libretti
for these operas, created fanciful "topsy-turvy" worlds where each absurdity is taken to its logical conclusion—fairies rub elbows with British lords, flirting is a capital offence, gondoliers ascend to the monarchy, and pirates emerge as noblemen who have gone astray.
[2]
Sullivan, six years Gilbert's junior, composed the music, contributing memorable melodies
[3]
that could convey both humour and pathos.
[4]
Their operas have enjoyed broad and enduring international success and are still performed frequently throughout the English-speaking world.
[5]
[6]
Gilbert and Sullivan introduced innovations in content and form that directly influenced the development of
musical theatre
through the 20th century.
[7]
The operas have also influenced political discourse, literature, film and television and have been widely parodied and
pastiched
by humorists. Producer
Richard D'Oyly Carte
brought Gilbert and Sullivan together and nurtured their collaboration.
[8]
He built the
Savoy Theatre
in 1881 to present their joint works (which came to be known as the
Savoy Operas
) and founded the
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
, which performed and promoted Gilbert and Sullivan's works for over a century.
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert
[n 1]
(18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English
dramatist
,
librettist
, poet and illustrator best known for his
collaboration
with composer
Arthur Sullivan
, which produced fourteen
comic operas
. The most famous of these include
H.M.S. Pinafore
,
The Pirates of Penzance
and one of the most frequently performed works in the history of musical theatre,
The Mikado
.
[1]
The popularity of these works was supported for over a century by year-round performances of them, in Britain and abroad, by the repertory company that Gilbert, Sullivan and their producer
Richard D'Oyly Carte
founded, the
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
. These
Savoy operas
are still frequently performed in the English-speaking world and beyond.
[2]
Gilbert's creative output included over 75 plays and
libretti
, and numerous short stories, poems and lyrics, both comic and serious. After brief careers as a government clerk and a lawyer, Gilbert began to focus, in the 1860s, on writing light verse, including his
Bab Ballads
, short stories, theatre reviews and illustrations, often for
Fun
magazine. He also began to write
burlesques
and his first comic plays, developing a unique absurdist, inverted style that would later be known as his "topsy-turvy" style. He also developed a
realistic
method of stage direction and a reputation as a strict theatre director. In the 1870s, Gilbert wrote 40 plays and libretti, including his
German Reed Entertainments
, several blank-verse "fairy comedies", some serious plays, and his first five collaborations with Sullivan:
Thespis
,
Trial by Jury
,
The Sorcerer
,
H.M.S. Pinafore
and
The Pirates of Penzance
. In the 1880s, Gilbert focused on the Savoy operas, including
Patience
,
Iolanthe
,
The Mikado
,
The Yeomen of the Guard
and
The Gondoliers
.
In 1890, after this long and profitable creative partnership, Gilbert quarrelled with Sullivan and Carte concerning expenses at the Savoy Theatre; the dispute is referred to as the "carpet quarrel". Gilbert won the ensuing lawsuit, but the argument caused hurt feelings among the partnership. Although Gilbert and Sullivan were persuaded to collaborate on two last operas, they were not as successful as the previous ones. In later years, Gilbert wrote several plays, and a few operas with other collaborators. He retired, with his wife Lucy, and their ward,
Nancy McIntosh
, to a country estate,
Grim's Dyke
. He was
knighted
in 1907. Gilbert died of a heart attack while attempting to rescue a young woman to whom he was giving a swimming lesson in the lake at his home.
Gilbert's plays inspired other dramatists, including
Oscar Wilde
and
George Bernard Shaw
,
[3]
and his comic operas with Sullivan inspired the later development of American
musical theatre
, especially influencing Broadway librettists and lyricists. According to
The Cambridge History of English and American Literature
, Gilbert's "lyrical facility and his mastery of metre raised the poetical quality of comic opera to a position that it had never reached before and has not reached since".
[4]