Overview

Tony Joseph was a fan, author and scholar of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. He saw his first Gilbert and Sullivan production in 1945 aged 7, having already enjoyed listening to records of their music. After leaving school in the 1950s he joined the Gilbert and Sullivan Society and went to Exeter University graduating with a History degree.

Tony worked as a librarian alongside his writing. His imagination flourished within the world of Gilbert and Sullivan - he dramatised real and imagined events and performed for the Society, sometimes with professionals. As a scholar he made a significant contribution to the history of the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company publishing books on company members Fred Billington, May Fortescue,  Emmie Owen and Florence Perry, Aileen Davies, Charles Goulding,  Linda Anne Hutchison,  Leonard Osborn, Evelyn Gardiner, George Grossmith, Frederick Neebe as well as on the Company itself.

Meeting and corresponding with members of the D’Oyly Carte Company was an integral part of his research process.  Through correspondence and conversations he recorded their first-hand recollections.  In particular, Bruce Graham became a good friend and took a number of photos for Tony’s books and Geoffrey Shovelton was a talented artist who provided cartoons for Tony’s D’Oyly Carte book.  Other correspondents were from the membership of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society as well as Mike Leigh, who directed the award-winning film Topsy Turvey.

What the collection holds

The archive consists of material collected and created by Tony c.1875-2020. It includes his Gilbert and Sullivan-inspired playscripts, his books on the D'Oyly Carte Company and its cast members, correspondence - including with  D'Oyly Carte members - photographs, theatre programmes and playbills.  Correspondence and recordings contain first hand recollections from former D’Oyly Carte members and their families including: Peter Pratt, Bruce Graham, Geoffrey Shovelton, Jon Ellison, Patricia Leonard, David Mackie, Jeffrey Skitch, Donald Adams, Fred Sinden, Peter Riley, Frederick Lloyd, the wife of Richard Walker and sons of Leslie Rand and Aileen Davies as well as with film director Mike Leigh.

The collection is box-listed but is not yet fully catalogued and access to some material may be restricted to comply with UK Data Protection legislation. Please contact us for further details.