Library Assistant Becky Bavill introduces us to the Matthewman Collection in the Local & Family History Library.

This card is part of the Matthewman Collection (SR Q 942.75 35449659).  Alfred Earnest Matthewman was born in 1868.  He was a solicitor who also worked as part of the Town Clerks Office in Leeds.  An active member of middle-class society, Matthewman spoke regularly for the YMCA debating society, supported by his wife Ellen; and also for the Leeds Law Students Society.  Whilst in Leeds he amassed a collection of ephemera relating to civic and other public events including programmes, advertisements, tickets, and menus.  He’s very unlikely to have attended all the events that he saved items from, especially as some of them pre-date him.  He probably just kept them when he found them lying around the office.

This card piqued my interest because it’s just so very Victorian.  Offering a tea and some entertainment for ‘the poor’ seems like a nice idea, but on closer investigation, it soon became clear that this wasn’t an entirely altruistic gesture.

My first hint came with the reporting styles in the local newspapers of the time.  Both the Leeds Mercury and the Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer reported on the event noting that over 1000 people were entertained; going on to list the names of the contributors, particularly the 67 ladies who hosted the tables.  There is much comment about how grateful the beneficiaries are – ‘profuse in their expressions of gratitude’ as the Mercury reports. 

The concert part of the entertainment IS lovely.  Dr Spark was the official organist of Leeds Town Hall so to listen to him was a great treat.  Madame Pauline Evison seems to have been a jobbing soprano from Hull, according to her advert in the Musical Times, and her numerous mentions in the Leeds press.

However, when we look more closely at the second half of the programme, things take a slightly darker turn.  Charles Mackay’s poem, ‘The Dream of the Reveller’ can be found here (Poem: The Dream of the Reveller by Charles Mackay (poetrynook.com)) in full.  Here is a taste:

” Drink!” said the Demon, ” Drink your fill! drink of these waters mellow; —
They’ll make your eye-balls sear and dull, and turn your white skins yellow;
They’ll fill your homes with care and grief, and clothe your backs with tatters;
They’ll fill your hearts with evil thoughts; but never mind! — what matters?

With an image from the accompanying Chromatrope projection:

After this less than subtle hint about the benefits of temperance, the talk on America with pianoforte accompaniment was probably quite welcome.  However, just when you thought things were going well, came a lantern slide show titled ‘How Jane Conquest rang the Bell’.  This is like a Victorian version of the ‘choose your own adventure’ stories I loved in the 1980s.  The whole of the Jane Conquest story can be found here, although it’s a slightly later version. 

Jane is nursing a sick baby and is the only person to spot a ship sinking.  Her dilemma is whether to abandon the baby to alert the lifeboat or not.  Plot twist – she doesn’t know it, but her husband is on the boat! 

However, the audience doesn’t get to help Jane make that choice.  The audience choice is at the very end of the story, and the choice is about whether all the members of the family survive.  So that’s a cheerful Christmas story for everyone, concluding with a chorus of ‘God Save the Queen’ – at least, for those who can read the lyrics.

If you would like to view the Matthewman Collection, please contact Local and Family and History to make an appointment – ID will be required.  Our extensive newspaper collection is available to view on microfilm at any time during opening hours, no appointment necessary.