Reuben Hallam (1818 – 1908), also known as Wadsley Jack, was an English carver, cutler, musician and author, from the

Wadsley Wadsley is a suburb of the City of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It stands north-west of the city centre at an approximate grid reference of . At the 2011 Census the suburb fell within the Hillsborough ward of the City. Wadsley was for ...

district of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, England, who wrote in the Sheffield dialect. He is best known for the autobiographical work ''Wadsley Jack; or, the Humours and Adventures of a Travelling Cutler''. ''Wadsley Jack...'', and its sequel ''Wadsley Jack's Married Life'', were each serialised in the ''

Sheffield Daily Telegraph The ''Sheffield Telegraph'' is a weekly newspaper published in Sheffield, England. Founded in 1855 as the ''Sheffield Daily Telegraph'', it became known as the ''Sheffield Telegraph'' in 1938. History The ''Sheffield Telegraph'' was founded i ...

'' in 1865 and 1866 respectively, prior to publication in book form. In various decennial

censuses A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, Hallam is listed as: * 1851 a teacher of singing * 1861 a spring knife cutler * 1871 a spring knife cutler * 1881 an artist (as are three of his children) * 1891 a weighman * 1901 a spring knife cutler He also worked as an organist, orator and singer. His portrait,Accession number K1913.158 in oil on canvas, by W. Lindley, is in the collection of

Museums Sheffield Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust, known as Museums Sheffield is a charity created in 1998 to run Sheffield City Council’s non-industrial museums and galleries. Museums Sheffield currently manages three sites in the city: Graves Art Galle ...

. Another portrait of Hallam, by Willis Eadon, was exhibited at the August 1888 Sheffield Society of Artists' exhibition. ''The Sheffield Daily Telegraphs unnamed reviewer wrote that "it shows evidence of rather clever treatment in bringing out a strong individuality". Reviewing the same exhibition, ''The Sheffield and Rotherham Independent'' referred to Hallam as "a local celebrity". A pub in Wadsley, ''The Wadsley Jack'', formerly ''The Star'', was renamed in his honour.

Works

* *

References

External links

ArtUK
discussion of the Lindley portrait *
T'Days ov Ahr Fathers
' newspaper article by Hallam, in dialect {{DEFAULTSORT:Hallam, Reuben 1818 births Place of birth missing 1908 deaths Place of death missing People from Wadsley 19th-century English writers Cutlers English classical organists 19th-century organists 19th-century British male musicians Musicians from Sheffield