Thomas Allan (25 November 1832 8 April 1894) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
collector of songs and a
music publisher
A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellect ...
from
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
who played a major part in the recording of the music of the day.
Career
In 1858, he joined his brother Ralph's stationery business. Soon afterwards, he opened his own shop selling papers and books.
The publication ''Tyneside Songs''
In 1862, he published his first book, ''Tyneside Songs''. The first edition was very small and covered mainly songs of
Edward "Ned" Corvan and
George "Geordie" Ridley
George "Geordie" Ridley (1835 – 1864) was a Tyneside concert hall songwriter and performer in the middle of the 19th century. His most famous song is "Blaydon Races". He was a contemporary of Edward Corvan. He has been described by a coun ...
.
Over the years he developed the book, adding to it, until eventually it became an extremely large volume with almost 600 pages (590?). The title was changed to ''Allan's Tyneside Songs'', and the contents increased to cover not just the songs but details and histories of them, their writers and singers. As it developed, the theme changed from one of solely popular songs to encompass many older traditional songs, aiming to spread the popularity of the book to a wider audience. It is now an invaluable source of historical reference providing wealth of information.
The second edition followed in the following year of 1863.
1864 saw the third edition now entitled ''A Choice Collection of Tyneside Songs by
E. Corvan,
G. Ridley,
J.P. Robson,
R. Emery ... etc.''
In 1872, a further edition was published.
The edition of 1873 was called ''A Choice Collection of Tyneside Songs by
Wilson,
Corvan,
Mitford,
Gilcrhrist,
Robson,
Harrison
Harrison may refer to:
People
* Harrison (name)
* Harrison family of Virginia, United States
Places
In Australia:
* Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin
In Canada:
* Inukjuak, Quebec, or " ...
,
Emery,
Ridley,
Oliver,
Shield, &c,. &c., &c., with lives of the authors illustrated with views of the town and portraits of the poets and eccentrics of Newcastle''. It was published by Allan, 62 Dean Street, Newcastle upon Tyne: & 16
Collingwood Street,
North Shields
North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth.
Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...
. ("Ralph Allan, Tyne Street, Newcastle upon Tyne" was also mentioned on the cover, possibly as a seller)
The final edition was published in 1891 and was now called ''
Allan's Illustrated Edition of Tyneside Songs and Readings with lives, portraits and autographs of the writers and notes on the songs. Revised edition''. The publisher was Thomas and George Allan, 18
Blackett Street and 34 Collingwood Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, and the cover stated that it was "Sold by W Allan, 80
Grainger Street & B Allan, North Shields: & W Scott of London".
See also
*
Geordie dialect words
Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitut ...
References
External links
A choice collection of Tyneside songs by Wilson, Corvan, Mitford, Gilcrhrist, Robson, Harrison, Emery, Ridley, Oliver, Shield, &c,. &c., &c.Allan's illustrative edition of Tyneside Songs and readings with lives, portraits and autographs of the writers and notes on the songs. Revised edition 1891
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allan, Thomas
1832 births
1894 deaths
19th-century antiquarians
19th-century English businesspeople
19th-century publishers (people)
English antiquarians
English book publishers (people)
English booksellers
English collectors
English music publishers (people)
Geordie songwriters
Musicians from Newcastle upon Tyne
Stationers (people)