Here we have what most people regard as the permanent home of the Promenade Concerts.
But, as we will reveal, it was not always so.
When they began, they took place at Queen`s Hall, Langham Place, and even then they were but a development of the earlier concerts which had been regularly staged in several London parks and gardens for over a hundred years. In fact the name "promenade" refers to the idea that whilst the general public could sit and listen, they could also casually stroll about the park, with the music in the background.
The concerts at Queen`s Hall changed this, in many ways. For one thing, the audience had to pay to go in, a shilling for each concert, or you could pay a guinea and attend as many nights of the season of forty-nine concerts as you liked. You could not walk past and listen without paying. And it was also felt that if people paid, they would be more attentive, or less likely to interrupt the proceedings by chattering to their friends.
The Promenade Concerts stayed at Queen`s Hall until the Second World War. Then on the first of September 1939, Beethoven`s Second Piano Concerto was abruptly halted and the audience were informed that Poland had just been invaded. That may have been the end of the season for that year, as the BBC stepped down from supporting it - but Henry Wood was made of sterner stuff and he continued the run with the help of private backers, as well as some of his own money. And he also continued to play through an air raid on several occasions, even, on the 26th of August, 1940, extending the performance, for some while, until the "All Clear" was sounded and the audience were allowed to leave, which was not until the following morning. In fact this was the first time that the audience were encouraged to sing along with all their might. But that season was eventually abandoned when the raids became too intense.
The end of Queen`s Hall also came by bomb, on the 10th of May, 1941. That was when the concerts relocated to the Royal Albert Hall. They did move out, briefly, to the Bedford Corn Exchange in 1944, but when hostilities ceased they returned to the Royal Albert Hall, where they are still going strong today.
Its first appearance on cards is often said to be part of the 1902 Ogden`s "General Interest" series E, card 75, because it is billed as simply "Albert Hall". However Cohen, Weenen & Co`s "Interesting Buildings and Views", which also uses that title, was issued in the very same year - and, even if not the first card, it is definitely the first card to show the building in colour.
This picture is almost identical to the one used by R. J. Lea in their "Famous Views", issued in 1936, except that you can see more of the steps in the Lea version, for it is a bigger format card.
Westminster is a strange issuer. They were associated with both the Imperial Tobacco Company and British American Tobacco, which is how the first appearance of this set comes in our B.A.T. booklet, where it says they are in two formats, one being unnumbered with no descriptive text, and the other being numbered with a descriptive text. There was also some connection with the South African triumvirate of African Tobacco Manufacturers, United Tobacco Companies, and Policansky Bros.
Also, though their first cards were issued in 1914, they did not issue cards in the United Kingdom until 1925, which is why in our original World Tobacco Index they are not listed until part 4 of the Westminster section. In fact, by that time, they were not really Westminster cards at all, for, in the heading to that section, they are described as : "4. UNITED KINGDOM ISSUES. Inscribed "Issued by the successors in the United Kingdom to the Westminster Tobacco Co., Ltd. Co. London." Whilst the text for our set reads :
- BRITISH ROYAL AND ANCIENT BUILDINGS. See RB.21/200-159 ... W42-56.
1. First 48 subjects - (B) Numbered (C) Unnumbered.
2. Second 48 subjects, inscribed "A Second series". Nd.
In our updated version, the text reads :
- BRITISH ROYAL AND ANCIENT BUILDINGS. See RB.21/200-159 ... W430-840
1. First 48 subjects - (B) Numbered (C) Unnumbered.
2. Second 48 subjects, inscribed "A Second series". Nd.
I glossed over the "See RB.21/200-159" with good reason, as it turns out this set is more complex than I had imagined. The text there also reveals that there is a reason why there is no (A) above and the numbered is logged as (B) with the un-numbered version as (C).
The full entry reads :
- 200-159. BRITISH ROYAL AND ANCIENT BUILDINGS. The Wills printing only of this series is recorded in W/159. All the printings are detailed below, and the five different backs are illustrated at Fig.200-159 :-
I - First 48 subjects
A. Wills` Overseas issue. Back A
B. Westminster issue. Back B. Numbered, inscribed "Issued by the successors.....". Not inscribed "A Series of 48"
C. Westminster issue. Back C. Unnumbered, see listing below
II - Second 48 subjects
X. Westminster issue. Back X. Numbered, inscribed "A Series of 48", not inscribed "Issued by the successors.....".
Y. Westminster issue. Back Y. Inscribed "A Second Series"
As far as the Wills version, that was an overseas issue, and is detailed in part four of our Wills reference book as :
- 159. BRITISH ROYAL AND ANCIENT BUILDINGS. Fronts : Photoprints in black and white. Backs in black, with descriptive text. Issued in New Zealand between 1925-30. Similar series issued by Westminster (1st Series)
Then there is a list of the unnumbered cards which may be pertinent to our set but which i will have to delay adding for now.
Later on, in 1936, as part of the Wills "Works Magazine" it was revealed that this set was actually printed in the United Kingdom and shipped to New Zealand, where it was issued in packets from August 1925.
And if you want to see the second series of this set, nip along to our Card of the Day for the 15th of September, 2023