James Todd's Autograph Book
James Todd (1877-1970) was musical director of the Queen's Theatre in South Shields from the day it opened, in 1913, through to the day it was bombed on 20th April, 1941.
The theatre was one of many in the area, but had a reputation for attracting big names. One reason is thought to have been that the theatre was run by the owner of a chain of much larger theatres around the country, and when artists were signed to play "the circuit", they were also contracted to play at the lesser-known Queen's. But when they did, they liked the friendly environment and were known to return on their own.
During his time at the Queen's, James kept an autograph book. It covers from 1919 right through to 1935, although most entries are around 1921. The following pages are scans from the book with any additional information I could find on the artists. Most artists were signing at the end of a week's run at "The Queen's".
Someone (James, or possibly his son, Robert) had written on many of the pages and for the pages that follow these writings have been removed (although any information they imparted in included). In some cases, deciphering names has not yet been possible!
Only 32 of the 72 pages are written on - they're all included. You can either go to page 1 and browse from there, or select from the list below. Please note that the pages are designed to be viewed at a screen resolution of 800x600 or better.