The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #74176   Message #1295052
Posted By: Q (Frank Staplin)
12-Oct-04 - 07:41 AM
Thread Name: Origins: The Dodger Song
Subject: RE: Origins: The Dodger Song
Thanks, Joybell, for the page numbers. Something else that takes a bit of head-scratching is keeping dates in line for some of the references in the book.
It is not clear whether the p. 180 reference is to one of Coppin's Artful Dodger routines, one based on the much older English "Cheating Tradesman" or one similar to the American variants.
The Barlow reference seems to be for the year 1864 or 1865. Cowell (?on tour in Australia?) was singing about Barlow's "Emigration to Australia" in the 1850s and there also was a version by a performer named Toole (copy in the Nat. Library of Australia (1850-1859))- maybe Bob Bolton can find out more about that one.
The Patterson version may have been a revision of these or Maitland's. It's hard to tell unless copies of the versions can be obtained.
Anyhow, good luck on your research!