Barnett Nathan

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Barnett Nathan
Caricature of Nathan from the satirical magazine The Man in the Moon (1847)
Born1793 (1793)
Canterbury, Great Britain
Died6 December 1856(1856-12-06) (aged 62–63)
London, United Kingdom
Burial placeBancroft Road Jewish Cemetery, Covent Garden
Other namesBaron of Rosherville
Spouse
Caroline Buckley
​
(m. 1816)​
RelativesIsaac Nathan (brother)

Barnett Nathan (1793 – 6 December 1856), known professionally as Baron Nathan, was an English impresario, entertainer, and dancing master. He acted for many years as master of ceremonies and managing director at Rosherville Gardens.[1]

Biography[edit]

Barnett Nathan was born in Canterbury, the youngest child of Jewish parents Mary (née Goldsmid) and Menachem Mona (or Muna), and was given the Hebrew name Baruch ben Menachem.[2] His Polish-born father was cantor of the local synagogue.[3] Barnett's elder brother, Isaac Nathan, would come to be an accomplished musician and composer,[4] and one sister would become a professional harpist.[5] On 6 July 1816, he eloped with Caroline Buckley of Bristol, the sister of Isaac's second wife.[6][2]

A venture into music publishing with Isaac ended in bankruptcy,[7] and Nathan became a dancing instructor in Kennington. There he opened a dance academy,[8] and from 1834 he led dancing at the Tivoli Gardens in Margate.[3] In 1842, he was permanently installed as master of ceremonies and managing director at Rosherville Gardens in Gravesend, Kent,[9][10] where he spent every summer until his death.[11] On his benefit nights he would perform his famous 'egg dance', which consisted of dancing the hornpipe blindfolded on a stage that was covered in eggs and teaware.[12]

He died at his home on 6 December 1856 from the rupture of a blood vessel in the head,[13] and was buried at the Bancroft Road Jewish Cemetery in Covent Garden.[14]

Parodies[edit]

Nathan was a well-known personality, who was frequently parodied in the satirical magazines Diogenes,[15] The Puppet-Show,[16] The Comic Almanack,[17] and Punch.[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] In Robin Hood and Richard Cœur de Lion, an opera burlesque by Joachim Hayward Stocqueler, Shirley Brooks, and Charles Kenney, the titular character declares:

This ready courtesy's beyond belief.
A handsome hall! Baron, I vow you will
Eclipse your peer, the Lord of Rosherville,
The dancing nobleman, whose power we see
Makes even gents dance almost decently.[26]

References[edit]

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Jacobs, Joseph; Lipkind, Goodman (1905). "Nathan, Barnett (known as Baron Nathan)". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 178.

  1. ^  Jacobs, Joseph; Lipkind, Goodman (1905). "Nathan, Barnett (known as Baron Nathan)". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 178.
  2. ^ a b Phillips, Olga S. (1940). Isaac Nathan, Friend of Byron. London: Minerva Publishing Company. OCLC 11569149.
  3. ^ a b Lewis, David R. (2015). "Barnett 'Baron' Nathan, 1793–1856" (PDF). Canterbury Historical and Archaeological Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ Peacock, Jonathan (2011). "Rosherville Gardens: An Epitome of Victorian England". Garden History. 39 (1): 64–82. JSTOR 41411772.
  5. ^ Mackerras, Catherine (1963). The Hebrew Melodist: A Life of Isaac Nathan. Sydney: Currawong. p. 9.
  6. ^ "Register of marriages, Saint Leonard, Streatham" (April 1813 – June 1837). London Borough of Lambeth, Series: Church of England Parish Registers, ID: P95/LEN/070. London: London Metropolitan Archives.
  7. ^ Conway, David (2011). Jewry in Music: Entry to the Profession from the Enlightenment to Richard Wagner. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 97. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139058483. ISBN 978-1-139-05848-3.
  8. ^ Lightman, Bernard; Zon, Bennett, eds. (2020). Victorian Culture and the Origin of Disciplines. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-12417-0.
  9. ^ Rubens, Alfred (1935). Anglo-Jewish Portraits: A Biographical Catalogue of Engraved Anglo-Jewish and Colonial Portraits from the Earliest Times to the Accession of Queen Victoria. London: The Jewish Museum.
  10. ^ Boast, Frederic (1897). "Nathan, Baron". Modern English Biography. Vol. II. Truro: Netherton & Worth. p. 1086.
  11. ^ Smith, Lynda (2006). The Place to Spend a Happy Day: A History of Rosherville Gardens. Gravesend: Gravesend Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-9548137-4-1.
  12. ^ Brown, Malcolm (1996–1998). "The Jews of Gravesend before 1915". Jewish Historical Studies. 35: 119–139. JSTOR 29779982.
  13. ^ Reynolds, George W. M., ed. (21 December 1856). "Miscellaneous". Reynolds's Newspaper. London. p. 7.
  14. ^ Rubens, Alfred (1970–1973). "Jews and the English Stage, 1667—1850". Transactions & Miscellanies. 24. Jewish Historical Society of England: 162. JSTOR 29778809.
  15. ^ "Ode to Baron Nathan". Diogenes. 2. London: 286. 1853.
  16. ^ "Baron Nathan Considered as a Polygamist and a Blind Man". The Puppet-Show. 1. London: 197. 1848.
  17. ^ "Stanzas Suggested by a View of Rosherville". The Comic Almanack: An Ephemeris in Jest and Earnest, Containing Merry Tales, Humorous Poetry, Quips, and Oddities. 2. London: Chatto and Windus: 124. 1846.
  18. ^ "Assumption of Aristocracy". Punch, or the London Charivari. IV. London: Bradbury and Evans: 204. 1843.
  19. ^ Punch, or the London Charivari. Vol. V. London: Bradbury and Evans. 1843. pp. 44, 57, 64, 114.
  20. ^ "To a Discerning Public". Punch, or the London Charivari. X. London: Bradbury and Evans: 283. 1846.
  21. ^ Punch, or the London Charivari. Vol. XI. London: Bradbury and Evans. 1846. pp. 45, 97.
  22. ^ "The Opening of Parliament". Punch, or the London Charivari. XII. London: Bradbury and Evans: 49. 1847.
  23. ^ Punch, or the London Charivari. Vol. XIII. London: Bradbury and Evans. 1847. pp. 93, 142.
  24. ^ "Baron Nathan on the Bench". Punch, or the London Charivari. XV. London: Bradbury and Evans: 156. 1848.
  25. ^ "A Chinese Puzzle". Punch, or the London Charivari. XXI. London: Bradbury and Evans: 19. 1851.
  26. ^ Cook, Dutton (1 November 1882). Scott, Clement (ed.). "An Old Burlesque". The Theatre: A Monthly Review and Magazine. VI. London: Charles Dickens & Evans: 270.
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