Page 20 - HGS Suburb News 150 - Summer 2022

S U B U R B Puccini and Stephensʼ Blue-Black Ink
what do they have in common?

an extract from a book which read: reference was, in fact, to yet Puccini to Ricordi on 31 July 1898
‘Constantly chain-smoking and another book: Monsieur Butterfly by when Puccini was working on Tosca.
relieving his sore throat with cups of Stanley Jackson which was out of The letter says: “I shall send on some
coffee he worked away at La Bohème. print. I managed to source a copy material which I have already orchestrated,
He was painstaking and meticulous and from Ebay and scoured it from but I beg you not to look at it, as the
it took three years and nine months to page to page, finally coming across calligraphy has deteriorated. I cannot
complete. He relied on Ricordi for a free a reference to Puccini who “still understand it, but as I grow older I lose
supply of score paper and Stephen’s demanded free supplies of score paper that neatness of hand which was so
blue-black ink (54)’. and his favorite Stephen’s (sic) blue- conspicuous a gift in me! Could you please
I must admit that I laughed. black ink.” That sentence gave no send me on a bottle – not very large –
There have been several claims further references to explore and, of the usual Stephens’ Blue-black.”
over the years about Stephens’ Ink, without a cast-iron provenance, Eureka! And a big thank you
many of which have turned out to Puccini’s preference for Stephens’ to the man with the photopcopy.
have no evidence at all or have ink was still just hearsay. We have decided to celebrate
simply been hearsay stated as fact. Giacomo Puccini started the work of Puccini and, of course,
I returned to my office and put the composing around 1880 by which Stephens’ Ink with an evening of
MELANIE WYNYARD piece aside. I also have to confess time, thanks to Henry Stephens’ Puccini’s music. The Voice finalist
to not getting the man’s name. efforts, the blue-black indelible Nadia Eide will join tenor Robin
ne afternoon at Stephens Eventually the page resurfaced ink was indeed available through- Whitehouse in performing arias
House, I got a call over the from the pile of paperwork on my out Europe, so it was possible that and duets from Tosca, La Boheme,
Oradio saying that there was desk. It was a copy of page 984 the composer would have used Madam Butterfly and more, set
a man in the café courtyard who had from The Lives and Times of the Great and liked the ink. More research against the backdrop of Henry
“something for me”. I expected to Composers by Michael Stein. Was it was obviously needed. This led to Stephens home on Wednesday
be handed the usual ink bottle, but possible that there was some research not on Puccini but on his 6th July at 7.30pm in the gardens
the man handed me a piece of truth in this? So, a copy of Stein’s publisher and furnisher of said ink: at Stephens House.
paper which was a photocopy of book was duly acquired but the Guilio Ricordi. An exhaustive search To book tickets please go to:
FEATURES
finally unearthed a letter written by https://tinyurl.com/jkbh8a6c.
Who were the first

residents of Hampstead

Garden Suburb?

JUDY SMITH much more of the people who
lived in your house. So go to
ouldn’t you like to find hgsheritage.org.uk/Detail/
out who lived in your collections/c1911-0 to visit the
Whouse before you did? online Museum and find out Henry Charles Stephens
Now you can. All the information about the original inhabitants of (Photo: Stephens Collection at Stephens House & Gardens)
you need was contained in the your house.
1911 Census and, by Midsummer HGS Heritage is very grateful
Day, all the relevant Census to Bruce Mackay for all his hard
Forms will have been uploaded work in loading literally hundreds
into the HGS Virtual Museum. of 1911 Census Forms into the
Look up your address to find the Museum for all of us to enjoy.
names, ages, professions and so
© Crown copyright courtesy
of The National Archives

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