Squint Milner

[RichardB]

Bit of Pub, bit of Music Hall, bit of mad old trout ...

Source

Is this Spring Street/Coulson Street, is it 1881 Alfred Milner ??

[vox]

Here's the reference from

British Music Hall: An Illustrated History

[vox]

The Late Mr A Milner - a curious case.

Chris Hobbs

[vox]

RAMBLES IN AMERICA

ALFRED J. PAIRPOINT

Having an evening to spare, the writer inquired of a store-
keeper the best theatre in Sheffield. The merchant informed
him that for a good night's entertainment he would suggest
the '• Star Music Hall," owned by a man called " Squint
Milner," who formerly trained Jem Mace, a fighting man of
notoriety. The variety show was a cuiious place of amuse-
ment of the rough-and-ready kind for the unw.ished element
of the city, grimy from their work, and mostly coUarless,
with the pallid hue of the workshop on them ; they sat list-
lessly sipping their beer, sometimes making remarks on the
male or female singers, or in conversation amongst them-
selves ; very quiet and orderly. The band of three pieces
was very weak, in contrast to the shrill voice of the Amazon
singer on the little stage. But the most puzzling feature of
the place was the coucert hall picture gallery. The works
of art were of all sizes, mostly framed, and the pictures varied
in talent and tint, being good, bad, and indifferent; the to-
bacco smoke of the nightly revelleis had somewhat dimmed
the painting subjects, and taken the varnish from the can-
vases, causing the begriramed and fumed wall to serve as a
dark background for the old and modern masters. The taste
of the owner of these oil paintings, however, was not a vul-
gar one, as most of these pictures testified, being free from
offensiveness to the sensitive eye.