The Selwyn Driver: Lecture - Entertainments

              Figure

The SELWYN DRIVER Lecture-Entertainments.




1.
Around Amazing America and Tahiti.

Slides and Films.


2.
Our Southern Empire, Burma and Ceylon.

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3.
The Splendour of India: A Prose Poem.

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4.
India—from Mt. Everest to the Khyber Pass.

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5.
Bombay, Aden, Suez, Gibraltar=Homeward Bound.

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This lecture, which completes the World Tour, will be ready for Oct. 1939.



6.
My Oriental Friends, from Penang to Peking

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Also with Records of Chinese Music—See Separate Circular.




EACH OF THE ABOVE TRAVEL LECTURES IS COMPLETE IN ITSELF.

Also the following New Non-illustrated Lecture.

7. HUMOUR AMONG THE NATIONS.

Every important Platform factor plays its part in Selwyn Driver's phenomenal success—Public School and University training, sincerity, artistry, humour, and a musical voice.

Sole Lecture Direction: THE LECTURE LEAGUE, LIVERPOOL, 21.




Lecture No. 1.   Describing the 1st Stage of Selwyn Driver's World Journey.
Around Amazing America and Tahiti.
Many of the Slides are exquisitely Coloured—Standard Size Cinema Films if desired.


Figure


This, the First of Selwyn Driver's Series of entertaining Travel Lectures, records his experiences and shrewd observations during the initial Stage of his Two Journeys around the World which occupied Four Years.  These lectures are of extraordinary interest, have a character entirely their own, are packed with unusual information—mostly new to the Platform, are magnificently illustrated, abound with Humour, and are delivered with that verve and raciness for which Selwyn Driver is so justly famed.

Here a new America is revealed, and in an astonishing manner Modern America is linked-up with its European foundations.  From New York, through the South Atlantic States to the romantic old-world city of New Orleans; through the Middle West; across to 'Frisco, and thence to Happy Hawaii and Tahiti, beloved Island of R.L.S., Pierre Loti, Gaugin and Rupert Brooke.

The 88 Floors of the Empire State Building, N.Y.





The welcome that awaited us at Honolulu.

A Few Appreciations of this Lecture.
ABERDEEN: Y.M.C.A. Public Lectures.  Re-visit.  March, 1938.

… charming personality … a past-master at his art … thrilling lecture … slides excellent … hope to have him again…

H. F. C. Govan, Gen. Sec.

ROYTON: Lancashire Education Committee.  Oct., 1937.

… excellent attendance … lecture thoroughly enjoyed … commands and retains interest of audience … racy, humorous … a most acceptable evening.

F. O. Smawfield, Hon. Sec.

BELFAST: The Museum Lectures.  Rebooked.  Feb., 1935.

… kept a large audience wholly interested and amused throughout … his constant humour delighted, and laughter was as spontaneous at the end as at the beginning.

Arthur Deane, F.R.S.E., M.I.R.A.

GRIMSBY: Alexandra Hall Lectures.  Re-visit.  Jan., 1935.

… surpassed his lecture of last year … has all the gifts … immense amount of information … screen illustrations admirable …

Harold Smith, Hon. Sec.

JERSEY and GUERNSEY: Lecture Societies.  Re-visits.  March, 1936.

… if possible, better than ever … both Societies will want the continuation lecture next season.

A. J. P. Le Riche and C. Stonelake, Hon. Secs.

WOLVERHAMPTON: Lit. and Sc. Society.  Re-visit.  March, 1937.

… the best travel lecture we have had this season.  We hope to have him again next year.

H. Haden Kendrick, Hon. Sec.


Sulgrave Manor, Northants—the home of the Washingtons.



The Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C., by flashlight.


EACH LECTURE IS COMPLETE IN ITSELF & MAY BE BOOKED SEPARATELY.





Australia—Hailstones like Tennis Balls.


Burma—Entrance to Ananda Pagoda,


Ceylon: Procession of the Sacred Tooth of Buddha.

Appreciations of this Lecture:
BRADFORD: THE MECHANICS' INSTITUTE.

Mr. Selwyn Driver greatly pleased a large audience with his lecture.  The matter was most interesting, well told in a good voice, and full of information.  The slides and films were of high quality and an added attraction … an acquisition to any lecture syllabus.

April, 1938.   Arthur T. Ord, Secretary.

GRIMSBY: ALEXANDRA HALL LECTURES.  Third Visit.

Last night Mr. Selwyn Driver again showed his inexhaustible gifts.  Each of his lectures is an advance on the former.

Feb., 1936.   Harold Smith, Hon. Sec.

LANCASTER: THE WOMEN'S LUNCHEON CLUB.

…a huge success … a first-class Lecturer with a perfect delivery and control of his audience … the highest praise I can give is that Lancaster want him to come again.

April, 1938.   (Miss) Hope Sharpe, Hon. Sec.

WINDERMERE: THE LECTURE ASSOCIATION.

hellip;a very delightful lecture, our members were thoroughly pleased … a fine fellow and an excellent Lecturer.

March, 1938.   R. B. Marriott, Hon. Sec.



One of the most inspiring and informative of Selwyn Driver's lectures; it creates, as no other lecture does, a vivid realization of the extent, scope, variety, splendour, and splendid efficiency of Our Far-Flung Empire.

THIS LECTURE IS COMPLETE IN ITSELF & MAY BE BOOKED SEPARATELY.




Lecture No. 2.   Full of Colour, Contrasts and Curiosities.
Our Southern Empire, Burma & Ceylon.
Gorgeously Coloured Slides: Standard Size Cinema Films if desired.

The tongue of the idol now calls to church.


NEW ZEALAND'S ENCYCLOPAEDIC ETHOS: Its culture of Europe, wealth of Asia, plains of Africa, mountains of America, rivers of France, vales of Italy and Fjords of Norway.  The noble Maoris and their romantic story.  Wonderful cities and ethereal beauty of the Wilds.  Marvels of Rotorua.

TASMANIA: Storm Bay and Mt. Wellington.  Delights of Hobart in the apple season.

AUSTRALIA'S LURE: Unlike all other lands.  The oldest living Race.  Fish that sail—Birds that laugh—Animals that puzzle science—Four-foot Oysters—Grass like trees—Trees like bottles.  The seven splendid Capitals of Australia.

HAPPY BURMA: Here exists the nearest approach to the Socialistic ideal—its People gay, pious and poetic.  Brilliant Rangoon; the marvellous Shwe Dagon Pagoda; up the Irrawaddy to Sacred Pagan.

CEYLON'S CONTRASTS AND TRAGEDY: Kandy and the sacred tooth of Gautama.  Ancient cities as large as London now in ruins, as Anuradhapura.




Lecture No. 3.
Revealing the Magnificence of Historic India.
ONE OF THE GREATEST SUCCESSES OF LAST SEASON.
THE SPLENDOUR OF IMPERIAL INDIA.
Exquisitely Coloured and Original Slides—Standard Size Cinema Films If desired.

The Taj Mahal—a Moonlight Vision



The Taj Mahal—the Inner Screen.


In this lecture Mr. Selwyn Driver has surpassed himself and produced a prose a and pictorial poem that ranks as one of the greatest achievements of the Platform.  He comes nearer to doing full justice to the regal magnificence of Imperial India than has any Lecturer before him.


THE BRITISH IN INDIA:
Madras, the birthplace of British power in India.  Problems to be faced.  The age-long conflict between Hindu and Moslem.  The 600 Native Princes and their varying outlook.  Amazing contrasts of Splendour and Squalor.



THE GREAT AKBAR AND RELIGION:
Religious fervour is of the East and nowhere more so than in India.  Effects of Hinduism with its 220,000,000 followers.  The 70,000,000 Moslems.  Minor religious denominations.

How in the 17th century Akbar tried to reconcile all religions: His tomb at Sikhandra symbolises his aim—it is Buddhist in form, Mohammedan in arrangement, while the actual tomb-chamber is shaped as the Christian Cross: the most unique tomb in the world.


Temple—Budh-Gaya—where the Buddha received enlightenment.




PALACES, TEMPLES, SHRINES AND FEASTS:
A festival at the great Temple, Madura.  The famous Rock, Trichinopoli.  Pagoda at Tanjore and the huge stone Bull.  Budhgaya, one of the four sacred Shrines of the Buddha.  The sacred Bo-Tree.  Benares, the Mecca of the Hindu.  On the banks of holy Ganges.  The Moslem Shrine of Kwaja Chisti.

At Ajmer, Lake and Marble Pavilions of Shah Jehan.  Fortress of Chitor and the rite of Jauhan.  Udaipur and its wonderful Lake Palace.  Modern Delhi and the seven Delhis that have been.  Clemenceau's comment.  The Kuth Minar.  Tomb of Humayan, father of the great Akbar.  The Seat of the Shadow of God.



TAJ MAHAL, INDIA'S CROWN OF GLORY:
The description is a prose-poem; the slides are masterpieces—the best being too ethereal for reproduction here.


Dilwara Temple at Mt. Abu.



Madura — Golden Lily Pond and Temple.





Benares—bathing in holy Ganges.

Opinions of this Lecture.
ALTRINCHAM: St. John's Literary Society.

… delighted our members … most instructive … the most delightful lecture of the season …

April, 1938.   A. E. Palmer, Hon. Sec.

CHANNEL ISLANDS: Fourth Visit.

… one of the finest Lecturers on the Platform.  No Lecturer is ever more entertaining, or shows finer slides … want him again next season—informative, interesting … the best we have had from him.

April, 1938.   A. J. P. Le Riche and C. Stonelake, Hon. Secs.

PURLEY: Cong. Ch. Literary Society.  Revisit.

… an excellent lecture … matter, delivery slides …

April, 1938.   Ernest Davie, Hon. Sec.


Madras—A Triumphal Car.


HALIFAX: The Sunday Lecture Society.

… excellent in every way—matter, delivery and illustrations … held the close attention of over 2,000 from start to finish … clear voice easily heard in large hall … a wide and intimate knowledge of his subject … look forward to hearing him again.

April, 1938.   Geo. H. Webb, Chairman of Council.

ULVERSTON: The Lecture Association.

… the lecture was highly appreciated and the slides were very beautiful.

January, 1938.   H. Haden Kendrick, Hon. Sec.

WOLVERHAMPTON: Lit. and Sc. Society.  Revisit.

… quite a success … the largest attendance we have had so far this session.

Nov., 1937.   H. Haden Kendrick, Hon. Sec.


Primitive Irrigation—Oxen drawing water.





The Old Delhi—Feast of Ramadan.



The New Delhi—from the Air.


Of this Lecture Mr. Harold Smith (Alexandra Hall Lectures, Grimsby) writes—Mr. Selwyn Driver again over-topped his former efforts … a satisfying survey of his vast subject … beautiful well-chosen pictures an outstanding feature …


Mahommedan Priestly Centenarian.



Lake at Ajmer.



The Palace—Udaipur.


Also of this Lecture Mr. Robert Leonard (Guildford Lectures) writes—Mr. Selwyn Driver gave us one of the best lectures I have ever been privileged to hear—his slides and films were simply superb.

THIS LECTURE IS COMPLETE IN ITSELF AND MAY BE BOOKED SEPARATELY.






A Glimpse of Kanchenjunga.



Jakko of Jakko Hill.


Amritsar, the sacred city of the Sikhs, with its golden Temple; the Priests and the People.

Lahore, and the tomb of Jehangir, son of and successor to the Great Akbar; the famous Shalimar Gardens—Beside the Shalimar.  Kipling's early days as a journalist.

Karachi, its new importance in connection with the Air Route to India.  Sandstorms and fierce heat of the great Sind Desert.  Jacobabad, the hottest place in India.

Quetta and the Earthquake.  The story of Colonel Beatty, the original of Rudyard Kipling's Kim.

Selwyn Driver at the Hill Stations—Simla, Queen of them all; the Monkeys on Jakko Hill, their kings and armies.  Mussoorie: Naini Tal, its lovely lake, to the goddess of which human sacrifices are still offered.  Darjeeling, the base for Everest and Kanchenjunga Climbing Expeditions.


Camel Post arriving at Quetta.




No. 5.  Bombay, Aden, Suez, Gibraltar—Homeward Bound.
This lecture, completing the World Tour, ready for October 1939.

THIS LECTURE IS COMPLETE IN ITSELF AND MAY BE BOOKED SEPARATELY.




Lecture No. 4.   NEW LECTURE.   The Hill Stations and Himalayas.
India—from Everest to the Khyber Pass.

The pure, white majesty of Everest.



Ali Masjid Fort—Khyber Pass.


Superb Slides, many in Colour.
Standard Sized Films if desired.


AN INDIA THAT IS NEW TO THE PLATFORM:
Far from the beaten track: Away, amongst the Himalayas—Across the whole of Northern India, with its ancient Cities, Ports, Forts, Warrior Tribes and majestic Mountain Scenery.

The approach to Everest from Darjeeling.  Selwyn Driver's personal experiences and unforgettable impressions of Mt. Everest at sunrise.  Legends of Everest.  The romance of its discovery, and of the several attempts to conquer it—May Tilman's Party succeed this summer.

The unparalleled grandeur of the Himalayas and the entrancing beauty of Kanchenjunga.

Peshawar, the frontier city of N.W. India, at the entrance to the famous Khyber Pass, is the gateway to Northern India from Afghanistan and the main road to Kabul.  Scenes along the Khyber Pass.  A Fort like a battleship.

The Afridi Women, the Amazons of India, are fiercer, more merciless and cruel than the men.





NEW LECTURE—ENTERTAINMENT—   TAX FREE.
Humour Among the Nations:
Individual, Racial and Regional.
In every quarter of the Globe, Selwyn Driver has convulsed millions of people of all nationalities with his inimitable Humour—And Now he is going to be serious about it and discuss the nature, characteristics, associations, development and constructive features of things that make Folk laugh.

ILLUSTRATED WITH CHOICE EXAMPLES OF CLASSICAL AND MODERN HUMOUR.

Highly educative, totally out of the ordinary, vitally interesting, replete with amusing illustrative examples and truly cultural, this Lecture will appeal to Adults and Juniors—Lantern Slides would be a hindrance.




PRELIMINARY SYNOPSIS—SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
NATURE OF HUMOUR and ITS VALUE:

Primarily a physical necessity, as well as a mental need.  Social value, man being a gregarious creature.  Why we laugh.  The various Types of Humour.

HUMOUR AMONG ANIMALS—DEVELOPED IN PALEOLITHIC MAN:

Animals enjoy Fun of many kinds—Dogs, Cats, Monkeys, Elephants, and even Birds.

Evidence of Aboriginal Humour: Rock Cave paintings and early sculptures.

HUMOUR OF THE LEARNED ANCIENTS:

The Greek Muses—Thalia of Comedy, Melpomene of Tragedy, and Socrates' definition the genius of Comedy and Tragedy is the same.  Aristophanes, Æsop; Juvenal and Terentius.

BRITISH AMERICAN & EUROPEAN:

English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish, English and American Humour contrasted.  Mark Twain, George Ade, Will Rogers.

VARIETIES OF HUMOROUS EXPERIENCE:

G. K. Chesterton said the Victorians discovered Nonsense.  The imaginative Nonsense of Lewis Carroll.  The Limericks of Edward Lear.  The subtle, whimsical Humour of Barrie.  Charlie Chaplin on his own Humour.  Exquisite examples of the Humour of Max Beerbohm, Noel Coward, Dickens, W. S. Gilbert, Stephen Leacock, Charles Lamb, and famous ecclesiastical Humorists.

HUMOUR IN THE ORIENT:

Aggressiveness of Indian Humour.  Chinese Humour and Satire veiled in politeness.

REGIONAL HUMOUR:

As in Somerset, Lancashire and Yorkshire.

INDIVIDUAL HUMOUR:

Man's seven ages of appreciation.

HOW TO SPOIL A GOOD STORY.

THIS LECTURE READY FOR THE WINTER OF 1938–39.




Selwyn Driver's Solo
ENTERTAINMENT.
Based on years of continuous travel in every corner of the World where English is spoken, and given in all the principal Cities in Canada, the U.S.A., Australia, New Zealand, India, Burma, Ceylon, Malaya and China; in most of the leading Theatres and Halls in London and throughout the British Isles—over 850 times at Maskelyne's—Selwyn Driver's Entertainment is recognised as a Classic of Modern Humour.

It cannot be adequately described, for it is never given twice alike, but is always varied to suit the Audience and the Occasion.

Now at the Piano, now striding about the Platform delineating a Character or presenting a Scene with every subtlety of gesture, voice and facial expression, he provides from 1 to 2 hours of wholesome, hearty laughter by a Performance delightfully artistic, musical, poetical, human, humorous, and yet definitely cultural.




THIS ENTERTAINMENT HAS, AMONGST OTHER PLACES, BEEN GIVEN—
AT OXFORD:

Trinity College
University College
Pembroke College
Magdalen College
Jesus College, and
Corpus Christi Coll.
Hertford College.


AT PUBLIC SCHOOLS:

Aldenham
Beaumont Coll.
Bedales.
Bedford.
Berkhamsted.
Bradfield.
Bryanston.
Christ's Hospital.
Cranleigh.
Clifton.
Dartmouth R N. Coll.
Durham.
Epsom.
Felsted.
Glenalmond.
Gresham Sch., Holt.
Haileybury.
Highgate.
King's, Canterbury.
Loretto.
Marlborough.
Mill Hill
Monkton Combe.
Oundle.
Repton.
Rugby.
St. Bees.
Sedbergh.
Sherborne.
Shrewsbury.
Stonyhurst.
Trent.
Weymouth.
Wycliffe.
York St. Peter's.


AT PREPARATORY SCHOOLS:

Aldwick Grange, Ssx.
Boxgrove, Guildford.
Cargilfield, Edinb'gh.
Cothill, Abingdon.
Earleywood, Ascot.
Hawtrey's, Westgate.
Hildersham, B'stairs.
Highfield, Liphook.
Lambrook, Bracknell.
Manor Ho., Brackley.
Manor Ho., Horsham.
Old Hall, Wellington.
Pinewood, Farnborough.
St. Peter's Ct., B'stairs.
St. Peter's, Seaford.
St. Pirans-on-the-Hill.
Selwyn Ho., B'stairs.
Stoke Ho., Seaford.
Wellesley Ho., B'stairs.
Woodlands, Deganwy.


AND AT MANY OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED LADIES' COLLEGES.

Selwyn Driver has appeared at different times before nearly every Member of the Royal Family.

Available for Luncheons, Dinners and other Social Functions:
Her Grace the Duchess of Atholl writes:—
You gave intense enjoyment.  It was a great pleasure to have you at Blair.