I’ve just laid my hands on copies of Tiger of the Stripe’s (that is to say, my) latest offering, Anecdotes of George Frederick Handel and John Christopher Smith. It’s a new edition of a book written by the Reverend William Coxe in 1799. Smith is that chap on the left with the quill poised magisterially in his hand (you can click on the pic for a closer look). ‘Who is this guy,’ I hear you ask; I bet John Smith’s not his real name,’ and you’d be right (aren’t you always?). His real name was Johann Christoph Schmidt, and his father was also Johann Christoph Schmidt. ‘Blimey! So he’s German, like Handel himself.’ Well, of course, Handel was British because he naturalised. I’m not sure about Smith. He was brought up in England, but I don’t know whether went through the naturalisation process. It required an act of parliament in those days. ‘So who is this bloke Smith?’ He was a composer, dummy. He was also Handel’s copyist and amanuensis. His father had been Handel’s copyist, too. Smith junior did a lot to promote and preserve the Handelian tradition. He inherited many of Handel’s manuscripts which he later donated to the king.

‘And what of Coxe?’ I hear you cry. Well, he was Smith’s stepson and he wrote the Anecdotes to raise some dosh for the Smith family.