Do You Know...? (1 Viewer)

[jazzeum]

Do you know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Do you know the muffin man,
Who lives in Drury Lane?

Yes, I know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Yes, I know the muffin man,
Who lives in Drury Lane?



Trophy C 71 Muffins & Crumpets

The “Muffin Man” refers to the delivery of muffins door-to-door probably in the theatre district in London as Drury Lane was the location of the Theatre Royal in London. In the eighteenth century Drury Lane was an over-populated mish-mash of doss houses, brothels, cock pits and gin palaces where gambling, poverty, crime and disease colluded to keep commoners in their place. By the 19[SUP]th[/SUP] Century, the street had degraded further into a filthy hodge-podge of rat-infested lodging houses and tenements housing the very poorest Londoners.Muffins were a cheap and popular foodstuff for the poorer residents of England’s cities in the early nineteenth-century. The muffin man would be seen in his long apron and his stock on a tray atop his head or around his neck hawking his wares in the street.

“Do You Know the Muffin Man” was printed in an 1820 British manuscript (now housed in the Bodleian Library) although its origins may go back to Elizabethan England.



A Muffin Man, circa 1910.

 

[Louis Badolato]

Great story, and I love the photo of the muffin man.:smile2:

 

[Rob]

Excellent figure and story Brad, remember the song from my youth but must confess there was always a slightly more vulgar schoolboy version if memory serves!

Can I ask what range the figure is from?

Rob

 

[jazzeum]

Louis and Rob (as well as all those who liked it), thanks.

Rob, it's from the Trophy of Wales Town & Country range. I believe that Andy's inspiration for the Streets of Hong Kong may have the the T & C range. For some reason, I just like these Trophy figures that represent Old London. I had thought once about collecting SOHK but resisted because it would be a tremendous undertaking even though it's a fantastic range.

For some reasons, I can still recite some of these old nursery rhymes. The Muffin Man was one of my favorites when I was a kid as was The Cow Jumped Over the Moon (especially the line "the little dog laughed to see such sport"). When ever it was time for bed, my mother would say "To bed, to bed said Naughty Ned." It was only recently that I realized it was actually "To bed, to bed said Sleepy-Head." Why she changed it I have no idea.

Brad

 

[Jack]

Excellent figure and story Brad, remember the song from my youth but must confess there was always a slightly more vulgar schoolboy version if memory serves!

Can I ask what range the figure is from?

Rob

Larso will remember the year but I recall attending a cricket dinner at the Gabba here in Brisbane and singing 'The Muffin Man' after a premiership dinner with ten rather drunk cricketers. I am a non drinker so I alone recognised how ridiculous we looked.