Alfred Novello

Joseph Alfred Novello (1810 – 17 July 1896) was an English music publisher. He was the eldest son of Vincent Novello, and the creator of Novello and Company Ltd as a revolutionary force in music publishing.[1][2][3]

Alfred Novello
Born
Joseph Alfred Novello

1810 (1810)
London, England
Died17 July 1896(1896-07-17) (aged 85–86)
Woolwich, England
OccupationMusic publisher
Parent(s)

Life

J. Alfred Novello was born in London, the eldest son of the famous organist and composer Vincent Novello, who was the father of eleven children; two died in infancy, two survived infancy but died in childhood, and a son died in early manhood. One son and five daughters survived to carry on the family musical tradition.[4] In 1811 Vincent Novello founded the music publishing firm Novello & Co which carries his name, as he issued sheet music on a subscription basis from his own house and continued to do so until his son J. Alfred Novello took over the business in 1829 at the early age of nineteen. Before this business venture, Alfred, as a bass singer, had done some professional singing.

Alfred Novello promoted and built the business into a huge commercial success, and is credited as being the first to introduce inexpensive sheet music (reducing the retail price by a factor of four)[5] and to depart from the method of publishing by subscription. In 1836 Novello started the publication of The Musical World, a weekly periodical that was the first devoted to music; its publication continued until 1891.[6] From 1841 Henry Littleton assisted him, becoming a partner in 1861, when the firm became Novello & Co., and, on Alfred Novello's retirement and the completion of the sale in 1866, sole proprietor.[7] Having incorporated the firm of Ewer & Co. in 1867, the title was changed to Novello, Ewer & Co., and still later back to Novello & Co., and, on Henry Littleton's death in 1888, his two sons carried on the business.[8] Before his retirement, Alfred Novello actively worked against British "taxation of knowledge" and played a significant role in the 1853 repeal of the advertisement duty, the 1855 repeal of the newspaper stamp,[9][10] repeal of duties on paper and foreign books, and repeal of the security system.[2][11] He was a friend of Henry Bessemer.[12]

After his retirement from the music publishing business, Alfred Novello moved to Genoa and pursued his interests in the Italian Irrigation Company, playing and composing organ music, and the study of hydrodynamics. He obtained several patents on ship construction and worked with William Froude.[2] He died in Genoa.[13]

References
  1. "Novello, Vincent" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  2. "Joseph Alfred Novello Dead.; Italy's Organist, composer, and Scientist Passes Away". NY Times. 18 July 1896.
  3. "Joseph Alfred Novello. Born 1810; Died July 6, 1896". The Musical Times. 37 (642): 513–515. 1 August 1896. JSTOR 3365904.
  4. Clarke, Mary Cowden (1864). The life and labours of Vincent Novello. Novello & Co. p. 11.
  5. A brief history of Novello and Co Ltd
  6. The Musical World (London, 1836–1891) from Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals (ripm.org)
  7. Cooper, Victoria L. (2003). "Completion of the sale of Novello & Co". The House of Novello: Practice and Policy of a Victorian Music Publisher, 1829–1866. p. 86.
  8. Hurd, Michael (1981). Vincent Novello and Company. Granada. ISBN 0-246-11733-8.
  9. The campaign for a free Press — The Peel Web, A Web of English History (Dr Marjorie Bloy)
  10. Taxes on Knowledge — Spartacus Educational Archived 8 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  11. In reply to an email query as to what is meant by "repeal of the security system", Dr. Marjorie Bloy replied on 26 Feb 2013, giving a reference to Collet Dobson Collet's book A History of the Taxes on Knowledge: https://archive.org/stream/historyofthetaxe035181mbp/historyofthetaxe035181mbp_djvu.txt. This is a book; you need chapter 21, if you're going to read it ... If you aren't, then the short answer is that it refers to the Six Acts of 1819 which levied a tax on newspapers. I gather that newspapers had to be registered under a security by the proprietor and it was this which was abolished. Newspaper proprietors had to give a "security" against libel in the period of distress/riots etc. immediately after the French Wars. The House of Lords debate says "The principle of the present Bill was to repeal the Acts of Parliament which required securities of publishers and printers, and to preserve the Acts of Parliament which insisted on the registration of newspapers at Somerset House."
  12. Sir Henry Bessemer, F.R.S.: an autobiography. 1905. p. 126.
  13. "Joseph Alfred Novello". The Chicago Chronicle. Genoa. 18 July 1896. p. 5. Retrieved 26 July 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
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