Lewis Lavenu
Encyclopedia
Lewis Augustus Lavenu was a musician, music seller and publisher.
He was the second son of John Lavenu, pastry chef
to Stephen Fox
, Lord Holland
(brother of Charles James Fox
). His father had opened a coffee house and tavern
in Salisbury
where he took over the assembly rooms
and held concerts for the local gentry
and middle class
es. Beginning as a violinist in the Covent Garden
opera
, Lavenu set up his "New Musical Warehouse" at 23, Duke Street, St. James, Piccadilly
in 1795. Around 1802 he went into partnership with the printer Charles Mitchell forming Lavenu & Mitchell and in 1805 moved their business to New Bond Street. The partnership with Mitchell ended in 1806, and Lavenu built up a successful business attaining a Royal Warrant
as music seller to the Prince Regent (later George IV
) by his death on 17 August 1818. Lavenu had married Elizabeth Mackenzie of Greenwich on 3 March 1793 at St George Hanover Square, Westminster. She died on 16 January 1814 and Lavenu married for a second time a woman named Eliza, the mother of his son Lewis Henry Lavenu
. The business was further built upon by Eliza who went into partnership with the Anglo-Italian violinist Nicolas Mori
. The business was moved to 24, Edward Street, Manchester Square
in 1820, the Bond Street premises then being occupied by William Mitchell, the son of Charles Mitchell who had originally been in partnership with Lavenu. The business returned to the New Bond Street premises in 1828 after Mori and Lavenu's marriage on 24 January 1826 at St. Paul's, Covent Garden as "Mori & Lavenu" and continued there until it was sold in the 1840s by Eliza's son Lewis Henry Lavenu
. His granddaughter Ethel Lavenu
was the mother of the actor Tyrone Power, Sr.
and grandmother of the Hollywood star of the 1930s-1950s, Tyrone Power
.
He was the second son of John Lavenu, pastry chef
Pastry chef
A pastry chef or pâtissier is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods...
to Stephen Fox
Stephen Fox, 2nd Baron Holland
Stephen Fox, 2nd Baron Holland, of Holland, 2nd Baron Holland, of Foxley, MP was briefly a British peer....
, Lord Holland
Baron Holland
Baron Holland, of Holland in the County of Lincoln, and Baron Holland, of Foxley in the County of Wiltshire, were two titles in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first barony was created on 7 March 1762 for Lady Caroline Fox, the daughter of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond and the eldest of...
(brother of Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
). His father had opened a coffee house and tavern
Tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....
in Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
where he took over the assembly rooms
Assembly rooms
In Great Britain and Ireland, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, assembly rooms were gathering places for members of the higher social classes open to members of both sexes. At that time most entertaining was done at home and there were few public places of entertainment open to both sexes...
and held concerts for the local gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....
and middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
es. Beginning as a violinist in the Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
opera
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, Lavenu set up his "New Musical Warehouse" at 23, Duke Street, St. James, Piccadilly
Piccadilly
Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...
in 1795. Around 1802 he went into partnership with the printer Charles Mitchell forming Lavenu & Mitchell and in 1805 moved their business to New Bond Street. The partnership with Mitchell ended in 1806, and Lavenu built up a successful business attaining a Royal Warrant
Royal Warrant
Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...
as music seller to the Prince Regent (later George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
) by his death on 17 August 1818. Lavenu had married Elizabeth Mackenzie of Greenwich on 3 March 1793 at St George Hanover Square, Westminster. She died on 16 January 1814 and Lavenu married for a second time a woman named Eliza, the mother of his son Lewis Henry Lavenu
Lewis Henry Lavenu
Lewis Henry Lavenu was an English composer, conductor, musician and impresario.-Life and career:Lavenu was born in London in 1818, the only son, by his second wife Eliza, of Lewis Lavenu, music publisher to the Prince Regent...
. The business was further built upon by Eliza who went into partnership with the Anglo-Italian violinist Nicolas Mori
Nicolas Mori
Nicolas Mori was an Anglo-Italian violinist, music publisher and conductor. Once regarded as the finest violinist in Europe, Mori was somewhat overshadowed by the rise of Paganini....
. The business was moved to 24, Edward Street, Manchester Square
Manchester Square
Manchester Square is an 18th century garden square in the Marylebone area in London, England, a short distance north of Oxford Street. It is one of the smaller but better preserved Georgian squares in central London...
in 1820, the Bond Street premises then being occupied by William Mitchell, the son of Charles Mitchell who had originally been in partnership with Lavenu. The business returned to the New Bond Street premises in 1828 after Mori and Lavenu's marriage on 24 January 1826 at St. Paul's, Covent Garden as "Mori & Lavenu" and continued there until it was sold in the 1840s by Eliza's son Lewis Henry Lavenu
Lewis Henry Lavenu
Lewis Henry Lavenu was an English composer, conductor, musician and impresario.-Life and career:Lavenu was born in London in 1818, the only son, by his second wife Eliza, of Lewis Lavenu, music publisher to the Prince Regent...
. His granddaughter Ethel Lavenu
Ethel Lavenu
Ethel Lavenu was a British stage actress. She was the mother of stage and silent screen actor Tyrone Power, Sr., and grandmother of the Hollywood film star Tyrone Power....
was the mother of the actor Tyrone Power, Sr.
Tyrone Power, Sr.
Frederick Tyrone Edmond Power was an English-born American stage and screen actor, who acted under the name Tyrone Power.-Early life:Power was born in London in 1869, the son of Harold Littledale Power and Ethel Lavenu...
and grandmother of the Hollywood star of the 1930s-1950s, Tyrone Power
Tyrone Power
Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan,...
.
External links
- Grove Dictionary of Music and MusiciansGrove Dictionary of Music and MusiciansThe New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, it is the largest single reference work on Western music. The dictionary has gone through several editions since the 19th century...
- The London book trades of the later 18th century