Joseph Edwards Carpenter (2 November 1813, London – 6 May 1885, BayswaterBoase, F., Modern English biography, 6 vols, 1892-1921) was an English playwright, composer, and songwriter.
In 1851, Carpenter moved from Leamington to London.The Times, 25 June 1851, p.1 He wrote various touring musical entertainments such as The Road, the Rail and the River, and a Vocal, Pictorial, and Descriptive Illustration of Uncle Tom's Cabin (1853). He appeared in Wisbech at the Public-hall accompanied by the Misses Jolly to present musical entertainments including An Hour in Fairyland in November 1854. A two-act musical drama The Sanctuary and his three-act drama Love and Honour appeared in 1854, and a three-act drama Adam Bede in 1862.
He wrote lyrics for over 2500 songs and duets, publishing them in Ainsworth's Magazine and other magazines, and partnering with various composers including Henry Bishop, Stephen Glover, and James Ernest Perring.
From 1865 to 1867, Carpenter edited 10 volumes of Penny Readings in prose and verse.
He is buried on the western side of Highgate Cemetery.The Times, 8 May 1885, p. 1
Works Random rhymes or lays of London, 1833 Minstrel musings, London, 1838 The romance of the dreamer, and other poems, London, 1841 What Are the Wild Waves Saying?, 1853What Are the Wild Waves Saying? Duet. w., Joseph Edwards Carpenter. m., Stephen Glover. (The words were suggested by the deathbed scene of little Paul, haunted by memories of the sea, in Dickens's novel Dombey and Son which was published in London during 1847-48. Glover brought out the song in 1850. It was reprinted by Wm. A. Pond & Co., New York, during the late 1860s or 1870s.) Greatest Hits 1820-1860 http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/sm2html/sm2great4.html Songs and ballads, new ed., London, 1844; new ed. with additions, 1854 Poems and lyrics, new ed., London, 1845 Lays and legends of fairyland, London & Leamington, 1849 My jubilee volume, London, 1883
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Sheet music for "The good bye at the door", Augusta, GA: Blackmar & Bro, from the Confederate Imprints Sheet Music Collection Sheet music for "Her bright smile haunts me still", Macon, GA: John C. Schreiner & Son, from the Confederate Imprints Sheet Music Collection Sheet Music on IMSLP