Ivor Novello (15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh songwriter, composer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers in the first half of the 20th century. His first big hit was "Keep the Home Fires Burning", remembered as among the greatest of World War I songs. Later he contributed numbers to several successful musical comedies, and wrote the scores of complete shows. In the 1920s, he turned to acting, first in British films and then on stage, achieving considerable fame, and in the 1930s he had some of his biggest successes with stage musicals.
This image forms part of the George Grantham Bain Collection at the Library of Congress, which includes photographs taken by Bain and images covering worldwide events gathered by him for news distribution purposes; the date, location and photographer of this nonchalant portrait are unknown.Photograph credit: unknown; restored by Adam Cuerden