In late 1886, Pounds joined the company of John Stetson, the American manager, playing Hilarion and Nanki-Poo in authorised productions in New York. The Era wrote, "Mr Courtice Pounds sang the part of Hilarion in a very nice voice, acted it in a very nice way, looked nice enough to capture all the girls' hearts and was a very nice young man altogether." In 1887 he played Grosvenor in Patience in Boston. He then returned to England to rehearse Gilbert and Sullivan's new opera, Ruddygore, performing in two matinee performances as Richard Dauntless, before sailing for New York again to play Richard there. Pounds stayed in New York to appear in Paul Lacome's The Marquis and Charles Lecocq's Madelon.
Pounds left the D'Oyly Carte company in 1892. He appeared in another West End management, as Vincent in Ma mie Rosette, by Lacome and Ivan Caryll (1892). In mid-1893, Pounds produced his own company touring an "operatic triple bill" in which he played roles in each piece: Harry Croyland in the operetta The Lass that Loved a Sailor, by Bond Andrews to a libretto by Neville Doone; Harry Hamper in the vaudeville The Burglar and the Bishop, by Wellesley Batson to a libretto by J. Jocelyn Coghill; and Charley Dacre in Helen of Troy Up to Date; or, The Statue Shop, by John Crook to a farcical, pantomimic libretto by Wilton Jones. He brought with him on this tour several D'Oyly Carte colleagues, including Pounds's romantic partner, Millicent Pyne. Pounds returned to the West End as Ange Pitout in La fille de Madame Angot (1893); Connor Kennedy in Haydn Parry's Miami (1893); and Mark Mainstay in Howard Talbot's Wapping Old Stairs (1894).
In June 1896, Pounds returned to Britain. He toured as Mr. Shepherd in the musical comedy Belinda during the latter part of that year, and briefly played in music hall in January 1897, appearing at the Palace Theatre of Varieties. He also sang in concert at St. James's Hall with Marie Tempest and Ben Davies. In February, Pounds returned to the West End, playing Lancelot in Edmond Audran's La Poupée, which ran until September 1898. Lancelot, a comic role, marked the beginning of Pounds's transition from juvenile leads to character and comedy parts in both straight and musical theatre. This was succeeded by two more comic operas, both by Justin Clérice: The Royal Star, in which Pounds played Jack Horton, and The Coquette, in which he played Michele.
In the first quarter of the 20th century, Pounds appeared regularly in London in a range of roles ranging from Shakespeare to variety. He established himself as a popular Shakespearean character actor with Tree's company, as the clown Feste in Twelfth Night (1901), the preposterous Sir Hugh Evans in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Touchstone in As You Like It (1907), of which The Times said he "acts even better than he sings, which is, of course, saying a good deal." The Manchester Guardian wrote of him, "Courtice Pounds had all that Shakespeare asked of his clowns – the gift of song and a robustness of comedy that could change at will to a tender and poignant moment."
Gänzl, Kurt. "Pounds of Pyes, or mea culpa No. 2", Kurt Gänzl's blog, 4 May 2018. Note that his birth registration is in central London in the third quarter of 1861 /wiki/Kurt_G%C3%A4nzl
Obituary, The Times, 22 December 1927, p. 17
"Pounds, Charles Courtice". Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 2 August 2010(subscription required) http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U201764,
Obituary, The Manchester Guardian, 22 December 1927, p. 5
Lamb, Andrew. "Pounds, Charles Curtice (Courtice) (1861–1927), singer and actor", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 14 November 2019, accessed 9 June 2020 https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-62735
"Pounds, Charles Courtice". Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 2 August 2010(subscription required) http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U201764,
"Pounds, Charles Courtice". Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 2 August 2010(subscription required) http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U201764,
Obituary, The Manchester Guardian, 22 December 1927, p. 5
Obituary, The Times, 22 December 1927, p. 17
Lamb, Andrew. "Pounds, Charles Curtice (Courtice) (1861–1927), singer and actor", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 14 November 2019, accessed 9 June 2020 https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-62735
"Theatrical Gossip", The Era, 12 November 1881, p. 8; and "Theatrical Intelligence", The Morning Post, 14 November 1881, p. 6 /wiki/The_Era_(newspaper)
Walters, Michael and George Low. "Mock Turtles". Archived 18 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 1 August 2010 http://diamond.boisestate.edu/gas/companions/mock_turtles/index.html
Obituary, The Manchester Guardian, 22 December 1927, p. 5
Rollins and Witts, p. 48
Rollins and Witts, p. 53
Rollins and Witts, p. 57
For example, Rutland Barrington's benefit performance at the Savoy Theatre in 1889. See "Theatrical Gossip", The Era, 11 May 1889, p. 10
Stone, David. "Courtice Pounds". Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 27 March 2003, accessed 1 August 2010 https://www.gsarchive.net/whowaswho/P-Q/PoundsCourtice.htm
"The Drama in America", The Era, 13 February 1886, p. 18
"The Mikado on the Continent", The Era, 5 June 1886, p. 8
Stone, David. "Courtice Pounds". Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 27 March 2003, accessed 1 August 2010 https://www.gsarchive.net/whowaswho/P-Q/PoundsCourtice.htm
"Theatrical Gossip", The Era, 21 August 1886, p. 7
"The Drama in America", The Era, 11 December 1886, p. 14
Stone, David. "Courtice Pounds". Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 27 March 2003, accessed 1 August 2010 https://www.gsarchive.net/whowaswho/P-Q/PoundsCourtice.htm
"Theatrical Gossip", The Era, 12 February 1887, p. 8
"The Drama in America", The Era, 13 August 1887, p. 8. This was an adaptation of Lacome's 1876 hit Jeanne, Jeannette et Jeanneton
Bordman, Gerald Martin. American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle, p. 104, Oxford University Press US, 2001 ISBN 0-19-513074-X, accessed 1 August 2010 https://books.google.com/books?id=YiBaRas9jTwC&pg=PA103
The Times, 4 October 1888, p. 11
"The New Savoy Opera", The Era, 6 October 1888, p. 9
"At the Play", The Observer, 7 October 1888, p. 2
Rollins and Witts, p. 12
"The New Savoy Opera", The Era, 4 July 1891, p. 9
"The Vicar of Bray", The Era, 30 January 1892, p. 11
"Haddon Hall," The Era, 1 October 1892, p. 6
"Ma Mie Rosette", The Era, 19 November 1892, p. 6
"An Operatic Triple Bill", The Era, 27 May 1893, p. 11
Gänzl, Kurt. "Pounds of Pyes, or mea culpa No. 2", Kurt Gänzl's blog, 4 May 2018. Note that his birth registration is in central London in the third quarter of 1861 /wiki/Kurt_G%C3%A4nzl
"Theatrical and Musical Intelligence", The Morning Post, 10 July 1893, p. 2
"The London Theatres", The Era, 21 October 1893, p. 8
"The London Theatres", The Era, 24 February 1894, p. 9
"Savoy Theatre", The Morning Post, 4 July 1894, p. 3
"Savoy Theatre", The Morning Post, 13 December 1894, p. 3.
"Liverpool Theatres", Liverpool Mercury, 28 May 1895, p. 6
"Amusements in Manchester", The Era, 18 May 1895, p. 18
"Amusements in Australia", The Era, 4 April 1896, p. 18
"Amusements in Australia", The Era, 18 April 1896, p. 12
"Amusements in Adelaide", The Era, 20 June 1896, p. 22
"Amusements in Edinburgh", The Era, 7 November 1896, p. 20
"To-Night's Entertainments", The Pall Mall Gazette, 8 February 1897, p. 1
"Yesterday's Concerts", The Standard, 11 February 1897, p. 2 /wiki/Evening_Standard
"To-Night's Entertainments", The Pall Mall Gazette, 3 September 1898, p. 1
Gänzl, Kurt. "Pounds, Courtice", Grove Music Online, accessed 2 August 2010 (subscription required) http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/O009850
"Theatrical Gossip", The Era, 10 September 1898, p. 8
"The Coquette", The Era, 18 February 1899, p. 15
The Times, 14 February 1900, p. 4
The Times, 10 March 1903, p. 10
The Times, 11 January 1912, p. 9
The Manchester Guardian, 29 January 1916, p. 8
The Times, 8 October 1901, p. 3
Obituary, The Manchester Guardian, 22 December 1927, p. 5
The Times, 8 October 1907, p. 6
The Manchester Guardian, 22 December 1927, p. 8
The Times, 22 December 1903, p. 5
"Pounds, Charles Courtice". Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 2 August 2010(subscription required) http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U201764,
The Times, 12 April 1906, p. 6
Gänzl, Kurt. "Pounds, Courtice", Grove Music Online, accessed 2 August 2010 (subscription required) http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/O009850
Lamb, Andrew. "Pounds, Charles Curtice (Courtice) (1861–1927), singer and actor", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 14 November 2019, accessed 9 June 2020 https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-62735
Obituary, The Times, 22 December 1927, p. 17
Lamb, Andrew. "Pounds, Charles Curtice (Courtice) (1861–1927), singer and actor", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 14 November 2019, accessed 9 June 2020 https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-62735
The Times, 23 December 1922, p. 6
Gänzl, Kurt. "Pounds, Courtice", Grove Music Online, accessed 2 August 2010 (subscription required) http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/O009850
Lamb, Andrew. "Pounds, Charles Curtice (Courtice) (1861–1927), singer and actor", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 14 November 2019, accessed 9 June 2020 https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-62735
The Times, 5 July 1905, p. 9
The Times, 16 December 1910, p. 13
The Broken Melody, BFI.org, accessed 23 January 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20090213225852/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/512124
"Courtice Pounds Fund", The Times, 13 December 1927, p. 18
This was the equivalent of more than £500,000 in 2009 terms: see measuringworth.com http://www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare/
Her stage name was Jessie Gaston, after her father's name, Gaston Murray Wilson. After the marriage, she was sometimes credited as Jessie Pounds. Stone, David. "Jessie Pounds", Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 1 September 2007, accessed 4 May 2018 http://www.gsarchive.net/whowaswho/P-Q/PoundsJessie.htm
Lamb, Andrew. "Pounds, Charles Curtice (Courtice) (1861–1927), singer and actor", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 14 November 2019, accessed 9 June 2020 https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-62735
Gänzl, Kurt. "Pounds of Pyes, or mea culpa No. 2", Kurt Gänzl's blog, 4 May 2018. Note that his birth registration is in central London in the third quarter of 1861 /wiki/Kurt_G%C3%A4nzl
Stone, David. "Courtice Pounds". Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 27 March 2003, accessed 1 August 2010 https://www.gsarchive.net/whowaswho/P-Q/PoundsCourtice.htm
Jones, Brian. Lytton: Gilbert and Sullivan's Jester. Trafford Publishing, p. 34, 2005 ISBN 1-4120-5482-6 https://books.google.com/books?id=qUyGtqatz2gC&pg=PA34
"Remarkable Divorce Case", The Morning Post, 14 December 1895, p. 7 /wiki/The_Morning_Post
Lamb, Andrew. "Ah, Leave Me Not to Pyne Alone! or, What a Tale of Cock", Sir Arthur Sullivan Society Magazine, Spring 2019, pp. 28–33
Lamb, Andrew. "Pounds, Charles Curtice (Courtice) (1861–1927), singer and actor", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 14 November 2019, accessed 9 June 2020 https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-62735
Obituary, The Manchester Guardian, 22 December 1927, p. 5
The Times, "Deaths; Funerals; Mr. Courtice Pounds", 27 December 1927, p. 13
His Master's Voice 04281
His Master's Voice 02697
His Master's Voice 02668
His Master's Voice 4-2812; this has been reissued on compact disc on "The Art of the Savoyard" (Pearl GEMM CD 9991)
His Master's Voice 02659
His Master's Voice 04186
"New Music", The Musical Times, May 1923), p. 329. These have been reissued on CD (Pearl Gemm CD 9115) /wiki/The_Musical_Times
Stone, David. "Courtice Pounds". Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 27 March 2003, accessed 1 August 2010 https://www.gsarchive.net/whowaswho/P-Q/PoundsCourtice.htm