The Press Agent’s Antiquity

According to the misstatements of several recent magazine articles, the press agent in theatricals is a person of modern use and discovery, dating no further back than the days when Daniel Frohman secured a journalist to boom “Hazel Kirke.” (1) The professional “writer,” as he was called by the circus manager employing him, was so early appreciated that it tasks the memory and the records to state accurately when his career began, there being no evidence to prove that Noah took a purveyor of publicity into the Ark along with the menagerie. One of the first known scribes of the sawdust circle was a Mr. Cooke of the famous circus family of repute to this day in the United States and Great Britain. Mr. Cooke came to America to do the newspaper booming for an English importation. (2)

Spalding & Rogers and Spalding & Bidwell (their successors of circus and theatrical fame) employed a press agent, a very talented gentleman named Van Orden, the brother-in-law of Dr. Spalding. He is credited with having “made Dan Rice“ with his pen. (3) This was certainly prior to the birth of the estimable Mr. Frohman.

P. T. Barnum, in his early days, was the bill writer and press agent of the New York Bowery Theatre and employed a press man in all his years of management of the American Museum; one of whom was credited with writing P. T.’s life, although Phineas, an ex-journalist, was perfectly capable of doing the job himself, as he undoubtedly did. (4)

With the origin of American stage negro minstrelsy, an outgrowth of the circus, several of the managers, circus bred, employed circus press agents to advertise their companies. Among these was Richard P. Jones, who was particularly successful in “working the papers.” Even the use of “cuts” in the reading columns of newspapers is of no modern origin. The “first-part” scene, showing six people, was used as early as 1848 by Campbell’s Minstrels and the letter press bears evidence of having been written by a professional adept. (5)

In placing Jenny Lind before the public, Barnum employed Charles G. Halpine, afterwards known as the soldier-poet Miles O’Reilly, although the scribe passed as Barnum’s “secretary.” Scrap-books in the possession of the writer prove that, between Barnum and Halpine, Jenny Lind secured a prodigious amount of publicity, unsurpassed in quantity and quality to this writing. (6)

Writing from personal knowledge, the title of press agent was used as long ago as 1868, at which time the undersigned joined the advance of the great Arlington Minstrels for the sole purpose of writing and securing the insertion of advance notices in the newspapers, Perry A. Waffle being the general agent. (7) On the distribution bill, the scribe was mentioned as “Director of Publications.” At Troy, N.Y., the press agent met with his first rebuff in the office of the Sunday Budget, presided over by a blunt Scotsman named MacArthur. It was one of the few Sunday papers published in the country and was the amusement authority of the city (and ran a special department by Oscar Carpenter). The editor sat down on this press agent real hard, informed him that he and his staff did their own writing, reconsidered, and then blurted:

“Let’s see what you can write!” pushing a pencil and paper within reach.

The notice was written and appeared, as did numerous others in after-years for a great variety of attractions; and many a hearty laugh did the scribe and the editor have over the former’s warm reception on his first visit to the sanctum of the Budget.

In 1869, the writer joined Laura Keene at the Chestnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, having been employed especially on account of his ability to write in addition to his other qualifications. (8) I performed all the duties of a press agent of today and also accompanied Miss Keene to Washington for a run of six weeks at Wall’s Opera House. At the capital, I wrote the greater part of the advance notices for nearly all the daily and Sunday papers, as my veteran friends, John, Jack and Frank Mordaunt, will bear witness.

The following summer we went on tour in the West. Prior to the opening and during our two weeks’ stay at the Opera House, St. Paul, I not only wrote all the advance notices but nearly every line of the criticisms, adapting my style to each daily and discreetly keeping my mouth shut. On this extended tour and that which followed through the South, I wrote also the advance notices, generally writing them in the offices and supplying no printed copy. Typewriting was of course unknown. How many others representing star attractions were doing the same thing I do not know.

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In the winter of 1873-74, the same pen was called into re-quisition by Sam Sharpley, Sheridan & Mack at $40 per week and expenses, including “incidentals,” a good off season salary for a circus press agent. (9) Two other agents were employed, Tom Fitch and Jesse Kane.

Charles Gayler, the dramatist, author of Jack Emmett’s first success, was an experienced circus press agent, for many years representing several of the largest tent shows. Like Mr. Pollock, he wrote his own plays and did his own press work to profitable purpose. Besides, he was his own manager and partner of the star. Mr. Gayler never laid any claim to being the first theatrical press agent. (10)

I will confess that, when I first sought editorial favor as a press agent, some of the powers were a little shy of “running your stuff” and even went so far as to copy it before sending it to the compositor. Lately, scribes have boldly advertised themselves as “promoters of publicity” without censure. But when I dubbed myself in the early ‘80’s, in an advertisement for an engagement, as a “press manipulator,” I got a warm jacketing from many newspapers that now welcome the press agent and his readable copy with the glad hand.

Footnotes

1. Steele MacKaye‘s “Hazel Kirke” opened at the Madison Square Theatre on February 4, 1880, and ran for 486 performances. At that time, Daniel Frohman was business manager for the theatre. The play was so popular that during the 1882-83 season there were fourteen companies touring it.
2. Thomas Taplin Cooke brought his circus to America in 1836 and erected an amphitheatre in the Bowery, N.Y.C. He also performed in Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore. But Day must be referring to William Cooke, whose imported troupe settled at Niblo’s Garden for a successful stay in 1860 under the proprietorship of James M. Nixon.
3. See Circus Personnel Reference Roster.
4. In September of 1841, Barnum was engaged as “puff writer” for the Bowery Amphitheatre but by December of that year he had secured Scudder’s Museum. The Life of P. T. Barnum, Written by Himself, was published by Redfield in 1855. Struggles and Triumphs, or Forty Years’ Recollections of P. T. Barnum was first published in 1869, with various editions appearing until 1888, three years before his death.
5. The Original Campbell’s Minstrels was organized in June of 1847 by John Campbell. The group consisted of W. B. Donaldson, Jerry Bryant, John Rae, James Carter, H. Mestayer, and David Raymond.
6. Charles Graham Halpine (1829-1868), an Irishman, was a journalist and poet who came to America in 1851. He couldn’t have been Barnum’s private secretary for long because by 1852 he was co-editor of a Boston humor weekly, The Carpet-Bag. Jenny Lind’s famous American tour occurred during 1850-52.
7. Arlington Minstrels was a new band that opened in Chicago, April 23, 1867, at a hall on Washington Street between Clark and LaSalle. Arlington and Pettingill were the end men. The group performed in and around the Chicago area for the next few years under various managements.
8. Born in London in 1826, Laura Keene made her American debut at Wallack’s Theatre in 1852. She left Wallack’s to start her own theatrical company in Baltimore and to become the first actress-manager in this country. This was followed by a tour of California and Australia, supporting a young Edwin Booth. In 1856 a theatre was built for her on Broadway, near Houston Street, Laura Keene’s Varieties, which she operated for eight years. Later, her company had the dubious distinction of performing “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre in Washington on the night of April 14, 1865. In 1869, the year Day joined her company, she had just assumed the management of the Chestnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia. The house opened September 20.
9. Sharpley’s Minstrels and Sheridan & Mack left New York City in August of 1873 for a tour that closed October 3, 1874. Sharpley died two months later, after a painful illness from stomach cancer and ulceration of the bowels.
10. Charles Gayler was noted for his speed in dramatization. His Bull Run, or the Sacking of Fairfax Courthouse and Hatteras Inlet, or Our Naval Victories were both performed in 1861. His melodrama, Out of the Streets, appeared in 1868. There followed some thirty others during his career. Along with Bronson Howard, he was responsible for initiating the American Dramatists Club. The Mr. Pollock referred to must be Channing Pollock (1880-1947), whose dramatic pieces include The Sign on the Door, The Fool, and Mr. Moneypenny.


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William L. Slout and Circus Historical Society, Inc.