Circus History Message & Discussion Board

Reply: 04 Feb 2012 - Pat, Yes, Red lighting was very real. I have several incidents of red lighting in my book “Cossacks, Indians and Buffalo Bill.” Richard A. Georgian, Author "Cossacks, Indians and Buffalo Bill" www.richardgeorgian.com

Reply: 04 Feb 2012 - See message 3479

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Reply: 03 Feb 2012 - As each development in communication took place, from the circulation of simple handbills and the penny press, to the Hoe press, steam powered printing of lithographs, advances in the compression of time and distance [by rail, then telegraph, telephone, etc.] circus men took advantage of them to advance the interests of the circus. Chart those technological and cultural developments and you will have a contextual framework within which to place your work and guide you in your research and writing.
    The best approach for a thesis or dissertation is always to seek primary resources, which are abundantly accessible online today, or in several public collections. The latter are listed elsewhere on this website. These include newspaper holdings [advertisements, interviews with show agents], ephemera [handbills/heralds, couriers], posters, etc., print media, which is how the circus generally advertised until radio, television, internet and other electron-using technologies came along.
    Thayer’s book Traveling Showmen covers aspects of early advertising, pre-1860, an era of mostly overland operations. Studying works by and about Barnum will provide some insight into the expansion of techniques and practices as the circus progressed from local and regional operations to a national undertaking in the 1870s. This accompanied the rise of large railroad shows that fielded advance railroad cars in a planned advertising campaign. There’s a good article about advance operations in the August 1894 issue of McClure’s by Charles Theodore Thompson. Printers Ink in 1896 has a couple pieces of interest. The Ringling route books of the 1890s, transcribed elsewhere on this website, also address advertising. A secondary text on advertising is the Fox and Parkinson book Billers, Banners and Bombast. It provides a basic survey of advertising and aspects of what’s termed marketing today.
    The placement of articles about circus life, management, logistics, etc., in the popular magazines of the 1890s-1900s was likely a planned activity to engender interest in the circus of the time, taking advantage of the rising subscriptions in such publications. Show ad men also did a number of circus life books in the 1920s and 1930s to raise interest in the field, E. P. Norwood among them.
    Memoirs by circus employees that dealt with advertising, publicity, etc. that you might find of value include those by Dexter Fellows and F. Beverly Kelley. The latter covers mid-20th century techniques, including some radio and television. I would also recommend looking into the lives of principal agents, including R. F. “Tody” Hamilton, Charles Day and Klara K. Knecht, among others. Their careers will document what shows did during their employment. The rise of sponsored, producer-type shows in the early 20th century, by Shriners and others, also changed marketing, since a local affiliate was involved.
    The differences between publicity, advertising and marketing, as well as brand development and management, have not been studied to any great degree in the circus field. Because of the nature of the business, the differences between them is sometimes blurred. Most study has focused on residual paper materials and their interpretation. Marketing is an aspect of management, and with so little in the way of circus business records surviving it’s a difficult topic to address with insight. Lacking internal views, one often has to observe the outer public activity and then draw conclusions from a study of it.
    Tent shows continued on after 1956, unto today, and altered practices. RBBB moved indoors and competed with differing entertainments. All of these changes have meant innovative marketing plans were necessary to carry on the business. I doubt that there are many veterans of pre-1956 circus advertising and marketing activity still with us today, but there are some with knowledge of techniques. There are quite a few former RBBB, Beatty and other vets who could provide you with great insights, but enthusing them to reveal their knowledge will be a challenge of both locating them and then earning their trust. My recommendation is to gain knowledge, so you’re prepared to ask them right questions. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

Reply: 04 Feb 2012 - Look for posters and foto.s Manias Liliput 1952 www.circusmuseum.nl/eng - H. Best-Otte

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Reply: 29 Jan 2012 - There is not a lot of research on small towns in western Canada, however I did find one show that played McCreary in 1917. The Cooper Bros. Combined Shows was a small two or three car affair under the management of E. H. Jones. The show came from the west and played at Roblin, Man. on Sept. 17; at Dauphlin, Man. on Sept. 18; at McCreary on Sept 19, then a long haul to Morris, Man. on Sept. 20, and on into North Dakota. Search this website under Cooper Bros. and in the SPEC magazine vol. #1, issue #2 p. 2-3 there is a short story about the show that year by Betty Leonard. Ted Bowman Circus Route Collection

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Reply: 20 Jan 2012 - I worked for circus in South Africa 1958-1963, and have written a book on the history of the Boswell family. I am willing to help you if you wish. – Charles Ricketts

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Reply: 17 Jan 2011 - Herbert St. Nissing wrote a history of a major German circus owned by Jews, Strassburger: Geschichte eines ju?dischen Circus (Dormagen: Circus-Verlag, c1993) that includes a bibliography that might lead you to more sources. An important start, however, is Marline Otte’s Jewish Identities in German Popular Entertainment, 1890-1933 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006) and a more focused story is The Lioness of Judah: a Jewish Lion Tamer’s Memoir of Resistance and Survival by Sara Hauptman as told to Sue A. Oliver (Colorado Springs, CO: Dancing Queens Press, 2006). These studies form part of a larger interest in the Holocaust (though Otte's work transcends that) and I am not aware of studies beyond a German focus. Beyond just performers, you may wish to explore the German firm of Friedlander, the principal printer of circus and variety-act posters in continental Europe and a Jewish-owned firm that was shut down in the 1930s by the Nazi government. - Richard Flint, Baltimore, MD

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Reply: 14 Jan 2011 - A quick Googling of the name and title, exactly as given in bold face in the above message, without parentheses, brought forth three immediate hits in the New York Mirror pages placed on the http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html. They aren’t dated, but some further research ought to resolve that shortcoming. With that as a basis, you can search out other digitized newspapers and journals for the man and his presentation. The Clipper should also be carrying references, etc. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

Reply: 14 Jan 2011 - Mary, I also tried http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html. If you just type Equirationals in the search and you'll turn up sixteen "hits," 1884-1886. I found similar results at www.newspaperarchive.com ($ subscription website) J. Griffin

Reply: 14 Jan 2011 - Certainly before giving up hope, I would check with the Circus World Museum's Parkinson Research Library in Baraboo, WI. Their Archivist Pete Shrake, will be able to give you any possible hits in their collection. The Ringling Museums in Sarasota, FL. has a good circus archive collection already and are currently in the process of bringing in the huge Howard Tibbals archives. This will be a magnificient collection to conduct research in when it is all catalogued under the direction of Deborah Walk. The Milner Library, Special Collections at Illinois State University under the direction of Maureen Brunsdale has a fine circus collection. Princeton University holds the MacCaddon collection and others relating to the entertainment/circus fields. The Witte Museum in San Antonio has the Hertzberg Museum collection. As far as I know from my own correspondance with them, the collection is in storage and they have to go look to see what they have. Certainly the trade magazine of the late 1800's would be the New York Clipper and should be gone through well also. A simple website that is offering the New York Clipper and has a search engine is http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html The New York Clipper is also available through interlibrary loans in some places on microfilm. In my instance, I have to drive 100 miles to the University of South Carolina Library to view the NY Clipper as I cannot get it on interlibrary loan here. Perhaps this will help you just a little bit more. Bob Cline

Reply: 22 Jan 2012 - Mr. Dahlinger, Mr. Griffin and Mr. Cline-- Appreciate your effort on behalf of my research, and I have followed all your leads. In terms of modern study of late Victorian circus and related entertainments, the subject of Prof E.K. Crocker's Equirational (or Educational) Horses appears to remain quite obscure. Crocker's touring horses performed 'intellectual' feats, basic equestrian tricks and formations - but most prominently featured was what may best be described as horses playing parts in vaudeville-ish and melodramatic vignettes.
    Crocker styled himself an intellectual but would certainly be better described as a showman with an eye towards the main chance. His advertising jargon was overblown, as was his horse training-theory 'textbook', but his work was probably above par for a Victorian-era equestrian 'liberty' act.
    I found 2 dozen institutions with some Crocker information. The widest collection is housed in Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant MI. The Clarke has Prof. Esli K. Crocker's personal papers, reachable via:

http://clarke.cmich.edu/resource_tab/information_and_exhibits/rides_and_spangles_michigan_circuses_and_carnivals/equestrians.html
    (The Clarke has also presents a very readable biography of Crocker halfway down that page.)

    Comparison to 18 other existing handbills, posters and advertising would indicate the New York handbill in question may be the earliest Crocker touring piece remaining, perhaps 1883-84. Thank you very much, Mary O'Benar.

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Reply: 23 Jan 2012 - My parents were with Ringling in 1955-56 and my dad, George Burrows, was with the King Bros circus in 1959, and they were friends with Evy Karoly. We have not been in touch with her in decades, but I remember living next to Evy and Mark in Myakka City, FL in the late 60's; she went by the name Evy Pitts and I seem to recall that Mark's last name was Cincotta. You may want to try searching under those names - good luck! Regards, Lory L.

Reply: 09 Jan 2011 - Rod, I think this is the Lola Burdett you are looking for (note spelling). If so, you might want to write to the library, historical society, etc. at Riverside to see if they have an obituary. Social Security death index: Lola Burdett; Last Residence, 92370 Perris, Riverside, California, United States of America; Born: 7 Dec 1894; Last Benefit, 92381 Sun City, Riverside, California, United States of America; Died, Feb 1981. If she was with the Ringling Show, the Circus World Museum might have a record of her. J. Griffin

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Reply: 09 Jan 2011 - Hello Sally, sounds very interesting. Probably one of the best people to contact would be circus historian Jim Clubb (or his son Jamie) at Amazing Animals in Oxfordshire. They published a book on two famous elephants from that period (whose lives touched many of the main characters on the circus scene during the period between the World Wars). Jim is an expert on many of the show families (circus and menageries) of the period. jim@stockley.co.za

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Reply: 07 Jan 2011 - Mary Anne, I found this small news article published in the May 1916 issue of the Denver Post: "MARTIN SHERIDAN FINDS NEW HEAVYWEIGHT - New York, May 3. - Martin Sheridan, at one time the greatest all-around athlete, claims to have unearthed a heavyweight who can defeat Jess Willard. The next heavyweight champion, according to Martin, is a real son of Erin, Michael Sheridan Grealish, who is 24 years old, stands 7 feet 2 inches in his stockings, and possesses a reach of 92 inches. Sheridan says that he will introduce the Irish giant at the Monument stub games at Celtic park next Sunday. Grealish will start the walkers in the fifteen-mile Norfolk and New Jersey state championship." - Tom H.

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Reply: 04 Jan 2011 - Try contacting Maureen Brunsdale at the Illinois State University [Bloomington, IL], Milner Library, Special Collections, which holds the Al Dobritch collection. Another source might be the Circus World Museum Library, where Pete Shrake will respond. If there was a local fraternal sponsor for the circus, such as the Shrine temple [Beja], the program might be filed under their name, despite being a Dobritch production and having Emmett Kelly on the cover. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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http://www.gendronfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/memsol.cgi?page=documents&user_id=
542397&MAIN_EVENT=MEMSOL&SUB_EVENT=VIEW_GUESTBOOK

Dorita Estes Reply to this message, replies go to this board, not to the message sender.

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Reply: 29 Dec 2011 - I don't know that an approximate number has ever been determined. My recent article about Wm. P. Hall as found in the Bandwagon in the Nov./Dec. 2010 and continued in the Jan./Feb. 2011 issues reveal he was already a wealthy man before World War I broke out. 1915 to about 1917 saw his most profitable and busiest years ever, with his business actually starting to drop off after the 1917 area. He had fulfilled all horse contracts for the War years before the war ended. Interestingly, many of the horses were sent to Europe through Canada. Both issues are available as back issues through the Circus Historical Society. Bob Cline

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Reply: 25 Dec 2011 - The most authoritative documentation for the place of death will be the death certificate issued by the municipal body governing the locale where your great-grandfather passed away. I would recommend that you start with Sarasota, Sarasota County, FL. It is a legal document that is utilized as the proof of the cause, date and location of death. Copies of death certificates, when available, can be purchased for a few dollars. In some states there’s restricted access and they’re only available in special circumstances, or to family members.
    The passing of your great-grandfather in Sarasota is poignantly related by Henry Ringling North in his family memoir “Circus Kings,” pages 204-205. He gave the location as Sarasota, at home. The volume has recently been re-issued and is readily available. You will also find a humorous account testifying to the good-hearted nature of your great-grandfather in Dixie Willson’s book. It’s a bit harder to find, but should be accessible via interlibrary loan. He was much admired and appreciated by many people. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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Reply: 22 Dec 2011 - When Hannibal had died in 1865, Hyatt Frost had originally offered its carcass to the (then) new American Museum of Natural History in NYC, but the offer was declined due to to the lack of funds to secure and prepare the specimen. Also when Hannibal died, his once famous tusks that at one time were so long that they reached to the ground, were much shorter due to them having been sawn off (presumably just in front of the pulp cavities) so that only about three feet of tusk was visible with a brass ball at each end. They had been shortened because he had killed a man in Ohio a couple years earlier. What became of its famous tusks is uncertain, however I believe I did read somewhere that when Stuart Craven was his keeper, Craven kept his money and valuables in the tip end of its tusk which had been hollowed out and, then secrued it with a brass ball so no one dare approach the elephant to steal the valuables. K.C.

Reply: 31 Dec 2011 - If anyone here would be interested in following the last recorded appearances of "Old Hannibal," here is the route that the Thayer & Noyes and Van Amburgh's menagerie had taken in May 1865.(along the old turnpike roads):
Monday-May 1st, 1865 - Hagerstown, Maryland
Tuesday-May 2nd - Mercersburg, PA
Wednesday-May 3rd - Connelsville, PA
Thursday-May 4 - Bloody Run (Everett), PA
Friday-May 5 - Bedford, PA
Saturday-
Sunday-May 7th - Centreville, PA (Hannibal died there in the morning)
Monday-May 8th - Cumberland, Maryland
Tuesday-May 9th - Cumberland, Maryland
(source The New York Clipper May 6, 1865, page 31) Kenton C

Reply: 31 Dec 2011 - Here is the obit of Hannibal the elephant that had appeared in a number of newspapers in 1865. It originally appeared in the Bedford(PA)Inquirer, May 17, 1865.
    "The world-renowned performing animal, "Old Hannibal" who for almost half a century has been the greatest wonder of the animal kingdom, died in Centreville, in this county, on last Sunday morning, the 7th inst., at 7:15 o'clock A.M. Hannibal was attached to the combined menagerie and circus which exhibited here on last Friday. He displayed evidences of indisposition and feebleness several days previously at McConnellsburg, and it required great labor and perseverance to get him across the mountains to Bloody Run. On Friday he was very ill, having steadily refused food for several days. He left here on Saturday morning, with a very unsteady step for Centreville where he died on Sabbath morning.
    "Hannibal was the largest animal ever exhibited on this continent. His height was eleven feet eight inches, and his weight was ascertained to be 15,000 pounds, or seven and one-half tons. He consumed three hundred pounds of hay, three bushels of oats, and forty-six gallons of water per day. He was supposed to be in his sixty-sixth year at the time of his death. For thirty-six years he traversed this continent, at an average of 3,000 miles per year, the greatest curiosity ever exhibited to the wondering millions. The watchman who spent the last night with the living Hannibal, reports him as having been very restless during the night, frequently shifting his position,lying down and getting up. At one time he endeavorred to break loose from the stump to which he was tied. Some time before his death he got on his knees on all fours, and remained in that position half an hour. When it became apparent that his end was approaching, a crowd of persons assembled to see this ponderous and tremendously vigorous animal expire. Fears were entertained lest in his dying agonies some one might be hurt, but all precaution was unnecessary. Hannibal at the time above stated stretched himself to his full length and died without a struggle, without a quiver, as if faintly sleeping. His proprieters were telegraphed from Cumberland, who gave orders that he should be interred without robbing him of any of his natural ornaments". Kenton C.

Reply: 04 Jan 2011 - According to the New York Clipper of May 20, 1865. The manager of the Van Amburgh menagerie had Hannibal skinned and it was to be presented to the Central Park Commisioners and to be placed in Central Park, which if so probably would have been in the old Arsenal Building near 64th street. As the present building of the American Museum of Natural History was not constructed until 1874 and opened in 1877 at its present location. The Arsenal building had some displays including the mounted skeleton of a whale that had washed up at Long Island, but whether the hide of Hannibal was ever recieved there I have not been able to find out so far, but I will e-mail the collections manager at the AMNH to see if they have any record of recieveing it. K.C

Reply: 19 Jan 2012 - A few years ago I came across a newspaper article from the late 19th Century that had some important clues as to the exact location were the elephant Hannibal was buried. On a carriage ride from Cumberland Maryland enroute to Bedford Springs PA, a man had pointed out the spot to another passenger near the village of Centerville. He discribed it as being located "on the lands of S. Whip" (presumably Samuel Whip), and that "a Mausoleum had now been built over the spot" (a cemetery?). I also located an 1877 Atlas of Bedford County PA on-line,and it shows were a parcel of land belonging to S. Whip was near Centerville. It looks to be about a block East on the road were the school was located and looks to be on the road North of present route 220? Perhaps someone can visit Bedford County PA in the future and gather more clues. K.C

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Reply: 17 Dec 2011 - See answer to message 3032 - Paul [3032. Blow down ca 1934-36]

Reply: 18 Dec 2011 - In the nation’s capital on Tuesday, May 19, 1936, the temperature dropped from a high of 91 at 3 p.m. in the afternoon to 76 degrees two hours later as a violent storm struck the city and nearly blew down the Ringling circus big top. Local newspapers reported that dark clouds caused street lights to turn on mid-afternoon though the worst of the afternoon storm squalls were eclipsed by heavy late night rains that flooded many Washington streets. An ailing John Ringling, the last of the founding brothers, was scheduled to attend the afternoon performance to celebrate the 53rd anniversary debut of his family circus which had given its first show in Baraboo, Wisconsin, on May 19, 1884. Lightning struck the ridge pole of the horse tent stunning five circus employees and the resulting thunder clap caused a near-panic in the big top. Over an inch of rain fell between 3:20 and 4:00 and water collecting on the tent ripped through the canvas over the spectators causing them to scramble down overturned seats to mill around the middle of the tent. Circus workers and local firemen clung to dancing poles, including a center pole reported to have jumped five feet off the ground. Forty-mile an hour winds caused a tent pole to strike and kill a 13 year old Shenandoah, Virginia, girl attending the afternoon circus performance. The show was suspended for 10 minutes but when it resumed, only about half of the 14-15,000 people who had bought tickets returned to see the remainder of the show. The evening show was given to a packed tent and performances the next day were also nearly sold out before the show moved on to its next engagement in Baltimore. A family of three filed three separate suits against the circus for damage as did one other injured circus goer for a total of $35,000. It was a bad week for circuses as the next day in Burley, Idaho, the big top and menagerie tents of the Tom Mix Circus were blown down, injuring Mix and three other circus men. – Richard Flint, Baltimore, MD

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Reply: 17 Dec 2011 - Hello Matt, Max was in show business a long time. I have found him with an elephant named Minnie from 1911 to 1913 in various issues of Billboard. The best I have found so far indicates he got Eva in 1933. I don't know where she came from. He had her until 1942 appearring as an act booked in various places to travelling with the Tom Mix Show in 1936 and 1937 then spending the last five years with Bud Anderson's Jungle Oddities Show. Eva was killed in a truck wreck in 1942. If Max continued in the business after that, I don't know. I only tried to follow the elephants histories. Bob Cline

Reply: 18 Dec 2011 - Last summer, a well-illustrated circus history website known as “Buckles Blog” had some material about Gruber that can be viewed at http://bucklesw.blogspot.com/2011_06_18_archive.html to which I added additional material that can be viewed at http://bucklesw.blogspot.com/2011/07/from-richard-flint.html Be sure to click on the “Comments” link below each picture to read good material by readers of the blog, one of whom is a retired circus animal trainer of great standing who remembers seeing Gruber. In addition, while reading issues of Billboard, the weekly trade paper to the amusement business, I’ve seen a number of ads for the act. For example, there is one on Mar 13, 1915 (p28) with a half-tone photo showing Minnie the elephant, a horse and rider (Adelina?), Shetland pony, and St. Bernard dog all in a long mount (front legs on hindquarters of animal in front). Also, this query should be linked to number 3743 below, “Max Gruber, Jungle Oddities,” dated 6 Sept 2011 and sent in by Gruber’s only living grandson (your father?), Murray Gruber. Gruber had two sons as I understand, Max Alfred (1898-1952) born in Germany and Alfred (1903-?) born in England. – Richard Flint, Baltimore, MD

Reply: 17 Dec 2011 - The man you are talking about was 'Clem' (Clemente) Merk - I have an old business card of his lying on my desk as I type this! Go to the message archive of this website to #49. Clem Merk, lion tamer. There is also mention of him at Jamie Clubb's blog at http://jamieclubb.blogspot.com/2009/05/bouncer-wagon.html - you could try contacting Jamie with your questions? There is a newspaper article about him at:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19480121&id=w3INAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Dk8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5652,25996
... and another at http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1948/feb/18/circus-manchester-incidents
    I hope this helps? He was a very nice man. jim@stockley.co.za

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"Van Amburgh is the man
Who goes to all the shows
He steps into the lion's den
And teaches them all he knows

He puts his head in the lion's mouth
.....
The hyena in the next cage...
.....

For when he's mad
He swings his tail
and makes an awful noise"

I was wondering if the song was/is legitimate(?) and if there were in existence the rest of the song. My email address is ltj1@aol.com if you care to contact me with any further information. Troy Jones Reply to this message, replies go to this board, not to the message sender.

Reply: 17 Dec 2011 - A simple Google search of the first line provided an answer concerning “Van Amburgh’s Menagerie,” complete with illustrations of the original sheet music for the tune in question. https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/14693 The piece was copyrighted in 1865, the same year that the man it idolizes passed away. One wonders if he ever heard the ditty. Be advised that Van Amburgh never owned any equity in any of the shows that bore his name. He was solely an employee of them.
    Van Amburgh’s name remained in intermittent use before the public through 1921, a term of 99 years by Stuart Thayer’s count; but in 28 of those years it laid fallow, yielding 71 years of actual presence. That was exceeded by the utilization of Clyde Beatty’s name, which tallies over 80 years of actual usage, nearly continuous. I’ve not heard of a song composed and published that aggrandizes Clyde Beatty’s presence, but Dave Price will surely know if one exists. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

Reply: 18 Dec 2011 - Good Lord, Fred, I am shocked. Shocked and appalled. Have you forgotten that 1971 hit "Clyde Beattie" (sic) by Humphrey and the Dumptrucks, issued by Boot Records in Toronto? I sing or at least whistle it daily while the coffee's perking and I assumed everyone else did the same. Dave Price

Reply: 18 Dec 2011 - In his multi-volume Circus and Allied Arts bibliography, Raymond Toole-Stott quotes this ditty known as “The Menagerie or Showman’s Song” and, without citing a source, states it was popular in England at Eton in the 1860s. Van Amburgh had appeared in England frequently from the late 1830s and through the 1840s where he was quite a sensation and a favorite of Queen Victoria. The young queen had a giant portrait painted of Van Amburgh among his animals and the Duke of Wellington also commissioned a similar painting from the same artist, Sir Edwin Landseer, now at Yale’s Center for British Art. I have a small undated 19th-century broadside of six verses, one more than appears in a sheet music edition I also have titled “Van Amburgh’s Menagerie, a Comic Song” published in 1865 and credited to “Dr. W. J. Wetmore” (active as a composer at least by 1838 and until after the Civil War). While verses 2-6 of my broadside, titled “The Elephant Song,” discuss an “African [sic] Polar Bear,” baboon, anaconda, hyena, and condor, verses 2-5 of the sheet music sing of the polar bear (a variant of the verse in my broadside), a peacock and kangaroo, a monkey, and an eagle. The first verse in both printings is similar in its story line though not word for word: “Old Van Amburgh is the man that runs all these ere shows” in the sheet music verses “Van Amburgh is the man / Who goes with all the shows” in my broadside; compare these with the variation quoted by the sender of the question. Quite likely, the sheet music merely attempted to codify a few variations of many verses of an already widely popular song or poem that had been disseminated (perhaps) by the talking clowns found in the early circus, many of whom also sold broadside verse, joke books, and songsters as souvenirs of their entertainment. Versions of the ditty were reprinted in some college song books of the early 20th-century and I have met a number of people who kindly wrote out verses they knew from their oral tradition, not knowing that Van Amburgh was a real and once very famous person who did indeed “put his head in the Lion’s mouth.” – Richard Flint, Baltimore, MD

Reply: 18 Dec 2011 - Hyattsville isn’t on the RBBB route in the time frame that you specified, Washington DC was played and the show had a blowdown there in 1936. Go to query 3829 and then to 3032 for the incident that you probably experienced. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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Reply: 15 Dec 2011 - Make an appointment to visit the Circus World Museum library at 415 Lynn Street. They have files on the house and the involved families. The contact is Pete Shrake, 608-356-8341, or visit the museum website. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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Reply: 11 Dec 2011 - Gabe Tucker was killed by elephant Lucy on the Clyde Beatty-Russell Bros Circus on July 14, 1944 in Chehalis, Washington. This was a truck show so it would have been a truck and not have been a railroad car that he was crushed against. The elephant was not executed but lived a number of years after the tragedy. I believe this information came from George "Slim" Lewis' book Elephant Tramp. From some now-forgotten source I also have the statement that Tucker was a brother-in-law to Cheerful Gardner, a leading elephant man of the period. Dave

Reply: 12 Dec 2011 - Dave, post #2426 on this website seems to confirm what you are saying about Cheerful Gardner and Gabe Tucker being brothers in law. "Cheerful Gardner, 13 May 2008 - Hello,can anyone tell me when Cheerful Gardner died and where he is buried? At one time my great aunt was married to him. Her name was Mary Tucker Gardner" - jim@stockley.co.za
    I found a newspaper cutting from Ellensburg Daily Record (Jul 15, 1944) about the incident at
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=860&dat=19440715&id=TEgKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mUoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3258,2889448
    And another from St. Petersburg Times (Jul 16, 1944) at
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19440716&id=emc1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=004DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4337,6768603

Reply: 29 Dec 2011 - To Jim: Cheerful Gardner was born July 18, 1885. He died on March 17, 1952, and is buried in Pacific Coast Showmans Rest, at Evergreen Cemetery, Los Angeles, California. Roger Smith, steelarena314@hotmail.com.

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Reply: 17 Dec 2011 - Joseph T. Bradbury published an extensive history of RBBB’s annual tours, covering 1932 to 1956, in the CFA journal White Tops. The 1953 season started in the May-June 1989 issue. You can ascertain the coverage in the White Tops index on this website. The data you seek will likely be in those articles. You may have to examine more than one year, as in some cases Joe only announced when changes were being made; practices continued from seasons before were not remarked upon. The season of 1953 was adequately late that there will also be color slides, prints and film in existence for the tour. You might check with the various publicly-held circus collections to assess their holdings; some color images may be readily accessible on line, or already in print, as in the Taschen book Circus!. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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Reply: 13 Dec 2011 - You would like to know which towns and taverns the elephant and keeper visited that month before Old Bett was shot near Round Pond in York County Maine in 1817? I think most likely they had traveled along the old Atlantic Coast highway (U.S Route no.1), as that is the oldest highway in America which dates back to the 17th century and connected the 13 colonies.
    Actually old Bet was killed in 1816. There is a historical marker located near Alfred Maine were it was supposed to have been killed but I dont know if its at the exact spot it was. As far as roads that it and its keeper traveled. The Elephant Inn at Somers New York is located right on a section of the old Boston Post Road which connected Boston and New York City since around the 1670's. There was a book published last year on the Boston Post Road,entitled The King's Best Highway by Eric Jaffe. K. C.

Reply: 16 Dec 2011 - I did a little more search about the highways and byways of America ca. 1800. In June of 1792, the US Congress established a post road for mail delivery. It stretched from Wiscasset,district of Maine to Savannah Georgia (approx, 1,180 miles). So if Old Bet and its keeper had walked on foot to Maine from Somers New York. They would have gone through these towns each which had a post office, and also perhaps a coffee house or tavern in a lot if not most. New York City - Stamford - Norwalk - Fairfield - Stratford - New Haven - Middletown - Hatford - Springfield - Worcester - Boston - Salem - Ipswich - Newburyport - Portsmouth - Portland. K.C

Reply: 17 Dec 2011 - Sincere thanks for the the replies to my inquiry about Old Bet and his trek to Maine. I will look up the book you referred to. I'd like to know more about the Old Post Road. I had heard that Old Bet and his trainer were in Springfield, MA so I suspect your thinking is quite correct. Thanks again. Richard Hamilton, CHS

Reply: 21 Dec 2011 - Its possible that once Old Bet and its keeper reached Maine (either by road or ship). Once it got to Portland it may have taken another post road that was established in York County Maine June-1-1810. That post road's route stretched from Portland - Gorham - Buxton - Limerick - Limington - Cornish - Parsonsfield - Newfield - Shapleigh - Lebanon - Berwick - Sanford - Alfred - Waterborough - Phillipsburg (Hollis) - Buxton. The farmer who shot Old Bet was from Shapleigh I believe, so it may have made an appearence there at a marketplace or tavern. The person to ask about old Bet tho would be Bruce Tucker, president of the Alfred Historical Society. He has done lectures on old Bet earlier this year. I think you can contact him at the Alfred Shaker Museum in Alfred Maine. K.C.

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Reply: 09 Dec 2011 - The Billboard, October 9, 1915, page 19, published this obituary: "BOYINGTON—Uncle Dan Boyington, trainer for the 101 Ranch Show for a number of years, and later manager of the Boyington-Mallory Animal School, died at Mercer, Pa., on September 25. He leaves a boat load of friends in the profession." Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

Reply: 14 Dec 2011 - Daniel S. Boyington is my great-grandfather on my mother's side. My sister and cousin have been researching our ancestors and have him being born Dec. 24, 1847 in Sullivan, Wisconsin. Was a private in the Civil War for the Union, discharged 1864. He married my great-grandmother, Susan Amanda in Plattville, Colorado. 4 children: Chauncey S., Celia Wealthy, Emmet Eugene, and my grandmother, Bessie Amanda (Boyington) who lived in Colorado Springs. Ralph W. Watson, Austin, Tx

CHS Convention, June 13-16, 2012   Information

Reply: 04 Jan 2011 - As an addendum to my request above, here is some more info that might help. He and his brother toured for 12 years after WW1 in North America with Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus, and with the Sells-Floto Circus performing with a film star named Tom Mix. In 1932, Robert only toured in Canada with his brother as the Canadian Clowns Royal at theatres and fairs. Hopefully someone out there has more info on them for me. Phil. My Website:
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/johno/Guillaume_%28Billy_Jr%29_Johnson__His_Story,_Our_History/Home.html

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Reply: 01 Dec 2011 - Finding a poster for any circus that had visited Pomeroy [2009 population about 1300] would be akin to finding a needle in a haystack. As a smaller community, few shows would have visited it, and the survival of posters would be a minute possibility. It is possible that you might find a poster from a show that played a Pomeroy engagement, but it may not exist with a Pomeroy date tag. With careful research, it’s possible to create the requisite piece.
    A date likely meant the show found it a convenient spot along the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Line tracks, which opened in mid-1886 [later a part of the UPRR, operations terminated in 1981]. Most, but not necessarily all, Pomeroy dates were likely conducted by railroad shows.
    Norris & Rowe was there on May 20, 1908 and Al G. Barnes on June 1, 1915. The Jones brothers-owned Cole Bros. show was there on June 27, 1917 and Sells-Floto scheduled a visit in 1918, July 3, but the date was lost owing to a railroad wreck [between Moscow, Idaho and Walla Walla, WA dates]. These are all on the CHS website, but are before your 1920 start date. All of these troupes had general “western” reputations, but their routes took them cross country. Shows that endured a period of time eventually did a northwestern route, to present their title in new territory. Candidates would be the Clyde Beatty Circus and the 1947 Sparks Circus.
    One or more historians may be able to check their route holdings for you, but the broadest holding of circus routes for Washington state is contained within the Michael D. Sporrer collection at the Circus World Museum library. Unfortunately, the nature of the search that is mandated would likely exceed staff capability and require a personal visit or the hiring of a researcher.
    As an aside, a quick Google search conducted in an attempt to help you revealed that a community near Pomeroy, Pahata City, was platted by a gentleman named Angevine June Titus and Company Favor, better known as “Vine” Favor. His parents reportedly named him in honor of the show they’d attended the day before his birth. The troupe’s actual title was June, Titus, Angevine & Co., but the parents likely did not want their son known as “June” [or presumably “Sue,” or whatever]. The Angevine name was active in show business through 1842 and a biography of namesake Caleb Sutton Angevine (1798-1859) is available on this website, in Slout’s Olympians of the Sawdust Circle. It’s surely a unique application of traveling show experience. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

Reply: 10 Dec 2011 - Kris & Ted. The man you are referring to was Tony Gentry. When Jungleland closed, many of us continued working, but Tony retired. Another semi-retired compound alumnus found an old chimp no one wanted, and gave him to Tony for something to do. Tony tried to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for this chimp, whom he claimed was Cheetah from the Johnny Weissmuller and Lex Barker Tarzan films. Careful investigation discovered it could not have been, and the star was denied. Tony had a multi-faceted career, including working for Frank "Bring 'Em Back Alive" Buck, on circuses, and in film and TV work with a variety of animals. He died at 86. I have no information on Burma, and refer you to Buckles Web Log where your inquiry will find better attention. Good luck. Roger Smith, steelarena314@hotmail.com.

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Reply: 29 Nov 2011 - A quick Google search confirmed an entry for him as RBBB Supt. Of Wardrobe for 1943. He was listed as an employee of the department in the 1941 route book. The last readily available circus document for your father-in-law’s brother will be his Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey employment card. You can obtain a copy by contacting pshrake@circusworldmuseum.com. That will provide his last known address while he labored for the circus, as well as next of kin. After that it becomes a genealogical search. If you’re reasonably certain that he resided in the vicinity of Sarasota [or Bradenton and other communities nearby], you can check city directories to establish when he’s last listed.
    The quickest way to identify and locate offspring might be to use an online search service, or to seek the support of a local genealogy group that can counsel you on how to accomplish the search. You need to establish a date of death. With the date of death you can often locate a published obituary, an internment record or a will that will name survivors. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

Reply: 30 Nov 2011 - I am thrilled to receive his message and so very thankful. I have a niece (other side of the family) who is quite talented with genealogy search and I may ask for her assistance, now that there is some direction on where to start. I will inquire about the employment card and take it from there. I will also be sure to provide Mr. Dahlinger an update. Many thanks! Nancy Watson

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Reply: 23 Nov 2011 - I wonder if "na" might refer to John J Nathans, one of the group then managing the show. Incidentally in 1877 the "second generation" Flatfoots: Nathans, George F Bailey and Lewis June, took the show to Australia and South America. Dave

Reply: 24 Nov 2011 - na = newspaper advertisement. There should be a listing of the abbreviations and acronyms utilized by Bob Parkinson and hires/volunteers when they compiled the yellow tickets. Hopefully in the future all of the original documents that were abstracted for the project will be available in digital form with key word searching. Until then, the yellow tickets remain a great finding aid for people. Be aware that selective aspects of some documents, such as workingmen’s names, were not included. Thus, a guy like Bill Hill, who rose from laboring in a tent crew to an owner position won’t have his earliest employment listed. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

CHS Convention, June 13-16, 2012   Information

Reply: 19 Nov 2011 - Ingrid, there seems to be some film of him available to buy at: http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//RTV/1957/11/14/BGY502240112/?s=reel. "Two of the High School Horses, Smuggler, ridden by Kurt Dubrow and Erga, ridden by Phyllis Allan, also take their turn in the ring." Have you contacted David Jamieson at CFA or Kingpole magazine? He published a book on Bertram Mills and may have pictures? There is another item at http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-vista-screen-bertram-mills-162325819. jim@stockley.co.za

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Reply: 17 Nov 2011 - Congratulations on acquiring one of the great circus proprietor homes of the past. Bailey's subsequent manse, The Knolls in Mt. Vernon, NY, was demolished years ago. It's a remote possibility, but you might check repositories in that vicinity, in the event a photograph of a Bailey home was deposited there, but is incorrectly identified as the later structure.
    I don't recall seeing an interior image of the Bailey mansion, but that doesn't mean one exists in some obscure format. Few homes occupied by circus proprietors have seldom been studied or documented in detail. They survive in Baraboo [Ringlings], Sarasota [Ringlings], New Jersey [Ringling], Cincinnati [John Robinson], Peru, IN [Mugivan], Oklahoma [Lillie], Wyoming [Cody] and Columbus, OH [Sells], and presumably elsewhere. Billboard magazine did publish a visual survey of photographs in the early 1900s, the broadest array of images known to me personally. Bailey's Knolls was then his residence, having superseded the Harlem location.
    Perhaps one of the following searches will reveal an image of interest and value to you.
    The bulk of James A. Bailey's papers passed into the possession of his brother-in-law, Joseph T. McCaddon. They were deposited at the library at Princeton University and can be accessed there by prior appointment. You might check the online register for the holdings for photos of Bailey's manse.
    Other Bailey papers were withheld by the McCaddon family from the donation and dispersed at public auction a couple decades back. These were acquired by private individuals, public collections, etc. You might check the holdings at the Hoblitzelle collection in Texas, which bought some of the offered photographs of Bailey as a young man.
    Certain photographers catered to society, the wealthy and so on and documented their homes. You might check the images by Byron and others at the New York Historical Society, the Museum of the City of New York, etc.
    Many years ago [c1930s] a project was undertaken to document all structures in the metro New York area. These images have been processed recently and may provide an external view of your structure.
    It's possible that one or more departments of the city might hold documents for the home, submitted as part of the process to obtain a building permit, water or sewer service, electrical power [1888 would have been very early for electric], etc. There are surely people in NYC that will know exactly what records have been preserved and where they might be located and examined.
    The local New York papers may have covered the construction and initial occupancy of the mansion. Searching those that are available digitally would be a quick route.
    Architectural journals of the period can also be consulted. You might find that one of the metro New York universities or libraries has a focus on architectural work in the area. If you can identify the name of the architect, that may also lead to surviving drawings, contracts, etc.
    If I recall the circumstances correctly, yours was the house that Bailey had designed and erected during his time away from the circus, mid 1885-late 1887. He cited it as proof that he'd not lost his ability to act rationally, contrary to claims made about him by others. Subsequently, that period has generally been written about as a period when he'd suffered a mental breakdown, but exact proof has never been discovered. In that sense, the structure stands as a personal testimony to Bailey's functional capability during a very difficult time in his life.
    Bailey spent the daylight hours in Barnum & Bailey's New York office, and would periodically visit the show's winter quarters in Bridgeport, CT, maybe once a week. In the evening, he retreated to the confines of the home, joining his beloved wife, Louisa, and their two dogs. There he studied contracts, blueprints and other business papers that would assure his circus maintained the hallmark of "The Greatest Show on Earth." He resided there: upon his return to the circus world in late 1887, after the great fire at Bridgeport; when he and others bought the late Adam Forepaugh's circus in 1890; when Barnum died in 1891; when he bought out the Barnum heirs in 1894; inaugurated partnerships with the Sells brothers [Adam Forepaugh & Sells Bros.] and Cody & Salsbury [Buffalo Bill's Wild West]; when he made the decision to take his circus to Europe in late 1897. In summary, he resided there when he was the undisputed leader of the Amnerican circus business through the 1890s. In that way the house served a role in American circus history.
    If the structure hasn't already achieved landmark status, it is surely worth the effort to accomplish the recognition. If you're not comfortable with the process, or want to see it achieved expeditiously, hiring a professional preparer is surely an option. A good one will have expertise in the type and style of home exemplified by Bailey's place. They will know the resources to check for period documentation. The recognition confirms the historic value of the house and interprets its history in a broader context. Fred Dahlinger Jr., Curator of Circus History, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL

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