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Message Archive: Messages 2101 - 2150

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Reply: 15 Nov 2007 - I don't recall that any survey of circus wardrobe has been compiled to date. That's unfortunate, as circus wardrobe is another defined visual "art" with unique characteristics, like posters, parade wagons, side show banners, circus music, etc. The fragmentary and limited survival of business records and personal papers that provide the usual basis for academic study is part of the reason. You might want to check with CSA members and determine if anyone in their membership has tackled the topic, particularly in recent times. Wardrobe is "sort of" unique to the circus, but in some cases very similar wardrobe was used on stage or in other performing venues. Circus-style artists appeared in vaudeville, productions at New York's Hippodrome and so on.
      Since the field is so open, and lacking in collected resources materials, you may want to limit your study to a manageable size. Beyond books, the trade journals ["New York Clipper," 1850s-1920s, and "Billboard," 1890s-1960], "Bandwagon" and "White Tops" also contain a wealth of information, but it will require detailed reading to unearth the scattered references. Key word searching through digitized newspapers might be the one way to short-circuit the search, but the results will be limited by the available coverage. You'll need to establish something in the way of a hierarchy for your study, otherwise it may be completely anecdotal and lacking in the ability to assess trends and shifts.
      Practices changed in time, but they typically embrace the materials [fabrics and applied items], sewing techniques and other relevant design and construction arts and technology of the period. Wardrobe design inspiration may have come from period style and design books, the stage, popular press magazines and other influential visual resources. Usually some license was taken by the designer or fabricator to enable the use of available materials, techniques, etc. Some was intended to be strictly functional, others were meant to convey the image of an historic era, a fairy tale, real life or whatever was required by the performance script, spectacle libretto, etc.
      In terms of sourcing, wardrobe was: made by the performer [the art was part of RBBB Clown College training]; supplied by a seamstress, friend, or costume house; or hired show personnel [often via a winter quarters wardrobe operation]. There are surely cases wherein some aspects of wardrobe were purchased [slippers, shoes, tights, "leotards," named for the French trapeze performer Leotard] while others may have been hand stitched or made on a sewing machine by the user.
      Some wardrobe may have come from overseas with contracted foreign performers and others were sourced domestically. A researcher would likely be challenged to know the difference unless they knew the heritage of the performer. Performer's memoirs sometimes contain brief references to their wardrobe, the source of it, problems or advantages, etc., things that would be remembered for unique reasons after a lifetime of performing. The principal trade papers sometimes carried advertisements that catered to people in the business. The places to look are on the circus news pages and in the classified ads.
      Spectacles and hippodramas were part of the circus through the 19th century, but James A. Bailey's introduction of the grand spectacles [a sort of opera under the big top, based on Kiralfy Bros. precedents] in the 1890s likely raised the general quality of wardrobe utilized by circuses. The large numbers of specialized wardrobe likely would have overwhelmed most show wardrobe departments, requiring the outside design and fabrication. At a winter quarters "house cleaning" and liquidation sale in December 1894, Bailey sold off a lot of older wardrobe, listing it in a sales catalog. The big specs, with special wardrobe, stage sets and props, special composed music and vehicles, etc., continued until the era of WWI, but some shows, particularly RBBB, the Corporation shows and a few major independents continued to stage specs with imposing wardrobe up into the 1930s, and others thereafter until relatively recently.
      There are some photographs that survive of the wardrobe departments at the Bridgeport and Baraboo winter quarters. The posed photos in Baraboo show a sketch being reviewed by one of the Ringlings and broadly experienced ballet master Ottokar Bartik. There are racks of wardrobe, an elephant blanket displayed, etc. Usually local women were hired on a short-term basis, in winter, to accomplish the sewing. Lou Ringling, wife of Al Ringling, is said to have done this sort of work. RBBB maintains a large wardrobe depository today and often recycles elements from one show to another, thereby achieving some economy in expense. They maintain a large wardrobe shop at the combined operations center in Palmetto, FL. Since the late 1930s, it has been RBBB practice to hire designers from outside the business, with great credentials, to provide their wardrobe designs. They have been supplemented by staff designers. Many of the RBBB designs survive [some complete with material swatches], some retained by the show, others have gone into private hands and some into public collections.
      Show-issued wardrobe was cared for by the wardrobe department staff. It was issued at appointed times before and during the show, either from a wagon or inside a tent, and then returned after use for storage until the next need. There are photos that reveal the inside of wardrobe tops and also dressing room tops. Wardrobe supplied by the performer was usually their own responsibility to clean and maintain. Doing the laundry in the "back yard," via water buckets, is documented in dozens of photographs. Performers were able to have the show move their trunk between stands, loading it into a wagon and then placing it in the dressing top for use. They were lined up, end to end, creating aisles. The trunks were rectangular boxes, the ads stating "no Saratogas" meaning that domed or hump-backed trunks were not allowed because they created useless voids when packing a wagon. On a large circus, top performers may have been given their own tent, or the space inside an emptied baggage wagon as their own dressing room.
      Wardrobe might have been made for visual presentation: street parade [largely to be seen from a distance, on an elevated vehicle]; or spectacle or tournament on the hippodrome track [again largely for visual presentation]. It may have been very functional for ring performance [which had to accommodate physical motion and body manipulation, as required by the act, on the ground, in the air, on an animal, etc.]. Janet Davis's book "The Circus Age" will provide you with insights as to the why and wherefore of wardrobe, in terms of meeting local standards or exceeding them, in terms of the display of the body.
      When not in a performing mode, show personnel wore ordinary street clothes, just like other citizens. Their mode of dress typically reflected their economic status and the hierarchy of the circus.
      Given the lack of purchase documentation, you may have to rely largely upon image documentation, supplemented by bits and pieces in memoirs, newspaper accounts and tertiary resources. There are some sketches in the Durang collection, a few of which are reproduced in "The Memoir of John Durang." These are early 19th century items. Thayer's "Annals of the American Circus 1793-1860" contains scattered references and his subsequent volumes "The Performers" and "Traveling Showmen" are worth checking. There's an oft quoted description of an 1810 circus in a Newburyport, MA memoir that contains some reference to early wardrobe [partially transcribed on this website, which also has other worthwhile reference materials loaded].
      Engravings start to be used in circus advertising by the mid-1810s and continue on through the 1930s. Some of these illustrate wardrobe styling. Photography doesn't become available until the 1850s. There are a few early photographs of clowns [Joe Pentland] and animal trainers [Jacob Driesbach, usually misidentified elsewhere as Isaac A. Van Amburgh]. They are part of Thayer biographies in "Bandwagon." The number of paintings depicting circus activity in the 19th century is limited, but there are a few. Woodcut and lithographic posters offer another insight on wardrobe, providing clues as to colors utilized. They continue to be visually descriptive into the 1950s, and even some thereafter, such as those made for RBBB, will provide useful insights. Be aware that paintings, engravings and posters are created by an artist, and may differ slightly from reality in that regard.
      In the 1920s, "Billboard" magazine published some feature articles about new wardrobe being used on the show. I believe that these came out at about the time of the RBBB opener in Madison Square Garden. They were seemingly written for the benefit of women in the trade, to educate them about the latest trends and fashions. You can see the styles illustrated in period photography. David Hammarstrom's book "Big Top Boss" covers the John North era of RBBB and records the designers that were involved during his tenure as proprietor. An article about Miles White appeared in "Bandwagon" a few years ago and I think that he may have penned a memoir of his own. Others designers have surely been covered in additional journals.
      There are instances of performer cross-dressing, mostly males appearing as females. This includes young males appearing as female horse riders [Ella Zoyara, later one of the Rooneys] and also on the wire ["Berta" Beeson] and trapeze [Barbette]. Some acts, male and female, involved the sequential removal of layers of clothing, a sort of caterpillar to butterfly type of transformation or "metamorphosis." Recently, some "quick change" wardrobe acts, wherein layers are shed virtually instantaneously before the eyes, have been featured as an act itself. There is actually a history of such acts on the stage, although using different techniques.
      Clown wardrobe is a specialty as it involved creating an entire character/persona with facial make-up, skull cap and/or wig, extraordinary shoes and sometimes fixtures or devices that were part of a walk-around "gag." Some clown wardrobe was mechanized, the action part of a gag. There are some cases where clowns also provided small wardrobe accessories for animals, such as to convert a diminutive dog into an elephant. Clowns sometimes had their own segregated dressing areas, often termed "clown alley," which was derived from a European phrase.
      This is just a sampling on the topic, pertinent mostly to the overland circus of the early 19th century and the railroad shows from the 1870s to the 1940s. Others could add much more. You really need to access a major collection or two to provide you with a broad overview of the topic. I recall starting a file on the topic in the CWM Library vertical file and that might be a start. The work is appropriate and good luck! Fred Dahlinger

Reply: 13 Nov 2007 - One person to try is Kristin Spangenberg, curator at the Cincinnati Art Museum. She presented "Key to Strobridge Lithographing Company Circus Posters" at the CHS 2000 Convention. Website: www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org. - J. Griffin

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Reply: 10 Nov 2007 - The 1934 Fowler Bros. Circus played April 23 - English, Ind; April 24 - Huntingburg, Ind; April 25 - Cynthiana ; April 26 - New Harmony, Ind & April 27 - Petersburg, Ind. The 1935 season under the direction of Fletcher Fowler, reportedly opened May 4 at Twin Lakes, Mich. then playing at Muskegon, Mich. On May 14 they were at Gas City, Ind and May 21 at LaGrange, Ind. The show according to White Tops closed in May. Ted Bowman Route Collection.

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Reply: 12 Nov 2007 - Do you mean the British family who worked under the name of Alzana? John Morris, john.d.morris@btinternet.com

Reply: 15 Nov 2007 - Look for Alzana www.circusmuseum.nl/eng Ringling bros Barnum/Bailey Europa-tournee 1963/64; foto with Galla Shawn, Gerard Soules and the great ALZANA ,king of the high wire. H.Best-Otte

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Reply: 07 Nov 2007 - Sorry, I don't know anything specific about the gentlemen in question, but there is a large holding of contortionist materials, the Burns Kattenburg collection, at Harvard University's Pusey Library, in the Theatre Collection. Some relevant materials might be found there. This link might also be of interest: http://tutorials.simplycircus.com/acrobatics/contortion.htm Fred Dahlinger

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Reply: 07 Nov 2007 - Don F. Smith was a circus enthusiast, collector, photographer and one of the dozen people that founded the Circus Historical Society in 1939. He served as the first president of the organization. If you go to the home page of this website and click on "About CHS," you will find relevant material when you scroll down the page. There is also an obituary for Smith in "Bandwagon," if you are in need of greater detail on his life. Fred Dahlinger

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Reply: 07 Nov 2007 - You are likely interested in the failure of Stanley Graham's World Famous International Midgets Circus, which folded in San Antonio in early June 1937. Fred D. Pfening Jr.'s illustrated article about the novel enterprise is in "Bandwagon," XXXVIII, 3, pages 23-27. Fred Dahlinger

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Reply: 15 Nov 2007 - Hi, I saw your message. I am Mark St Leon, in Sydney Australia, the "St Leon" family Australia. Norman & Sonya, and Sonya's sister, Lyla are living in Florida. Clyde Sr died in 1970 and Clyde Jr a few years ago. I can dig out their contact details. I don't think they have email. Do you have any photos or memories of the St Leon Troupe or other Australian performers on Col? e.g. Con Colleano? Warm regards, Mark St Leon.

Reply: 16 Nov 2007 - Dear Mark, I am so happy to hear from you. I would love to reach Norman St Leon. I am sorry to hear that Clyde jr. is gone. I knew them both. I have some pictures of them just snapshots but not publicity pictures. I do have some pictures of Con Colleno and an article or two one written by a friend, Ed Howe who was the publicity man I have a program from 1952 that has an article about him. Do you have any programs? I will be glad to send some copies to you. I am writing about my experience on the show. Thank you so much, Betty Paterson Smyth

Reply: 02 Jun 2008 - Dear Betty, Please forgive me for not checking in to see your November reply. Did you reach Norman? I spoke to he and his wife Sonya at Christmas over the phone. You can reach me direct at markstleon@bigpond.com. Kind regards, Mark St Leon.

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Reply: 19 Dec 2007 - Additional information I've discovered recently re George Crocker. He was listed in The Billboard May 28, 1910, Page 32 as an official announcer and principal clown with the Kinnie Circus. I have tried finding that particular notation but cannot locate The Billboard on that date or that page. George Crocker was my paternal grandfather and Roy Crocker was his brother having appeared in a Ringling ledger from 1908 page 763. I would appreciate hearing from anyone having information especially pertaining to George Crocker. Thank you for your posting of this information. Marolyn Seanor, Marolyns@tampabay.rr.com

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Reply: 07 Nov 2007 - There's a brief listing of Joseph Withers circus engagements in Slout's "Olympians," which you can find on this website, under the "History" button on the home page. His engagement with George F. Bailey's circus after the Civil War is likely the place to start looking for the connections that you desire. You will likely need to scan the circus news columns of the weekly trade journal "New York Clipper" to pursue it. There may be a band roster therein, or perhaps others listed through the season that you can align with the war effort. You might also want to check the newspapers in the community where the Bailey circus wintered.
      Tracing Withers' Civil War service is likely to be another methodology requiring an entirely different line of research. There are people and guides available that can direct you in that regard, if you've not already established that connection. If Withers led a band during the war, it's possible he engaged some of his comrades for later circus work. Be aware that the turnover in circus bandsmen was high, as the traveling life was not for everyone.
      The circus employment listings in Slout likely came out of an obituary in a later issue of the "Clipper," date unknown. A check of census records for 1860 and 1870 might establish his residency and that would lead to another angle on establishing his Civil War activity and how it might relate to earlier [1857, Dan Rice] and later [1866 and later] circus work.
      George F. Bailey's circus bandwagon, featuring an elevated "Golden Horse" and complete with Withers band and pulled by an exotic elephant and dromedary hitch, was photographed at Kilbourn City, now known as Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, on June 6, 1868 by H. H. Bennett. The original glass plate still exists in the possession of the Wisconsin Historical Society. The image has been in print several times. A link to the image at www.wisconsinhistory.org. Click on search, then type Kilbourn Circus Parade in the pictures search window. Fred Dahlinger

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Reply: 01 Nov 2007 - Dear Friend: Be advised that the 25 car train of Cole Bros. was wrecked on July 26, 1945 near Bells Prairie, Mn. You may read more about it in the Bandwagon, Sep/Oct 1975 issue. Robert F Sabia

Reply: 01 Nov 2007 - The Cole Bros. wreck was near Little Falls, Minnesota, July 27, 1945. Quite a few daytime photos were taken of this mishap. It's notable for a pile up of flats and some wagons on top jutting towards the sky. There was also another Cole mishap near Redding, California in 1946. The photos there were taken at night. It wasn't a wreck per se, a car "split a switch." A bull car and flat went onto their sides. Bill Woodcock, Sr. had to go into the upended car at night and release the elephants so that they could be removed. He said it was the scariest thing he'd ever experienced. There's some photo coverage of these in "The Circus Moves by Rail" and also in Joe Bradbury's series on the Cole show in "Bandwagon." Fred Dahlinger

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Reply: 29 Oct 2007 - Barnum & Bailey was merged with Ringling Bros. for the tour of 1919, so your query is actually pertinent to the successor, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows. Unfortunately, the type of "gangster car" attraction is of the type never affiliated with RBBB, or most any other circus for that matter. It's a carnival, midway, state fair type attraction. You will want to check Al Stencell's tribute to side shows, "Seeing Is Believing" for leads. One of his chapters is "Does Crime Pay? Gangster Death Cars and Electric Chairs." There were Hitler cars on tour, as well as Al Capone, Bonnie & Clyde, Dillinger, etc. These attractions were usually owned by private entrepreneurs who booked their outfits onto a midway under various contractual agreements. Fred Dahlinger

Reply: 01 Nov 2007 - Thanks for the info Fred. I will keep searching locally too! Mike Wank, Milford, MI

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Reply: 29 Oct 2007 - The best way to identify if a circus train or advance car was involved is to check the local newspapers on the day of and immediately after the incident. Such incidents were typically covered in the news columns. Barnum & Bailey played Nashua, NH slightly thereafter, July 23. It's possible that one of the show's advance cars was attached to a B&M train passing through the area of the community a month before. Fred Dahlinger

Reply: 27 Oct 2007 - There was an American TV documentry done 3 or 4 years ago on human cannonballs. If you contact me directly at circus4youth@earthlink.net I can put you in contact with several people who have done and still perform this spectacular circus act. I would of course first have to contact them and get their permission. I also have several still photos of various circus cannon trucks in my collection, many of which were designed to look like rockets. Also the Circus Historical Society's Bandwagon magazine had an excellent 2 part article written by Fred Pfening about "cannon acts" published in the 1970's. Back issues may still be available. I can tell you the exact issues when I get home next week. The Zacchini family is the best known human cannonball family in America, and 5 of their cannon trucks still exist, (2 are in museums). I can tell you were all 5 are, 4 of them have rocketship designs. Jim Cole, St. Cloud, FL, circus4youth@earthlink.net

Reply: 03 Jan 2008 - Photo's and posters of cannons on www.circusmuseum.nl/eng search with the following words: canon, kanon, cannon, kanonnen, kanonskogel. Heman Voogd

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Reply: 26 Oct 2007 - I'd suggest you try something as simple as a London library and many catalogues are available on-line! Bertram Mills's two sons were the active owners/managers for the time period that interests you and son Cyril Bertram Mills authored "Bertram Mills Circus: Its Story" (London: Hutchinson, [1967]; reprinted Bath: Ashgrove Press, 1983). The other standard account is David Jamieson's "Bertram Mills: The Circus That Travelled by Train" (Buntingford: Aardvark Publishing, 1998). Other books include "The Bertram Mills Book of the Circus" by Robert Aylwin (London: Naldrett Press, 1954) and "Bertram Mills Circus in Story and Pictures" by Derek Gilpin Barnes (London: Bertram Mills Circus), [1950?]). A great deal of more detailed information can be found by scanning issues of "The King Pole," the publication of the Circus Friends Association of Great Britain (formerly Circus Fans Association of Great Britain). The magazine has three series: 8 issues were published between 1938 and 1950; a second series produced 22 issues published between 1952-64, and the third series begins in 1965 and has been much more regular having just published its 163rd issue. Throughout all of these are stories and references about the show. Finally, I am not aware that Mills was ever knighted. - Richard Flint

Reply: 31 Oct 2007 - Many thanks to Richard Flint for his very thorough reply. I have the first 3 books mentioned and have learnt a lot. Anybody knows what Cyril and Bernard's "war work" consisted in? thanks for your help. C Hug

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Reply: 01 Nov 2007 - Since you live close enough, try going to the county courthouse and looking under property titles or deeds for that address. That will give you a start as to ownership. It could be that someone recognizes a name but doesn’t relate a location to your description. If you have a fairly good idea as to a timeline, you could search the local newspapers that are archived probably at the library. Your local historical society may have some recollection. You could even try a little leg work and try talking to some of the surrounding neighbors to see what they know or remember. Last, I don’t know if I can help any more than these suggestions but I would like to see your photos if you don’t mind. Bob Cline fivetiger@marlboroelectric.net

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Reply: 25 Oct 2007 - If your question is in reference to the system railroad origin of circus sleepers, diners, pie cars, privilege, advance and owner's cars, there is no comprehensive list. Ralph Barger's two volumes provide some indication of the passage of selected cars from railroads, Wagner, Pullman, other outfits and re-sale dealers like Fitz-Hugh and Hotchkiss Blue to shows, but it's not comprehensive. Several dozen transfers can be identified therein. Very early in railroad circus history a few shows hired cars directly from Pullman and other firms to house their top people, but the practice did not endure. It takes a good bit of diligent work to confirm the transfers since so little documentation, other than photographs, survives today. The documentation that survives today requires considerable effort to access and analyze. There are also many legends associated with show car origins that don't withstand scrutiny.
      The great majority of show passenger cars were of wooden construction, and some of those were outfitted with steel underframes after about 1910. Many of these cars were also altered to look more modern, with window changes and steel sheathing applications. Steel passenger cars, while in use by railroads in the first decade of the 20th century, were not a major factor in show existence until the later 1920s. Some circuses continued to use updated wooden cars into the 1950s. Also, be aware that dozens and dozens of system cars also went to carnivals, theatrical shows, UTC outfits and so on.
      Few if any of the elephant, stock, flat and box cars that were in show service originated with system railroads. The tariff schedules for show transport were based on the number of cars, not their length or weight. Thus, show cars were typically from 40 to 80% longer than system cars. On the other hand, system railroads found longer cars unsuited to their typical car-loading practices. There are cases where some system cars were adapted for show service and there are some unproven claims that certain extra-length show cars originated in private corporation ownership. It was more common for shows to lease system cars for temporary use, as after a wreck, to temporarily replace bad order cars and so on. There was a lively business in the rental of cars by the U. S. Rolling Stock Company, Arms, Venice, Burton and other firms to shows. Leasing a train of cars was an alternative to the investment of capital. Most all of this sort of activity also took place during the wooden car era.
      Bob MacDougall has done considerable work in analyzing the history of RBBB train cars, particularly the steel cars that come on in the 1920s, the 1947 ex-Army cars and the subsequent Red and Blue unit trains. If you search the Bandwagon article index on this website, you will find reference to his multiple papers on the subject. They are all available as back issue purchases.
      If you're interested in specific show cars, identify them by circus, year, number and name, if known, and perhaps someone will have done the necessary research. If not, it's a matter of working with available floor plans, window arrangements and other data to piece together a story. Fred Dahlinger

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Reply: 28 Nov 2007 - The only Mabel Mack that have have come across in the business operated back end wild west units on carnivals. Mabel Mack's Mule Circus. This would be in the late 1920's -1930's and possibly into the 1940's. Look in Billboard for those decades. There are photos around of her shows. Al Stencell

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Reply: 19 Oct 2007 - In September 2004 two replies concerning Bosco Circus were given to question 265. The only change is that now the owner is presumed to be the great grandmother instead of the great grandfather. It's probable that Bosco was a carnival midway attraction. - Giovanni Iuliani

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Reply: 20 Oct 2007 - Hello Geoffrey: For posters and photos check eBay, the auction site regularly. I am a huge fan of your grandfather and I have been able to purchase both posters and photos of him on eBay. There are two major posters that feature your grandfather: 1) there was a feature poster put out by Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey in the 1930’s. This particular poster is a vertical panel that measures 42” H x 14” wide and it was also produced as a vertical 2-sheet poster which measures approximately 56”H x 21” wide (2 half-sheets) or 84”H x 28” wide. I just recently purchased this poster on eBay from a dealer in South Carolina. I may also have a duplicate if you want to e-mail me, but I’m not completely sure as I have over 8000 posters in my collection. This poster features your grandfather doing a backward somersault on the wire and the dimensions of the poster allow him to look like he is 100’s of feet in the air! 2) The other feature poster of your grandfather’s was put out by Cole Bros. Circus in the 1940’s as a vertical one-sheet which would measure approximately 42”H x 28” wide. I believe there was also a vertical half-sheet that would measure 28”H x 21” wide. It shows him doing a backward somersault through a hoop on the wire. This image is a much more common poster and examples of this one show up on eBay fairly regularly. Sometimes your grandfather’s name on this poster is pasted over with the Name of another great wirewalker Con Colleano, who was featured on Cole Bros. after your grandfather, so the show just used the same poster with the pasted over name. There is no doubt, however, that the face on your grandfather was definitely drawn from either life or based upon photographs, as the portrait is definitely your grandfather’s and definitely nothing close to what Con Colleano actually looked like! You may also be interested in finding a poster from your grandfather’s own show - The Hubert Castle Circus. Again, you might want to check eBay in the next few days, as I know there is a Hubert Castle Window Card poster listed there right now featuring an elephant standing on one foot if my short-term memory serves me correct. A window card is considered a 1/4-sheet poster and measures 22”H x 14” wide but is printed on a heavier card stock with a white facing sheet on a gray cardboard. For videos, you should check with Bobby Hakes from Sarasota Florida who also sells videos on eBay. He has 100’s of titles and chances are he probably has some that contain footage of your grandfather’s act. Be aware though, that many circus videos transferred from old films, may not be of very good quality and probably will not contain your grandfather’s entire act rather if there is even a full minute of his act you will be lucky. Still a minute’s worth of footage is better than nothing! Your grandfather was a HUGE Circus STAR and you should be very proud of him and what stature he garnered during his long career as both a performer and circus owner/producer! You are a lucky grandson indeed! Best regards, Neil Cockerline, circusartist@aol.com

Reply: 18 Nov 2007 - Uncle Geoffrey, it's Ami (Mariane's daughter). I'm always on the lookout for memorabilia on Grandad and ebay is a pretty good source. Sometimes there's a lot of stuff and sometimes not much. Email me if you want. My email is IVORYMIRAGE@HOTMAIL.COM. Ami Burkhalter, Houston, TX

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Reply: 13 Oct 2007 - Professor Baldwin does not appear to be listed in Slout's "Olympians" (which you can access on this website), at least he's not listed by that name. It suggests that he may have been an itinerant performing artist, booking engagements around the country independent of any traveling show. If that's the case, your best means to find information about him would be via key-word searching of digitized newspapers, such as www.newspaperarchive.com and others. Your man may also be related to previous questions about performers named Baldwin. See queries 12, 829, 831 and 836, which turned up by Googling the name Professor Baldwin or just Baldwin and "wire walker." Also found there were: http://photoswest.org/exhib/gallery5/flight.htm http://www.homestaketour.com/lead-3.html (about Ivy Baldwin 1866-1953) and http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1995/2/1995_2_10.shtml (about Tom Baldwin). Other leads should also be available with some further searching on-line, which should lead you to some secondary or primary documentation. If you find a death date, you might check for obituary coverage in "New York Clipper" or "Billboard," which might provide further insight on his show career. Fred Dahlinger

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Reply: 27 Nov 2007 - As far as I know, acrobats from Africa such as Togo and Cameroon started in the past 10 years. fatima

Reply: 28 Nov 2007 - Numerous European shows featured African troupes and members of certain tribes as attractions. Hagenbeck, Bostock, Sarassani, all had such attractions. Also various fairground showmen. Siebald was a big German fairground showman that featured such groups. The series of journals covering the Sarassani Circus during their S. American years are well illustrated with drawings and photos of such attractions. There were ten or twelve booklets in this set and can be found from circus collectors in Europe. They go for 100 Eros upwards. I first saw the Kenya Boys on Gasser's Circus Starlight in the early 1990's. That was their first season. Now there are a bunch of troupes around. Al Stencell

Reply: 03 Jan 2008 - There is a large collection of ethnografic posters and photo's om www.circusmuseum.nl/eng. Click on the homepage first on " etnographic shows" (in dutch: Volkerenshows) and you will get more then 500 pictures. Specify your search by using words as Afrika, africa. When you search with the word "dahomey" you will get the Wilde Weiber aus Dahomey posters! Herman Voogd

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Reply: 12 Oct 2007 - The blue globe with the trademarked phrase "Greatest Show on Earth" appeared on RBBB posters by 1923. The phrase itself has been in constant and consistent use every year, without fail, since 1872. It is actively protected by Feld Entertainment on a world-wide basis, with abuse of the legendary brand occurring literally daily. About 1960, the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus utilized a similar globe with the phrase "The Greatest Circus on Earth." RBBB took the matter to court and won a decision against the Acme Circus Corp., dba Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus. There are other derivations of the globe and phrase representation that can be found in old literature. Fred Dahlinger

Reply: 13 Oct 2007 - Hamid-Morton was a producer-type circus operation that supplied circus performances primarily for sponsored indoor dates in arenas and auditoriums. It was reportedly organized in 1942, the principals being George A. Hamid, Sr. and Robert Morton, both now deceased. They furnished the circus for the Tripoli Shrine temple of Milwaukee that sponsored the event in the Arena in downtown Milwaukee. The complex still stands today. Morton (1895-1956) reportedly started to play the Milwaukee engagement as a single owner in 1938. Hamid is long gone, but he left a book-length memoir and his survivors are still in the business today producing indoor shows. You didn't state the size of your poster(s), but they could have been for a billboard, panels alongside the Arena entrance or anywhere else where they could have advertised the circus in the greater Milwaukee area. The Milwaukee County Historical Society has some indexed circus information and you might be able to derive a date for the poster from them. Morton's obituary stated that the circus played the Arena every February since 1938. There is a good chance that you might not be able to determine an exact date. If there is a month and date, as well as a day of the week, or a span of dates, it might be possible to identify several candidate years for the poster by means of a perpetual calendar. Fred Dahlinger

Reply: 19 Oct 2007 - Dear Fred, Thanks so much for your reply! There is indeed a separate banner naming a specific date for the performance, and I suppose it was intended to be hung along the border of the stock poster. By the way, this thing is twenty feet long and ten feet high! Must have been a billboard, eh? Thanks again! Robert Bundy

Reply: 20 Oct 2007 - Rob, if you post the date information, perhaps someone will be able to provide a specific year of production or use. Fred Dahlinger

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Reply: 10 Oct 2007 - Buffalo Bill's Wild West, a partnership of William F. Cody and Nate Salsbury, and three minority shareholders, may have been in Liverpool during the tour of 1891-1892. I don't have the route for those seasons, but they toured England for at least part of the time, likely in 1891. If no one else posts dates, you can scan the local Liverpool newspapers for the show's advertisements, which will give them. It would have been traveled between communities upon a train of cars leased from local railroad companies.
      The show played Liverpool on May 4 to 23, 1903. By then Salsbury was dead and the partnership was between Cody and circus man James A. Bailey. The show moved about on the train that had been built for the European tour of the Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth 1898-1902. I believe that there is coverage of the B&B tour and also the train on some British show history websites. The local newspapers should have accounts of the show during the run of the engagement, as well as some advance publicity.
      The performance was staged in a large, rectangular open area, surrounded by seating that was protected by a canvas canopy that encompassed it. The fourth side usually held a painted backdrop.
      There are many books in print about Cody and his Wild West. Perhaps the best is still Don Russell's volume, "The Lives and Legends of Buffalo Bill." One that may be easy for you to obtain is "Buffalo Bill's British Wild West" by Alan Gallop [2001]. It provides a good bit of coverage on Cody's visitations in England, which took place in 1887, 1891-1892,1903 and 1904.
      There are also many images of Buffalo Bill's Wild West activity on the Denver Public Library's website, though most of them are domestic views. Fred Dahlinger

Reply: 10 Oct 2007 - From: Jim Stockley, South Africa. You should try posting this enquiry on a couple of the English circus boards (I know it's strange but we do have them, even though the English invention of circus is quietly dying in the country of its birth) try posting at "Two Centuries of British Circus People Discussion Forum" [http://pub34.bravenet.com/forum/2891452389/] or at "The Fairground Heritage Trust" circus forum [ www.fairground-heritage.org.uk/forum/] both sites had entries on Buffalo bill's UK tour. Here are a couple of entries of the 'net :
      Buffalo Bill (Colonel W F Cody) – Visited Liverpool to present his "Wild West Show" including Little Annie Oakley. The first visit was in 1891 when the performance was at Newsham Park. Later he returned to do another show at the old Exhibition Ground in Edge Lane.
      The FamousS Colonel Cody, alias Buffalo Bill' brought his Circus to Leigh on October 3 1904. People where trampled underfoot in an attempt to see his spectacular show.The show was presented on a field off St Helens Road and Col Cody's performers and staff,between 400 and 500 arrived from St Helens by three special trains early on Sunday Morning. On Monday morning a marquee to accommodate 12,000 people was put up.There was a large crowd at the afternoon performance. special tramcars from Atherton,Tyldesley and surrounding districts were full with visitors. In the evening there was a tremendous crush and some disorderly scenes. Women and children were trampled on in the crowd round the ticket office but no one was seriously hurt.

He's even on youtube.com ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4wWCE9HN5k

Buffalo Bill's Wild West in Europe http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/732428.html

Buffalo Bill's Wild West show Tuesday April 28, 1903 http://century.guardian.co.uk/1899-1909/Story/0,,98922,00.html Upper Chorlton Road continues to be one of the busiest thoroughfares in Manchester, and after a fortnight of abnormal tramway traffic, constantly crowded footpaths, an army of zealous hawkers and a generous provision of police, the residents have almost forgotten the former secluded character of their district. The Wild West Show has achieved something very substantial in drawing so many Lancashire people to a suburb which is two miles from the railway stations and which is not easily reached by an almost unlimited number of persons within a limited period - say an hour in the afternoon and an hour in the evening - even with the assistance of the splendid electric car service. For, as always, everybody wishes to go by car at the same time, and, however long the procession of cars may be, it must have a limit, and that this limit has left the demand unsatisfied has been shown by the fact that the sixpenny buses and waggonettes from the city, not to mention the cabs, have done excellent business. On Saturday last, as on other days when the weather has been good, the stream of arrivals at the show ground continued for an hour or more after all the popular seats had been disposed of. In such weather as that of yesterday there has not been anything like the same demand for seats, and it has been under such circumstances that the disadvantage of distance from the popular centre and the railway stations must have made itself evident to the management. The organisers of the show, however, report that they have done exceedingly well, and they will be satisfied if their provincial tour progresses as prosperously as it has opened. Their prosperity has not been confined to themselves, and the Tramways Committee and the cabmen will suffer a sensible loss of income when the show leaves Manchester for Liverpool at the end of this week. It ought to be acknowledged that notwithstanding the succession of so large and miscellaneous a population as is attached to the Wild West — Red Indians, Mexicans, cowboys, Cossacks, negroes, and so forth — the good character of the neighbourhood has undergone no deterioration. The behaviour of our passing visitors of so many races and from so many lands has been excellent. Guardian Unlimited

http://www.guardian.co.uk/britain/article/0,2763,1535911,00.html How Buffalo Bill brought the wild west to Salford

David Ward Tuesday July 26, 2005 The Guardian. Few buffalo roam, or ever roamed, in Salford, the place famed in song as a "dirty old town".
      But one of its streets is actually named Buffalo Court, a memory of the few months in the 19th century when Salford was home to almost 100 Native Americans who set up their tepees within arrow-shot of terraced streets.
      Next month, a trade unionist who lives and works in Salford will travel to South Dakota to trace the descendants of members of the Lakota and Oglala Sioux tribes who migrated from the wild west to the industrial north-west. Steve Coen aims to bring representatives to Salford for a commemorative ceremony and to launch an exchange scheme for young people.
      Salford's 97 exotic visitors (plus 180 horses, 18 buffalo, 14 mules and donkeys, 10 elk and two deer) travelled to Britain in 1887 as part of Buffalo Bill's 200-strong travelling company.
      After a season in London, the show rolled on to Birmingham and then Salford, arriving in November 1887 and staying for up to five months.
      "A number of these warriors were on the run from the US cavalry because they had been involved in the demise of General Custer in the Battle of Little Big Horn," said Mr Coen, who works for Whitbread. "They took refuge over here in the show, away from US government officials."
      The visitors performed in Salford and Manchester and also raced their broncos against English thoroughbreds over a 10-mile course: the broncos won with 300 yards to spare.
      "A few significant things happened during the stay," added Mr Coen. "A 6ft 7in Lakota warrior died of a lung infection aged only 22. His body was never recovered or recorded in a church burial and it could still be somewhere in the Salford Quays area, perhaps in an unmarked pauper's grave."
      Mr Coen discovered that the warrior's first name was Surrounded, and he has since established that his surname was Bytheenemy. It is hoped tribal leaders will be able to travel to Salford to honour his memory.
      Another event of significance while the group was in the city was the birth of a Lakota girl: she was baptised in February 1888 in a local church, where registers record her name as Frances Victoria Alexander, the daughter of Little Chief and Good Robe.
      Among Buffalo Bill's warriors was Black Elk, a medicine man (and later a Roman Catholic) who was interviewed in 1931 by John Neihardt. The subsequent book, Black Elk Speaks, became a classic of Native American writing.
      "When the wild west show left for the US, several Lakota Sioux - including Black Elk - missed the train and were left behind in Salford and had to make their own way back to South Dakota," said Mr Coen.
      "I have since been talking to holy men who have invited me to a religious ceremony at the reservation at Pine Ridge.
      "I hope to discuss with them my idea for an exchange scheme involving young members of the tribe and underprivileged young people from Salford."
      Just about the only relic of the Sioux visit is in local street names: Cody Court, Sundance Court, Cassidy Court, Dakota Avenue, and Kansas Avenue.

Reply: 16 Oct 2007 - There are many images of Buffalo Bill Wild West Show in Europe on www.circusmuseum.nl/eng, H.Best-Otte

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Reply: 09 Oct 2007 - There is some coverage of Eph Williams in Dean Jensen's book about Wisconsin's circus history, "The Biggest, the Smallest, the Longest, the Shortest" and also in "Badger State Showmen" by Stuart Thayer and this writer. Perhaps your local librarian can request the books via interlibrary loan for you? He retired from the circus business after 1902 and thereafter earned a fortune with his Silas Green from New Orleans minstrel show. He passed away in Florida in 1921. Fred Dahlinger

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