PEARL WHITE : AMERICAN STAGE AND FILM STAR : PERILS OF PAULINE : RPPC

Pearl White (1889-1938) was an American actress of film and stage. She started her career on the stage at just 6 years old in the play, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. At thirteen years of age she was a bareback rider for a circus. She dropped out of high school to join a touring stage company. Next she worked as a singer in Cuba and South America. She made her appearances in dance halls and casinos. In 1910, her voice began to fail and she began to appear in silent films, including many popular serials. Her nickname was “Queen of the Serials’. She did the majority of her own stunts in these film serials. She is known well for her role in “The Perils of Pauline”. She was often cast in the role of an athletic heroine, rather than the more typical, innocent young woman. As a result of her appearances in “The Perils of Pauline”, she was soon earning $1,750 per week. She increased her star power as she appeared in other serials. In these films she flew airplanes, raced cars, and did other action hero feats. By 1919 White moved on to more dramatic roles. She appeared in ten drama films for Fox Film Corporation. She finished her career by taking roles in European films, and finally, appearing on the European stage. While performing in London, she earned three thousand dollars a week. At the time of her retirement (1924), White had banked two million dollars. She then began investing. Her investments included a hotel, a night club, and a stable of race horses. White was married twice, each time, for short duration to actors. White died of liver failure, possibly due to her history of heavy drinking. Her drinking may have been attributable to her problems with pain stemming from a spinal injury occurring during her stunt days. The IMDb site credits white with 228 film appearances between 1910 and 1924. This real photo film star photo was published by Cinemagazine (Paris Edition). The card is part of the “Les Vedettes de Cinema” (Stars of the Cinema) series (No.,55). White’s postcard photo portrait was taken by the celebrated photographer, Alfred Noyer. The card has a closed pin hole at it’s center bottom and is in overall fair condition (see scans).

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BARNUM AND BAILEY CIRCUS : LARGE GROUP OF CLOWNS UNDER THE BIG TENT : RPPC (1902)

This undivided back his vintage real photo postcard features performers of the Barnum & Bailey Circus. A large group of clowns and acrobats stand under the Big Top for this group photograph.The postcard was souvenir of the cirucs and was published by Courmont freres of Paris, France. The postcard was postmarked in Romont and Fribourg, Switzerland, in 1902. The card has a Swiss stamp. This postcard is in excellent condition (see scans).  SOLD

 

PORTRAIT OF A CLOWN AND HIS DOG : CIRCUS : MUNICH, GERMANY

This carte de visite photograph features a clown in his clown costume. He is dressed like a hobo with the exception of his top hat. Note that he is wearing eye glasses and is smoking a cigarette. The clown is posing with his small dog on a table beside him. This clown and his dog are likely members of a circus troupe. This cdv photograph was taken at the Reichel studio in Munich, Germany. The reverse of the photo lists the photographer as Anton Putterich. It is likely that one of these gentlemen succeeded the other in operating the studio. SOLD

ZOE BASTIEN LE ROI des CIRQUES (KOSBOOLI) (CIRCUS RPPC)

This vintage real photo postcard is an advertisement for a circus. Translated, the title states Zoe Bastien: King of the Circus. I do not know if “Zoe Bastien” is the name of the circus or if it is the name of the pictured acrobat. I am guessing that it is the name of the acrobat but I can not find confirmation. The photographs seen on this postcard were taken by L Marcellin. He operated a studio in Belley, a community in eastern France. The postcard has a tiny chip on the bottom right edge portion of the card. SOLD

Published in: on December 14, 2020 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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DAISY BELMONT : CIRCUS PERFORMER, TALENTED BARE BACK RIDER, SINGER, AND DANCER

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Daisy Belmont (1871-1896) was a circus equestrian and performer. She made her theater debut at three years of age and her career took off. Her repertoire included singing, and dancing and in time, bare back riding. She sometimes preformed with her siblings, Lottie and Charles. Her performing career took her to Asia, Australia, and South America.  In 1889, at age 18, she married William Showles (1857-1924), a “dashing” young equestrian who rode with Sells Brothers circus.   She became the most famous bareback rider in the country.  Tragically, after returning to America after performing “on the road” in Austalia, she died from Bright’s disease at age twenty-five.  Miss Belmont’s obituary indicates that she was a “successful with Barnum’s circus” (P T Barnum) as a bare back rider. Daisy Belmont has been described as “the embodiment of grace and feminine loveliness”. She died and was buried in Chicago, Illinois. This cabinet card features Miss Belmont. She appears to be in her mid teenage years at the time of this photograph. She is displaying a sweet smile. She is posed as if she is jumping rope. Most images that I have seen of Daisy, capture her at a significantly younger or older age than this image. The photo studio that produced this cabinet card portrait is C. C. C. Co. of Chicago.  (SOLD)             

 

SNAPSHOT OF A CLYDE BEATTY CIRCUS TRUCK : THE CIRCUS HAS COME TO TOWN

This vintage snapshot photograph features a Clyde Beatty Circus Truck. It appears that the circus has come to town.  The photo was taken in 1959. The date is printed on  the top border of the photograph. Clyde Beatty (1903-1965) was an animal trainer and zoo owner in Florida. His first job at a circus was as a cage cleaner. He rose in status as he became an animal trainer. He was known for his lion taming acts. Eventually, in 1945, he became a circus owner and later merged with the Cole Brothers Circus.Beatty was famous for his “fighting act”. He would enter a cage with wild animals with a whip and a pistol strapped to his side. He demonstrated his courage by facing a cage full of animals including lions, tigers and cougars. At the peak of his career, Beatty’s act featured 40 lions and tigers. Beatty was so popular that he appeared in films between the 1930’s and the 1950’s.  He appeared on television in the 1960’s. The snapshot measures 3 1/2″ x 5″ and is in very good condition.

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Published in: on March 16, 2020 at 7:29 pm  Comments (2)  
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LITTLE GIRL IN A FIELD OF DAISIES IN BARABOO,WISCONSIN

 

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baraboo 1A cute little girl with curly hair poses in a studio created field of daisies for photographer Sim Mould. The studio was located in Baraboo, Wisconsin. The girl is wearing a dress wth a lace collar and has a flower pinned to the front of her dress. An inscription on the reverse of the cabinet card indicates that the child’s name is Hattie Acot. Unfortunately, no biographical information could be found about her. The photographer, Mr. Mould is mentioned in a number of photographic journals. He placed an ad for his studio in a book about Sauk County, Wisconsin (1891). The Photographic Times (1898) reports on his appointment to a lobbying committee of the Photographers Association of Wisconsin. The Encyclopedia Dubuque (1911) reveals that Sim Mould operated a photographic studio at 107 Main Street in Dubuque, Iowa. The town of Baraboo is situated on the Baraboo river. The town was settled by Abe Wood and originally called Adams. In 1852 it was renamed Baraboo. In the town’s early history it became the home of several sawmills. In the nineteenth century the town served as the headquarters of several circuses, including Ringling Brothers. Baraboo became known as “Circus City”.  This cabinet card portrait is in very good condition (see scans).

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PORTRAIT OF A ROW OF FIVE ADORABLE CIRCUS DOGS (PHOTO BY FAMED ALBERT BERGERET OF FRANCE)

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This vintage real photo postcard features five circus dogs posed as if they were begging. The dogs are adorable and the photographer did an excellent job of posing these “talented” canines. The caption is in French and roughly means “Doggies Right Alignment”. The photograph is by the famed Albert Bergeret (1859-1932), a leading French postcard producer. Printing on the front of the postcard lists the studio as being located in Nancy. A postmark on the card indicates that it was mailed in 1902. To view other examples of Bergeret’s work and to learn more about him, click on the category “Photographer: Bergeret”.

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Published in: on April 11, 2016 at 2:18 pm  Leave a Comment  
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LADY BALL WALKER: CIRCUS BALANCING ACT PERFORMER IN BUFFALO, NEW YORK

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This cabinet card portrait features a pretty young woman who likely performed in a balancing act for an unidentified circus. She has one foot on a ball that was used for balancing feats. The photograph is a bit risque for it’s era. The young lady is displaying a bit of a devilish grin. Note the upside down ghost image at the top of this image. The logo of the McDannell studio in Wattsburg, Pennsylvania is visible and the cause of this phenomenon is that this cabinet card was likely stored face-to-face with the McDannell cabinet card and The McDannell logo was pressed printed onto this circus performer photograph. It is worth mentioning that one of Mcdannell’s photographs is a resident of the Cabinet Card Gallery collection. The above cabinet card image was produced by the Rykert studio in Buffalo, New York. Chauncy W. Rykert and William Rykert were both photographers in Buffalo. Both men shared a studio on Buffalo’s Jefferson Street in the late 1870’s. Chauncy is the most likely one who produced this image as he remained a photographer in Buffalo for many more years than William.

Published in: on October 4, 2015 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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ROSE ZAZEL: PRETTY AND EXPLOSIVE YOUNG WOMAN (FIRST FEMALE HUMAN CANNONBALL)

HUMAN CANON BALL_0005This cabinet card portrait features a pretty young woman who was quite a daredevil. She was the first female canonball. Her stage name was Rose Zazel. In this photograph she is wearing her namesake rose as well as a necklace, bracelet, and earrings. She is also wearing a risque costume. Miss Zazel’s act involved being shot from a spring loaded cannon invented by “The Great Farini”. Zazel’s given name was Rossa Matilda Richter and she was just 14 years of age when she was engaging in this exciting but reckless behavior. At one point, she toured with the PT Barnum Circus. Eventually she suffered a career ending injury when she missed a safety net and suffered a broken back. The information I cited about Rose Zazel comes from an interesting article on Scribol.com. The article is entitled “Seven Most Mind Blowing She-Daredevils in History” and it was written by Karl Fabricus. The article included the image below which is a poster advertising an appearance of “Zazel the Human Projectile”.  This cabinet card image was photographed by Marc Gambier, a well known photographer of celebrities. You can view more of his images and learn more about him in the category “Photographer: Gambier”.

Zazel_The_Human_Projectile_vintage_poster_on_display_at_the_Circus_World_Museum_in_Baraboo,_Wisconsin.