Another trip to the postcard fair.

Every two months the NSW postcards collectors society have a fair where they lure poor unsuspecting theatre historians into buying beautiful postcards which date back to the early part of the 20th century or earlier.

So this is what I found today.

Firstly, a uni-cyclist whose name is Leo Leo. Possibly French, but I have no idea of the date. Below Leo is the English Pierrots, a musical group which played in Australia in the early 20th Century. The postcard is from Melbourne.

Next we have Annie Reid on the left who was one of the "Mitzi Girls' in the Girls of Gotenberg. This is a card from Newcastle NSW, so it could be from an amateur production, It's dated 1913

Next to Annie is Ella Caspers, a very famous Australian singer. Below Annie is the duo of Diamond and Beatrice or Beatrice and Diamond, they were musicians at the Tivoli theatre around the turn of the last century. This card is another in the Tivoli series which showcases regulars from the theatre in Sydney. Next to them is Nellie Wilson, one of the JC Williamson's Royal Comic Opera Company.

Below is one of the world's most famous theatrical couples, Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier. This postcard is from London Films and is advertising their movie, Fire Over England..Aren't they gorgeous? Next to the golden couple is Andrew Mack, a singer. Below them is a wonderful comic postcard which references juggling, which I was thrilled to find. Next to that is a postcard of Maisie Rowlands, a monologue entertainer who worked at the National Amphitheatre in Sydney in 1909

Below we have another Williamson performer, Dolly Castles. Next to Dolly is a photo from Happy Harry Salmon's company. Below her is another Williamson star, Madge Crichton, and next to her the comic duo of George Lauri and William Percy, both stars of the Royal Comic Opera Company. 

More Williamson stars below with Florence Young and Margaret Thomas, pictured from the Royal Comic Opera Company's production of Veronique.

And finally, pictures from the Williamson 1908 production of the Merry Widow, which starred Carrie Moore, who is looking quite pensive in the top photo.

Images, postcards, photos and more

Just a reminder that my complete collection of postcards can be browsed, downloaded and looked at for free at Flicker. Just click the link to the side of this page.

There's about 800 postcards there...

More postcards

Above is Tod Calloway, a comedian and fixture on the Tivoli circuit. The post card is addressed to Eileen Capel, a fellow performer on the Clay's circuit. It's signed on both sides.

Arthur Foldesy, Hungarian Cellist who toured Australia in 1905. Also signed.

Another postcard of my mate George Lauri, a JCW comedian who met a tragic end.

Connie Milne, a regular for JCW's Royal Comic Opera Company.

Advertising card for the Percy Hutchison tour of 1928.

You can search the HAT collection of photos, postcards and other memorabilia at flickr.

Lennon, Hyman and Lennon- Australian Jugglers

I'm posting this because I really just wanted to post the photo. 

Albert Lennon, Ted Lennon and Frank Hyman were an Australian acrobatic juggling trio who were very well known in Australia during the early 20th Century.

Burt was the best known of the three. His real name was Albert Spinks and he was a Sydney man. He and his 'brother' Ted began their career as the Lennon Brothers, working in an amateur group called the Electric Minstrels in Sydney.

Ted and Burt then toured Australia with a troupe which included a very famous former minstrel performer, Irving Sayles. Sayles was an African American man who had arrived in Australia with an American minstrel touring group and never left. He was a mainstay of the Tivoli circuit for many years.

Being associated with Irving gave Ted and Burt some cache with managers and audiences. Irving was very well regarded by both. It was during this time that they met Frank Hyman, a contortionist, and formed a trio, becoming Lennon, Hyman and Lennon. It was as this trio that they gained fame at home and abroad.

Around  1901 the three left Australia and visited England. Whilst there they created a short skit focusing on an Australian outback bush theme. The skit included tumbling and acrobatics and was presented as a novelty act. It was a very popular turn in England.

Their fame overseas led to them being recruited for pantomimes in Australia . And in 1906 they had a feature role in the Sinbad the Sailor pantomime, staged by William Anderson .

This role featured the trio doing comedic juggling, and this aspect of their work was included in all their future vaudeville performances.

Their act seemed to be primarily a club passing act. A review of their vaudeville turn described it as follows.

'The first turn was a display of juggling with Indian clubs which they handled with remarkable proficiency, exchanging flying clubs with one another and sometimes surrendering three clubs in mid air with an air of perfect nonchalance.'

Their juggling was characterised by very fast passing and deft catching that had onlookers seeing the clubs as a blur.

"the varied manipulations were really astounding, the concluding turn in which the nine clubs were kept twirling in the air created the greatest enthusiasm.'

After several pantomime performances, the three men created their own vaudeville touring troupe, which apparently included their wives. The troupe, known as the Lennon, Hyman, Lennon troupe, toured country towns in Australia. During 1908 they visited Rockhampton, the Darling Downs, Lismore and Mackay. In each place they demonstrated their excellent juggling and acrobatic skills.

By 1910, the trio had made enough money to settle down, and they invested in their own theatre, The Empire in Adelaide. They soon became respectable citizens of the city. Originally the Empire showed vaudeville shows, but gradually the theatre changed from a mixture of vaudeville and movies to showing exclusively movies.

They were in partnership for some time, however, during the War years, references to Ted and Frank become scarce and it seems that the partnership dissolved shortly after the end of the war.

Burt, however, continued to be an entrepreneur. He invested with the Fullers in the Majestic Theatre in Adelaide and remained a prominent member of the Adelaide theatrical community for some time.

Burt died in 1954, but I have yet to discover what happened to Frank and Ted. 

Selma Braatz juggling in Australia 1914.

1914 was a big year for juggling in Australia. Cinquevalli toured and W C Fields returned. The year began with the arrival of a very talented 'lady juggler' called Selma Braatz in January.

Selma arrived in 1913 aged 25 and was accompanied by Clara and Fritz Braatz. Clara has been described variously as Selma's aunt or mother. In Australia she was referred to as the juggler's mother, whilst Fritz was referred to as her father.

The juggler was described as 'a young and trimly built lady from Germany who juggled with any old thing in the way of light articles'. On stage she wore a type of short suit, which was demure, but daring, in that it revealed her legs.

Selma started her tour of Australia in January, in Melbourne. It was pantomime season so her appearance at the Opera House in that city was not much remarked upon . She toured the Tivoli in Sydney, where her appearance was overshadowed by the newest dance craze, the Tango, and went to provincial areas in Victoria such as Ballarat, where the open air nature of the theatre interfered with her juggling. She also visited Perth and Kalgoorlie, a mining town. Her itinerary, particularly the visits to the country areas, suggested that she and her family were quite adventurous. 

Her act consisted of balancing and juggling of unusual household objects. Selma started her act juggling a tennis racquet, she then proceeded to use a bell topper and stick and manipulated both to the  audience's surprise and delight. She  juggled billiard  balls and balanced things on a cue stick. She had difficulty with some of the balancing tricks in the open air Britannia Theatre at Ballarat, but they were performed successfully in the bigger theatres of Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney.

The trick that won her the most applause was balancing a tray, a wine glass, another tray,  and an egg on a billiard cue held upright on her chin. The trays were knocked away and the egg fell into the wine glass without breaking.

As a finale, Selma juggled some carriage lamps. The house lights were dimmed and as the lamps were thrown into the air they became luminous, changing colour from white to red and on to violet.

Selma was assisted on stage by Clara who juggled soap bubbles. Charles Waller described these as 'stiff bubbles, (which) may be blown either from film cement or from a special soap solution, into the composition of which enters a little gum arabic.' According to Waller, Selma was responsible for introducing the juggling of soap bubbles into Australia.

 Selma was apparently  on good terms with Cinquevalli, whose name always arose when jugglers were discussed in this country. Apparently, they exchanged letters, and Cinq called Selma, 'Pauline', a reference to his own name Paul.

Selma toured the whole country, and stayed for several months, before returning overseas where she continued her juggling career.

She died in New York in 1973, reportedly aged 89.

SOURCES;

Arrival information about Clara, Fritz and Selma, from Victorian Shipping records.

Description of Selma from The Adelaide Register, 4/03/1914

Description of Selma's act from The Adelaide Register. 4/03/1914,and The Argus (Melbourne)5/01/1914.

The description of soap bubble juggling comes from Magical Nights in the Theatre by Charles Waller. Edited by Gerald Taylor.

The relationship between Selma and Cinquevalli is discussed in The Referee newspaper.11/2/1914

Pictures of Selma come from 1. The Australasian, 10/01/1914, 2. The World News, Sydney, 14/2/1914

Information about Selma's death comes from juggle.org

New Postcards

My visit to the postcard fair today was very profitable. Well profitable for the stall owners, but very interesting for me.

Upper left is Pansy Montague. Pansy, also known as La Milo, was a human statue performer.She was born in Sydney and started her career with the Tivoli Circuit in the early 20th Century. In this postcard she is posing as the Water Nymph.

Upper right is Little Baby Watson, another Tivoli performer. Little baby Watson was a favorite of Tivoli owner Harry Rickards in the early 20th century.

Lower left is Teresa Carreno, who toured Australia in 1907. She was a Venezuelan pianist, singer and composer.

Lower Right is Margaret Thomas, one of JC Williamson's Royal Comic Opera Company.

Above to the left is a lovely postcard of the 'red headed spark' Daisy Jerome. I have something about her elsewhere on this blog. Next to her is one of my favorites, Carrie Moore. On the bottom is a very interesting advertising postcard for a Bland Holt production. Bland Holt was one of Australia's premier producers of melodrama. This particular postcard is advertising a 1904 production at the Theatre Royal in Sydney. It features a caricature of the man himself staring out a window.

These three postcards feature at the top left, a 1950s Australian magician named Tommy Parer. Next to Tommy is Annette Kellerman, the famous Australian swimmer who made a name for herself in the movies. Below is a picture of Miss Valli Valli an English Edwardian actress.

Finally, two wonderful postcards. The first is of Vivien Leigh during her contract with London Films. This probably dates from the mid 1930s, just before Gone with the Wind.

The second is an intriguing picture postcard of a parade in Sydney to advertise the Criterion Theatre's production of 'A Beggar on Horseback'. A quick internet search dates this to 1908. If anybody can tell where this was taken, I would appreciate it. I'm guessing Hyde Park because it was the closest park to the Criterion.

Alas, No Jugglers!

W C Fields juggling in Australia 1903

In the early 20th Century, Cinquevalli popularized juggling in Australia and due to this, Harry Rickards, the owner of the Tivoli circuit, looked for other jugglers to entertain his audiences.

In 1903, Rickards succeeded in persuading the American 'eccentric juggler' W C Fields to tour Australia.

At the time of his arrival, Fields was 23 years old. The local version of Theatre Magazine described him as 'A comparatively good looking , fair coloured youngster. ...a good revolver shot and a capital horseman.'

Fields began his tour in Melbourne in June, traveled to Adelaide for about a week in July and then had a two month stint at the Tivoli in Sydney.

His act was most notable for its comedy.

Fields dressed as a tramp, said little and let his antics and dumb show provide the laughs.

For a ten minute turn in Adelaide, he used a battered old  grey belltopper (hat) and twisted it around his feet, hands and head. He then placed a cigar on the hat, placed both on his toe and whipped them up so that the hat fell onto his head and the cigar into his mouth.

He followed this with feats of three ball juggling. (He used tennis balls)  The Adelaide Advertiser said that 'under his control the balls were made to bound from place to place with lightning speed.'

In Sydney and Melbourne, Fields did the  billiard ball trick. Apparently this involved the use of a trick pool table. Field would bounce balls off parts of his body and they would rebound into the pockets. This trick was very well received by audiences.

The juggler was very popular in Sydney in particular.The Referee newspaper described the encore demands from the audience on his opening night as 'unreasonable.' Most reviews commented on his humour. The same newspaper said 'he does the most difficult feats with a drollness which is irresistibly funny.' 

Fields returned to Australia in 1914 for another tour. Of course he followed up his juggling career with star turns as a comedian in the Ziegfeld follies and in movies. Field gave up juggling, partly because he wanted to drink, and partly because he wanted a more rewarding occupation. Nonetheless, he did gain his initial fame through juggling and was one of the most successful acts on the Tivoli circuit in Australia in 1903.

If you are interested in contemporary juggling in Australia try Sydney Juggling.

notes on sources.

Fields' description from Theatre Magazine is quoted in Tivoli by Frank Van Straten

The picture of Fields comes from Melbourne Punch, 25/06/1903

The description of his act in Adelaide comes from The Adelaide Advertiser, 13/07/1903

The description of the billiard ball trick is based upon a description found at www.juggling.org

Finally, quotations about his performance in Sydney come from The Referee, 29/03/1903