Sunday, August 27, 2006

Bertram W. Mills Circus 1925-26 #2


Captain Alfred was originally a professional runner and in 1900 won the championship of Germany, which he held for three years.
In 1904 he launched a sensational bicycle act, the success of which, inspired a desire for a more thrilling show and so he did the same act, a leap through space on a bicycle, enveloped in flames which he styled "The Human Arrow".
For years he had cherished the idea to become a wild animal trainer and whilst in Liverpool he heard of the coming of a steamer carrying six newly captured lions. So soon as the boat docked he approached the owner and bought the lions for 1,500 Pounds.
"A few months later I bought another group of six lions. My ambition was realised, I had found my way. I now own seventy lions; and since those early days I have been a breeder, a trainer and a dealer in lions. In all, I have handled over 200 lions."

Posted by Buckles at 8/27/2006 05:56:00 AM

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting to see a photo of Alfred Schneider. Roman Proske wrote about this act in his book. At one time Schneider's claimed to present 100 lions. The act consisted of a few tricks and then Schneider would move to the side of the cage, assistants pushed barred sections around his legs, he he began to fling chunks of meat to the cats -- something right out of ancient Rome. He did all this wearing thick glasses as he was very nearsighted. Jules Jacot also mentioned that he had seen Schneider's act and said it was the largest group of cats he'd ever seen.

I guess Captain Alfred is Alfred Schneider, just didn't want to sound too German. My quick count came up with "only" 40 lions in the photo -- maybe it was a matinee.

27 August, 2006 07:04
Buckles said...

My first thought, like yours, was that being so soon after the Great War, the name Schneider was omitted.
However his bio mentions him being a former German track star.
Next Sunday I will send out a picture of him as a young man in a 1935 Belle Vue Circus Program but still billed as "Mons Alfred and his Wild Animals" which contains seven lions, two tigers,seven bears (including a polar) and four of those big hounds, all perfectly positioned in a pyramid.

27 August, 2006 07:32
Anonymous said...

Years of research often lead to contrasting, sometimes disappointing, cage act counts. Bill Johnston told me he saw Clyde Beatty working 43 mixed cats on the '37 Cole show. Others insist he never had more than 30 or so. Judy Jacobs Kaye told me her father, The Lion King, Captain Terrell Monroe Jacobs, carried 55 mixed cats on the '39 RBBB, and worked as many as 52 at times. Others claim it was held to about 35. Naturally, I'm siding with Bill and Judy. This is like when some poor actor dies, and obits write of his "only Oscar". How many does it take to be an Oscar winner? Then there are those who would say Schneider had more of a presentation than an act--OK, but if you're feeding ANY big cats whilst among them, I'll agree with anything you want to call it.

27 August, 2006 16:03
Anonymous said...

Richard Reynolds says - -

Am glad Jim counted the lions and came up with only 40 though Schneidier must have done 70 at some time to make the claim. That rivals Willy Hagenbeck's 70 polar bear act.

27 August, 2006 16:33
Anonymous said...

It is totally correct that Schneider was not billed by Mills for the political reasons.
This was the first winter season break of the newly created Schneider circus, the lions coming directly from Italy.
Even if Schneider claimed 100 lions in some publicity (and on the wagons) at the end of the 20s, it is possible that he never really reached that number, but surely he got around 70.
Anyway, at the moment of this picture he didn't worked more than 40.
He got to buy a lot of lions for the demand of the silent movie "Quo Vadis" he was called to do in Italy, with a reconstruction of Circus Maximus (in 1919, I think). Later he worked for some other German circuses (Busch, etc.). He opened his own big top in 1924, when any German menagerie owner seemed caught by the "Barnum syndrome". Anyway, Schneider's circus was much more modest than the largest touring operations of Krone or Gleich (both with 3 rings at the time). Capt.Schneide was very popular here in Italy, where the german circuses toured a lot, because the German-Italy fascist cultural exchanges. The circus was bankrupted in 1934, with a sale of every item and animal in Naples. I have some press cuttings of the time. On the english circus book "Circus Parade" (Clarke) you can find pictures of the sale (as well as many Olympia stills). Another english writer, Johann Fabricius, published a novel "The lion starve in Naples" inspired by the facts (my copy bears 1934 probably the first year of edition).

28 August, 2006 15:55
Unknown said...

Check Circopedia for a short film. In it he feeds them behind a wooden board. Quality is not that great, but at least there is some footage and not near the number of animals, but still impressive. Believe it was shot in 1929.

Bob

08 May, 2017 11:42
SASS said...

raffaele de ritis said... Another english writer, Johann Fabricius, published a novel "The lion starve in Naples" inspired by the facts (my copy bears 1934 probably the first year of edition).

Johan Fabricius (1899 – 1981) was a Dutch writer, artist and adventurer.

02 January, 2019 19:12

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