Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Raffaele de Ritis (Burma)




Circus Knie, in the 50s: Wenzel Kossmayer (in the picture) assisting Rolf Knie training of Burma.
I wonder if Mr.Rolf was the first to accomplish this trick (a complete rolling in the space between two points).
For sure, Rolf Knie was the first ever to introduce a wire walking elephant in the 40s. Posted by Picasa

Posted by Buckles at 12/26/2006 01:02:00 PM

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is definitely a rail on the trainers side and I would suggest the elephant was trained to lean just a little toward the trainer during the trick. Kind of like a bareback rider always leaning to the inside. But if it is not a rail someone sure forgot to take a net pole or sidepole out of the ring. Commented by pain in the ass john herriott.

26 December, 2006 13:55
Anonymous said...

As I noted in my posting of the photo of three elephants on globes, Hamel's book shows Carl Knie (great uncle to the present generation of owners) presenting the routine with one elephant in 1939 in a sawdust ring but with bars for a path spaced so wide that they are not touching the rolling globe. I'll interpret any statement of who was the "first" to do something as "the earliest I know about"!! I'm happy to have further stimulated these great and fun comments about various animal routines. What a pleasure to hear the observations of so many folks who spent their lives in this business! We need to know more about the accomplishments of the wonderful animals and great presenters in the circus world. Circus fans may know all about the history of a light plant wagon (even if they do call it a “generator wagon”—right on, Johnny Herriott!) but what may be lost is the core of the circus, just what the performers did in the great show the public came to see.
Dick Flint
Baltimore

26 December, 2006 15:07
Anonymous said...

What is a wire walking elephant ?

29 December, 2006 15:35

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