Thursday, February 12, 2009

Hagenbeck's Circus #6


Scan11316, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

Posted by Buckles at 2/12/2009 12:41:00 PM

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I assume this is Axel Gautier's father.

12 February, 2009 13:10
Buckles said...

It must be.
His father's name was Louis.

12 February, 2009 13:14
Chic Silber said...

That would also make him

Ingeborg Rhodin's father

Chic

12 February, 2009 16:36
Anonymous said...

and Trolle's father-in-law

12 February, 2009 17:35
Anonymous said...

He came yo Ringling in the Forties and Pat Valdo told me that he was one of Ringlings finest horse trainers, but unfortunately died in middle age of cancer. Yes he was Axel's father, etc.

13 February, 2009 07:15
Anonymous said...

I note the ex Ringling tiger trainer Mathis and also the Great Peters, who did finally really hang himself. Both familiar to American Circus. What a great show, Top of the line. Would love to have seen it.

13 February, 2009 07:18
Anonymous said...

Louis “Lulu” Gautier and Edith Gautier, presumably his wife, came to RBBB for its 1947 edition. Both are listed in the route book for that year. I do not know if Axel had been born at that time.

Louis Gautier presented his horses in an end ring in Display 15. In the center was Czeslan Mroczkowski (pronounced “March-kowski”) with his wife Gena in the other end ring. She performed under the name “Mrs Gena Lipkowska.”

All of these were “First Time in America” performers. Johnny North had gone to Europe and really loaded up the 1947 show with new foreign performers. They were all from countries besides Germany because the visa authorities were trying to sort out who had been a Nazi and who had not. That was a real problem for a number of years after the War.

Even Lorenz Hagenbeck was initially prevented from coming to America. He got the Ringling show to intercede on his behalf through renowned Washington attorney (and CFA honcho) Mel Hildreth. He had a lot of influence and the show regularly used him.

Of course, Rudolph Matthies and Hugo Schmitt were both Germans and veteran Hagenbeck animal men. That notwithstanding, they got into the USA for RBBB’s 1947 edition. Seemingly, they did so because they came out of Sweden, not Germany. The Gautiers were with them.

All of them had been performing with the Hagenbeck circus (Lulu Gautier had horses and zebras). Late in 1944 Lorenz Hagenbeck sent them out of Germany to Sweden for Trolle Rhodin and his family circus. Lorenz wanted to get them away from the destruction and devastation looming over Germany.

13 February, 2009 19:58

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