Thursday, February 19, 2009

Honest Bill's Show 1915 #1


Scan11355, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

Quite a picture, even the citizens were positioned for the occasion.
The high-dive rigging was the most popular type free act used to draw people to the to the lot early.

Posted by Buckles at 2/19/2009 06:49:00 AM

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

African what on the side of the wagon under the big top? And what purpose did it serve?

19 February, 2009 08:48
Buckles said...

My first thought was, that it might be a "Fighting Lion" but it's hard to imagine they would sacrifice that much seating space.
I remember the Fighting Lion in the Cole Bros. Side Show. They spotted the cage directly across the entrance and Arthur Hoffman would command, "LOOK THROUGH THE DOORWAY!", (you could see the lion pacing back and forth) "CAPT. DWIGHT NIFONG WILL ENTER THE DEN WHERE THE MAN FIGHTS THE LION! AND THE LION FIGHTS THE MAN!"
As the number began a curtain was slid across and obstruct the view from the midway but you could hear the commotion inside accompanied by the Side Show band.
Since there not much to it other than to roust the lion around the cage few times, the Capt. wanted to pad his part and occasionally would kick at him from beneath his chair.
One day the lion grabbed him by the ankle and bit him on the leg several times.
Arky had to fill in for a few days until he recovered.

19 February, 2009 10:04
Anonymous said...

Great photo! You can even see the starback seats inside the tent. Standing by the marquee one probably sees the entire led stock department. More circuses that toured looked like this than the big Barnum & Bailey show.
Dick Flint
Baltimore

19 February, 2009 10:52
Anonymous said...

Around 1922 my father wrote a letter to his mother bthat advised her that he was in Quenemo, Ks. training an eight pony drill for Mr. William Newton and that Mr. Newton bought him a tuxedo for him and that he would be working "cupid" the pick out pony on some theater shows. Also that the ponies would perform without harness. bSomething different. [Too cheap to buy harness, I assume].

The story goes that old Bill Newton found a ladies purse that fell off the seats [Lucky] and brought it to young Bill and he stopped the show and announced the finding of the purse and returned it to the lady,[Honest]. How about that? I believe they always had alot of grift on their shows.

20 February, 2009 09:15
Anonymous said...

"Lucky" used to be sort of a euphemism for "grift."

Kitzman told me that Honest Bill played a blacksmith's lot and when he left he took everything but the anvil and that was nailed down.

20 February, 2009 11:45
Anonymous said...

Honest Bill Shows - William "Honest Bill" Newton, Jr. , propoietor; 1903-18, 1921, 1923-24, 1927, 1929, 1935, 1939.

20 February, 2009 16:08
Unknown said...

Can you tell me any more about Dwight Nifong and the "Fighting Lion"? We are doing genealogy and he is an ancestor of ours!

22 April, 2014 08:18

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