Buckles Blog

Sunday, December 22, 2013

More odds & ends #6

The April 10, 1937 issue of THE NEW YORKER magazine came out two days after the Ringling-Barnum Circus opened in Madison Square Garden. Each year, the Circus would take out ads in THE NEW YORKER, which reciprocated by publishing circus related articles and cartoons.

More odds & ends #7

Even though he was never in any of the circus films that Castle Films released over the years, Felix Adler appeared on the cover of this Castle catalog dating from the mid-1940s.

More odds & ends #8

In C.B. DeMille’s TGSOE, the locomotive fireman who shouts out the first warning that the second section is about to plow into the rear end of the first section is played by veteran character actor Fred Kohler, Jr. His single-scene appearance is an example of DeMille casting a small role in one of his pictures with an actor who had worked for him previously.

More odds & ends #9

Fred Jr. and his even-more-famous father Fred Kohler, Sr. (whom many fans of old films consider to be the BEST western badman of the 1920s and ‘30s) were father & son outlaws in the 1938 George O’Brien B-western LAWLESS VALLEY. At one point, the conniving pair disagree on how best to carry out a particularly reprehensible piece of skull-duggery. “Aw, that’s crazy,” Fred, Jr. protests, to which Fred, Sr. growls back, “Careful son, you’re talking to your dad, you know!”

More odds & ends #10

One of the lobby cards for AT THE CIRCUS (1939), the film where Groucho sang “Lydia, the Tattooed Lady.” (Buster Keaton worked on this film as a gag man.)

More odds & ends #11

This ad for Schoenhut’s Humpty Dumpty Circus is from the 1927 Sears Roebuck Catalogue. Percy Turner once told me that the term “Humpty Dumpty Circus” was also used to describe very small traveling shows.

More odds & ends #12

My all-time favorite light-up jukebox is the Wurlitzer Model 600 from 1938-39. Since it is not as eagerly sought-after as some of the other Wurlitzer models like the classic 1015, a Model 600 machine can still be acquired at a fairly reasonable price. (They turn up on eBay from time to time, which is where I found my Model 600 jukebox.) The reason I’ve included it here is because its color scheme is in keeping with the holidays.

From Randy Peterson #1

The red show is parked in Strates winter quarters....

From Randy Peterson #2

From Randy Peterson #3

Saturday, December 21, 2013

For Jim Clubb #1 (From Paul Gutheil)

Circus World Museum 2002

For Jim Clubb #2

From Jim Clubb #1

Hello Buckles,

Please see attached a couple of images of Bostock and Wombwelle’s Menagerie taken from 1905-1910.

1. The first shot shows the elephant wagon en route. The elephants never travelled inside the wagon. They always walked or pulled other transport. They only put them in the wagon when they were on the ground. They just carried most of the show equipment inside this wagon. You will notice the well in the middle, where the elephants stood.

From Jim Clubb #2

2. Elephants pushing a beast wagon. This Is self-explanatory.

From Jim Clubb #3

3. This shows the menagerie being built up with the two elephant wagons at the far end. The ridge poles are just being put in place and James Birket, the general manager, can be seen in the centre. He was married to Albertina Jamrach, daughter of the famous animal dealer. They normally had seven wagons either side, ridge poles down the centre and then they threw a canvas tilt over the top. The canvas was not laced together. It was just in strips and was carried on top of the animal wagons to make the build-up easy and quick.

From Jim Clubb #4

I think there are few people around today who really knew how a travelling menagerie operated.

My partner and I will be in Florida on our annual holiday from 2^nd January until 10^th January, inclusive. I hope to be at the club on Saturday 4^th January and would love to see any of my great friends. I look forward to seeing you all then.

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas.

1887 Bostock & Wombwells Menagerie #1 (From Buckles)

1887 Bostock & Wombwells Menagerie #2

1887 Bostock & Wombwells Menagerie #3

1907 Bostock-Ferrari Show #1

These last pictures from Myron W. Organ to my father and written on then back:

"Wilmington Ohio Street Fair and Parade
Wilmington, Ohio week of July 25, 1907"

Also a notation that the living wagon remained at Benson's Animal farm for many years.

1907 Bostock- Ferrari Show #2

Elephants name was "Jolly".

1907 Bostock-Ferrari Show #3

1907 Bostock- Ferrari Show #4

Friday, December 20, 2013

From Chic Silber

"Here comes the tree.....it's that time of year again!

World Wide Blog #1

Received a message from Jim Clubb in South Africa yesterday saying he had some pictures for the Blog.
After sending the eMail address I decided to submit these pictures with the possibility of drawing identification and comments from a broader European audience.
Who knows it could lead to a world wide debate and after all everyone should be afforded the opportunity of being insulted by Chic.
The possibilities are limitless!