Tuesday, December 05, 2006

John Rbinson Circus 1920's #12



This is something I had forgotten all about, painting trunks on an open Sunday.
Man in the background getting a haircut.

I still have my mother's Taylor trunk stored out in the elephant barn. It was essential that performer's trunks be rectangular so they could be loaded conveniently. Those with hump-back lids ran the risk of being left on the lot. Posted by Picasa

Posted by Buckles at 12/05/2006 05:48:00 AM

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those hump back trunks were made so the travelers on stage coaches could get their trunks unloaded first. They could not be stacked on the bottom or middle of the piles of luggage. I do not know this from experience dispite my age. "Roger" Pullman Trunks were so well made, they put them selves out of business as the trunks were handed down through the years.

05 December, 2006 06:39
Anonymous said...

The current stage/travelling shows use horizontal road cases for rigging but the production and wardrobe are in upright road cases about 5' tall that open like a book; they're on large rubber wheels. These are so efficient I think you could live in an empty house with 1 or 2 cases and have eveything you need to make a home.Easy packing to move . cc

05 December, 2006 07:52
Buckles said...

This sounds something like the wardrobe boxes used on the Ringling Show when we were there but not so elaborate.
Something like 5'sq. x 2 1/2' deep with conventional cabinet type doors and mounted on castors.

05 December, 2006 08:08
B.E.Trumble said...

I remember being a teen in the 1970's when "Blue Laws" disappeared and Sunday became just another shopping day. Going back to the early 60's I remember Sunday restrictions on carnival midways that mostly involved hours of operation and alcohol sales. When did Sunday's generally open up as show days, the 1950's, or the 1940's after the war?

05 December, 2006 10:28
Anonymous said...

Laundry hanging on the ropes too. Seems like most of the pictures showing the back yard has laundry hanging. Notice its the men doing it also.

05 December, 2006 10:44
Anonymous said...

In the early 60s some towns still had blue laws when we played on Fairyland Circus. We would set up then get all dressed up in our sunday best and go into town.

05 December, 2006 11:45
Anonymous said...

It just dawned on me that the RAWLS FAMILY, Eugene and me, plus Obert Miller and the light plant clown were the show. The RAWLS did everything except animals which Eugene and I did. Obert had his pony act. Ted Bowmen was the office manager. There was a couple that had concessions. We had a ball and Obert said it was the best year he ever had.

05 December, 2006 12:37
Anonymous said...

They were never known as hump back trunks. The correct identification was "camel back trunks". Also in order to discourage them from being on a circus lot or dressing room it was said they were a Jinx, similar to a mouth organ, black tights and whistling in the dressing room.

05 December, 2006 16:01
Anonymous said...

Beg to differ with you John H, but the dometop trunks were indeed called HUMPBACK by the makers of steamer trunks. I have had a couple used as storage for quilts at the foot of my bed.

05 December, 2006 19:13
Anonymous said...

Obviously you were never on a railroad show, but I can assure you that they were always referred to as camel back trunks and were not welcome on any circus for the stated reasons. My wife just advised me that when she went on the Beatty railroad show that before the season opened she was advised that, in her words, Camel back trunks would not be allowed. Whatever they are called in your society is of no interest to me, but for a company to choose that name for them sounds a little demeaning and certainly a public relation snafu. So enjoy your trunks, but bear in mind on the circus they are considered a Jinx.

06 December, 2006 08:51
Anonymous said...

Now for the benefit of the uninformed. When you had a Taylor trunk [the trunk wagon was built around the demensions that ,say the could load side by side three abreast] you would also get or have three little pipes about 16 inches each. That screwed together. The bottom of one was pointed to stick in the ground. on the top one a little board could be screwed on that had small hooks around it to hang clothes. You would insert it thru the leather handle on the outside of the trunk and push it into the ground and you were in business to get ready for the show. One of those little fold up stools that could also load in your trunk was desirable as a chair. The one bucket with your name on it would be outside the pad room with the others filled with water when the water wagon got around to it. What and give up showbusiness.

06 December, 2006 09:07
Anonymous said...

There were some very popular neat, but complicated in design, fold up reclining chairs that would also fit in your trunk. They were not available on the commercial market and hard to find. If lucky you could buy one from person leaving the show. It was kind of a status to have one.

06 December, 2006 09:14
Anonymous said...

Also it was required that on the top lid of your trunk be painted the letters MDR or LDR, meaning men's or ladies dressing room. No, unless you were a star with a trunk wagon or chair wagon for a private dressing room, you could not dress with your wife or vice-versa. However they would back up the married couples trunks on both sides of the sidewall partition so you could hand stuff back and forth under the sidewall, and converse without screaming.

06 December, 2006 09:24
Anonymous said...

To: Rebecca and John H...you are both right. The following comes from THIS OLD TRUNK.COM website

In the late 1870s a large fancy round top trunk became popular, because it was used by the wealthier people visiting the spas and racetrack at Saratoga Springs, New York. The Saratoga Trunk was a very large, domed top style with fancy trim, covered in either leather or metal. Early trunk catalogs and ads describe Saratoga trunks as a "large round top of the highest class". Round top trunks (also called humpback, camelback, monitor top, and barrel top) were made in a wide range of sizes and coverings. It is believed that the round tops were made for those who wanted to try to have their trunk packed on the top of baggage cars, so they would not be damaged.


In the late 1800s another trunk style developed for steamship travel, called the Steamer trunk, which was a low, flat top trunk. Large trunks for clothes and shoe storage were Wardrobe trunks, most containing hangers and drawers. Large flat top trunks with drawers were known as Bureau or Dresser trunks. Rare versions have been found with round tops and with interiors resembling desks, with fold down front sections. Small square shaped trunks were made especially for carrying hats and many other special purpose trunks were produced from about 1880 to the 1920s. Trunks were made for the circus, for salesmen, musical instruments, tools, and many other purposes.

06 December, 2006 10:09
Anonymous said...

To Ben Trumble, I have been keeping a record of circuses that showed my home city of Newport, RI. This city had very strong church influence. The first circus to show on a Sunday was Beatty-Cole in 1960. Previous to that, many circuses showed on a Monday (Cristiani 1957), but would arrive on Sunday and partialy set up the show in the morning. The center poles would be raised, and the big top canvas set out, but not un rolled.

This 1960 date was probably very close to the National trend for circuses showing on a Sunday.

06 December, 2006 10:13
Anonymous said...

Thanks Jimmy. Somebody else wrote and mentioned that nationally the big push to do away with Sunday "Blues Laws" came about in the 1960's when K-Mart ordered their stores to stay open defying such restrictions, and just paid the local fines. When other businesses remained open, communities (or States) repealed Sunday restrictions figuring they would never survive actual Court review anyway. 1960 sounds like it makes sense for start of such things.

06 December, 2006 12:28
Anonymous said...

We still had blue laws here in Texas till 1985 for house goods on Sunday. Still can't sell cars on both Saturday and Sunday. Must be closed on Saturday or Sunday.
I think other states may be the same way with car and truck sales.
P.J.Holmes

06 December, 2006 19:57
Anonymous said...

it used to be against the law to sell canned peas on sunday in Boston

07 December, 2006 11:14
Anonymous said...

I understand with car sales, the closures are something that the dealers want -- it's nice to have a day off so long as you're certain that your competitors are also closed for the day. A bit like the way that in most communities Barbers Associations would agree to close one weekday afternoon every week back in the days before Supercuts and Styling Salons.

07 December, 2006 11:48
Anonymous said...

There should be a law against selling can peas anywhere. UGH

07 December, 2006 11:58
Anonymous said...

George Scott always reccommended canned peas for his famous pea salad.He was quite famous for his pea salad at circus pot lucks,Donny Johnson always used to say that it was the SAME pea salad as no one would ever eat it so George would just re-hash the same salad ! lol
So in honor Of George Scott I always try to bring a pea salad to pot lucks,with my own "improvements" of course

08 December, 2006 07:38

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