Sells 7 Elephant March (From Richard Flint)

Sells 7 Elephant March, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. Tuesday's set of Sells Bros. photos reminded me of the famous sheet music cover for "The Seven Elephant March" used as part of their advertising campaign in 1878. It was the Sells brothers' boast that helped to accelerate the competition among circuses for big herds of elephants as this was the most ever carried by a show since Barnum's Asiatic Caravan of the early 1850s. What is odd and perhaps little known is that the Sells herd almost never performed in the ring. An act of "nursing baby elephants" was presented in 1878, three elephants were used in 1891 when hippodrome races were introduced, and a baby clown elephant act was seen in 1886 and 1891 (and quite possibly for the intervening years) but a big bull act apparently was never seen on Sells. Based upon their printed programs and detailed route books, the following enumeration emerges about the numbers of animals carried and their handlers: 1878 – Had an act of "nursing baby elephants" by Willis Cobb (who also presented separate acts of trained dogs, mules, and a goat and monkey routine and who also was the show press agent!). This is the first year of the 7 elephant show; also carried were 8 camels and 18 cages. This was the Sells show first season by rail and they moved on 34 cars painted white. 1879 - Cobb is now the equestrian director and a couple of cages plus another camel were added. Six of the seven elephants paraded. 1881 - Cobb continues as both equestrian director and special press agent but is also presenting trained cattle. Both William Jinks and Pearl Souder are now in the animal department. Menagerie up to 23 cages; some of the elephants pulled racing chariots in the parade and another 8 preceded the calliope in the daily march. 1882 - Dave Gilliam replaces Cobb for several of the animal acts; Jinks is now Assistant Master of the animal department. 1883 - Jinks is now listed as in charge of the elephants, the first person ever on Sells so designated. 1884 – Show now carries 10 elephants (Jenks [now so spelled] with 15 men in the elephant dept!) with 51 cages featured in the menagerie; show moves on 38 60-foot rail cars. 1885 - Jenks is listed as assistant master of animals. 1886 - Billie Burke and his clown elephant Sid appear in the performance; show now down to 7 elephants 1887-90 – no data 1891 - Jinks is now menagerie superintendent and Jerry Ward head of elephant men; clown elephant Sid again presented by Billie Burke; concluding races included an elephant race between Queen, Duchess and Topsy; show moves on a 32 car train; end of season went to Australia. 1893 - William Badger head of the elephant dept with John Gibson as assistant; elephants listed as Dutch, Queen, Topsy, Mack, and Sid; show has act with leaps over the elephants; no elephants in the concluding races; 29 cages carried. 1895 - William W. "Star Kid" Chambers is boss of the animal dept. with William Badger in charge of the elephants. Despite a bitter advertising rivalry during the season of 1891-92 with personal attacks made against James A. Bailey (who had acquired an interest in the Forepaugh show following the old man's death in 1890), Bailey enters into a partnership with the Sells brothers enabling them to add the Forepaugh name to their title. While the descriptive portions of a title were altered over time (as John Goodall noted for most of the years they toured), for clarity and simplicity it is best to say Sells Bros. as a show toured annually from 1871-1895 (but not as early as 1847). Over time, they had much the same show and the same established performers traveling to, essentially, the same Midwest/central states area, finally reaching the west coast by the early 1890s to embark on an Australian tour. Rarely did they play the eastern seaboard states and they avoided New England entirely. Dick Flint Baltimore