  In 1936, LIFE MAGAZINE did a photo feature on Heckler’s Trained Flea Circus. (The same show that Bill Ballantine wrote about in WILD TIGERS AND TAME FLEAS.) I don’t believe that Buckles’ Blog has ever run any photos showing a flea circus, so . . . This first photo shows the white flannel “Flea Hotel” where the fleas were kept, hitched to their equipment, between performances. |
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Heckler's Trained Flea Circus #1 (From Eric Beheim)
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5 comments:
Is this the fellow who appeared at
Hubert's Museum in midtown Manhattan ? i was around 8 or 9 when I saw a flea circus there. I remember the one I saw had a flea pulling a carousel around as well as the chariots etc. if I recall correctly, about 60 years later, patrons were given a magnifying glass to view the performance.
Paul Gutheil
Paul, I envy you seeing this guy. His Dad started the show many years ago. As I said before, Wild Tigers and Tame Fleas has an entire chapter devoted to this and according to my Dad he really nailed the Professor.
Ballantine's books are really classics and evoke a whole host of memories.
Many years back the Allentown Fair had a flea circus which I saw but cannot recall whole it was.
Paul, if you are interested gimmicked versions are for sale on the net for a pile of money and it might be a good retirement venture.
Yes Bob, Wild Tigers and tame Fleas is about the best book on characterizing greats of a few years back. Bill Ballantine has a genius in bringing them to life in print. It is full of great and true tales. If you have not reade it get a copy. Johnny
Outstanding. I am much too younge to have seen an original Flea Circus. My Grandmother saw a Flea Circus at the Central Canadian Exhibition in Toronto in 1911, and gave me the post card from the event to add to our show ehibit before she passed on. I have a Mossman flea circus (very well made from the U.K.) and am always looking for pictures of original flea circus events (or copies of pictures) or other flea circus memorabilia. We have a 60 piece flea and insect sideshow that travells with our flea circus. See my website at www.baggles.ca if curious. We try to acknowledge the original Flea circus entertainers, like Mimmie Garneau, and many others.
Maybe about 8 or 10 years back there
was a live operating Flea Circus in
1 of the buildings in Tivoli Gardens
in Copenhagen that had a fairly big
display with magnifiers mounted to
show the details of each element
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