Tuesday, June 04, 2013

2009 Calendar #86 (From Buckles)


"The Terrible Trip to the Moon" Adam Forepaugh & Sells Bros. Circus, 1890's.

Posted by Buckles at 6/04/2013 05:52:00 AM

1 comments:

Dick Flint said...

The name of the featured act is most likely a take-off on the famous 1902 Georges Méliès silent film "A Trip to the Moon" presented by many a showman in itinerant black tents as well as in city theatres.

I believe this illustration, perhaps the back cover of a courier, is more accurately dated to about 1904 when Forepaugh-Sells featured their "Chasm Vaulting Cyclist," the "Prodigious Porthos." He utilized the down part of the loop used by Diavolo for his bicycle loop-the-loop act and then traveled some 52 feet before landing and descending on another platform. That appears to be slightly different, however, from what is pictured here. It would take a little bit more research to confirm a date but reference in the picture's text to a fighting the flames display helps.
Always nice to view these old items and see a challenge to ferret out and share some interesting information.
Dick Flint
Baltimore

05 June, 2013 14:56

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