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Monday, May 05, 2014
Sunday, May 04, 2014
Powers Elephants #2
My Dad once told me about the time he and Highpockets worked briefly as grooms for this act during it's Vaudeville days.
It featured various themes, one scene had a Spanish motif whereas the elephant stood on a tub and struck alternating front feet with a tambourine while a portly Mme. Powers danced around the stage in Spanish attire clicking castinets.
He later duplicated the trick but with "Anna May" doing the dance.
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Powers Elephants #5
I feel inspired this morning, Louie Stern once told me that Cheerful Gardner and the Powers Elephants grew so old together that on occasion Cheerful would have to work the act from a baggage cart while a prop guy pushed him around the ring.
"I just might come out of retirement!"
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Saturday, May 03, 2014
Circus World Pix #8
My wife has a Facebook Account and enjoys it immensely but for some unknown reason, the past few months I have been receiving statements from that Company claiming things like "You have 35 friends who want to talk with you!".
In the first place I don't have that many friends and years ago Shannon warned me about things on the Internet like Lawyers from Rwanda willing to grant inheritances for a fee.
The odd thing is, occasionally the names of people who communicate regularly on the Blog are included.
The reason I mention this is to explain that nothing personal is intended toward the Bloggers.
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Friday, May 02, 2014
From Casey Gibbs
MEMORIAL SERVICE |
Almost 60 years ago! #1
Right out of High School, driving the elephant truck for my Dad, laying around and being a smart-ass.
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Almost 60 years ago! #2
At this point the only elephants I had been around were the three in my folks had.
Here's "Anna May" is showing me how to get out of doing a hind leg stand.
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Almost 60 years ago! #4
Freddy Logan with "Mary", "Shirley", "Minnie", "Ione" and "Virginia" winter of 1955-56.
Can't believe I was wearing my best jacket and gloves.
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Almost 60 years ago! #5
I wonder how many times later I've yelled at young guys, "Dammit! Step back!..... don't hang onto her!....if she takes off and bumps into you.....you're on you're ass and she's half way to Orlando!"
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Almost 60 years ago! #6
There's that hat again, it's usually the first thing to get knocked off when you're trying to get something done.
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Thursday, May 01, 2014
The Cards (From Dave Price)
Window cards are printed on
cardboard for standing in windows or stapling to poles etc and the standard size
is approximately 22" by 14." Some window cards have been printed in the flat
position.
Jumbo cards are approximately 22" by 28" and are usually stapled or tacked outside rather than being placed in windows. There have been a number of odd sizes and shapes in window cards. Die-cut cards came in many sizes and shapes and usually had a fold-out stand on the back so they could be placed anywhere. There's a story of a biller who went in a plumbing supply place and was given permission to put a card in the window. He placed a die-cut card upon a toilet that was prominently displayed in the show window. Unfortunately the card advertised a feature performer who was sort of a prima donna. The lady whose picture appeared on the card saw it sitting on the toilet and went to the show owner, who happened to be Mr Zack Terrell. The biller was dismissed and never worked on the Cole show again. This sounds like the "Out House Lil" story. |
Posting Paper #1 (From Dave Price)
To illustrate the various sizes of posting paper, imagine that on a
24-sheet board I have posted a 16-sheet of the RBBB "Beauties and Beasts" at
left and next to it an 8-sheet of Dailey Bros mandrill baboon (16 + 8 = 24).
Then over the 16-sheet I have posted an RBBB 9-sheet leaping tiger and over that an Al G Barnes 6-sheet hippo bill. Across the top of the 9-sheet tiger is a 3-sheet streamer reading "Clyde Beatty in Person." At other places where I could fit them, are a Russell Bros 2-Sheet lion and a Clyde Beatty 3-sheet showing Beatty in his act. The word "streamer" is often used incorrectly. A streamer usually consists of just some wording and is always much longer than it is high. There were some pictorial streamers in the past. There was a famous one of a giant snake in which the billposter used one head and one tail and as many middles as needed to go across the top of the daub. In my day billers usually referred to larger posters by their size: 3-sheets, 8-sheets etc. I never heard the term "multi-sheet" used on the advance; I believe that term originated with late Twentieth-Century circus fans. If we had to refer to the entire category we would just say, "posting paper." |
Posting Paper II
This Russell Bros 12-sheet is 3
high and 4 long. I have put two 1-sheet uprights one on top of the other to
illustrate that they add up to the same height as 3-high paper, and are
sometimes posted on a daub alongside 3-high paper to make the length come out
right.
Generally you would hear a size described as so many sheets "long" and "high" rather than "horizontal" and "vertical." By the way, "post" is a verb and "daub" is a noun in the billing vernacular. Usually "post" simply means "paste" and is used for outside work. A "billposter" meant the man who posted or pasted large posters on walls, barns etc. "Lithograph" is both a noun and a verb. One "lithographs" a window, putting "lithographs" on display. A "lithographer" meant the man who put lithos in store windows. |
1938-39 Parker & Watts #1 (From Buckles)
Bud E. Anderson, Charles Parker, Ira Watts and Pete Lindeman.
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