Showing posts with label Rhodesia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rhodesia. Show all posts

Sunday, November 13, 2022

Odds and ends and Ads...Kremo Family, Morris Cronin, Long Tack Sam, Melba Littlejohn, Rhodesia, Selbo, The Brunins..W C Fields.

 Many years ago I purchased about 10-20 scrap books from an old collector. Sometimes I look through them and discover some interesting things. Some I've shown before, but it's nice to have them together.



Advertisement for the Kremos, the greatest of all Risley Acrobats, in Theatre Magazine


The Brunins in Theatre Magazine


A tiny ad for Selbo- The King of Clubs in Theatre Magazine.



WC Fields as a juggler..

Melba Littlejohn in a 1920s Australian newspaper


and here she is again



Morris Cronin and his complete London Company in Mr Cronin's world famed Juggling Act.


A 1900 matinee to support the distressed actors fund. Mdme Rhodesia is performing in this. Ferry the human frog is also performing under the auspices of the Tivoli.

Look on the right hand side under Fitzgerald brother's circus and Tivoli.


Long Tack Sam 1923















Sunday, May 15, 2022

Some photos of Jugglers in Australia


My book What Goes Up. Australian Juggling to World War 1 is now available from Amazon for pre-order.

In honour of this momentous occasion I'm posting some photos of jugglers who appear in the book. Regrettably, only the photos that I own could be published in the book, the rest of the photos here come from the newspapers. 




A cigarette card in my possession.


Derenda and Breen from the newspapers- 





The Harbecks- He gambled -  she juggled. ( newspaper photo)


Joe Jalvan top right balancing (newspaper photo)


Kara- Sydney gave him appendicitis - from the newspapers. 


Lennon Hyman and Lennon- Australians- from my collection


Lucy Gillet- a postcard in my collection


Morris Cronin- the best club juggler in the world? From the newspaper

Rhodesia- The female Cinquevalli.(newspaper photo)- in the middle


Selbo (from the newspaper)


Victor Martyn early in his career (my collection)


Stan Kavanagh- later in his career (from my collection)



The Carmos ( from the newspapers) Friends of the Martyns.



W C Fields as he appeared in Sydney 1903 ( from my collection)



















Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Ma'mselle Rhodesia- The only lady juggler ever seen in these parts


Described by various writers in Australia as ‘beautiful’ ‘pretty’ ‘ladylike’ and the ‘lady Cinquevalli’, Ma’mselle Florence Rhodesia was one of the first female jugglers to perform in Australia.

Florrie was born around 1885 in England according to a US census. This means that she was a bare 15 years old when she came to Australia. It is, however, entirely possible that Florrie may have ‘fudged’ her age a bit.

 She made her debut in the antipodes in 1900, when she toured Australia and New Zealand with Fitzgerald Brothers Circus. The brothers, Tom, and Dan Fitzgerald, called her Rhoda.
According to an interview she gave in New Zealand, she began her circus career at 8 years of age as a slack wire walker. When her apprenticeship ended she toured South Africa with Fillis Brothers and began juggling. Whilst there she met Cecil Rhodes and acquired the name ‘Rhodesia’.  She then returned to England and began juggling on the variety stages where the brothers Fitzgerald found her and asked her to tour Australia.

Rhoda toured for several years. Her act incorporated several skills that Cinquevalli had introduced to the Australian stage. Florrie turned herself into a billiard table and rolled balls around her body until they slipped into the pockets of a specially designed coat, she also did ‘everything Cinquevalli did’. However, most contemporaneous accounts focused on her looks and ladylike demeanour, with one Australian newspaper saying, ‘the lady is personally very attractive which is a feature unto itself.’ For a publicity shot in 1902, Rhoda wore male attire, including pants, a suit coat, and a shirt, she also had a top hat by her side. This costume placed her firmly in the tradition of gentleman juggler and contributed to her appeal, particularly to male audiences.




Rhoda was well liked by her peers and when she left Australia in 1903 she was farewelled with a cart full of bouquets, the music of the circus orchestra and a gold medal from her employers. They also penned her a note,  

Dear Rhoda, as you are now leaving Australia, we must express our sincere regret at your departure. You have behaved yourself always in a ladylike and graceful manner and you leave behind you many true friends and well-wishers. We consider you a true artist, and a credit to your profession- T and D.

According to a contemporary newspaper, Rhodesia was the only lady juggler ever seen in ‘these parts’, probably referring to Australia and New Zealand.

In 1905 Florrie wrote a letter to friends in Sydney announcing that she had married Mr William Seeley in Capetown South Africa. Seeley had performed in Australia on the Tivoli circuit as one of a team called Seeley and West, it is possible that the pair met during Rhoda’s Australasian tour.
Florrie returned to Australia, as Madame Rhodesia, with her husband in 1907 and performed at the Tivoli. However, this time her act was not as widely applauded. One newspaper dismissed her show saying the only unique part of it was that she was female. Time and imitators had apparently eaten away at her novelty.

Florence continued to perform with her husband, primarily in the United States. In 1910, Florence and William settled there.By the late 1920s Florence was the proprietor of an Inn in Suffolk New York. Genealogical information suggests that she passed away around 1938 in the same area.

For information about present day juggling try Sydney Juggling