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“Finding Our Grandfather in the Attic”©
By Arlene Wright-Correll
“While cleaning his attic in September 2005, my brother George found these pictures of our paternal grandfather. This merge is when he was a young man. He was an animal tamer with the Bostock Circus and he was head lined as “Cowboy Brooks”. These were postcards of him. George and Barbara had always had lots of pictures of our Grandfather because he lived with them during the last years of his life, so we were delighted when they gave us this treasure trove of pictures. It prompted me to do some research on grandpa.
Here he is in his formal attire.
George also found these pictures of our father, Bernard Vincent Brooks, as a little boy. He was born in England.
This photo was taken when his father, “Cowboy Brooks” had his photo stills taken circa 1915 we think as they are on postcard stock and say postcard on the back of the originals.
Bernard as a young boy and then at his first communion since he was raised in a catholic boarding school while his father did the circus route and his mother was a concert violinst until she died.
He went to a catholic high school and then on to Canisius College, a Jesuit school in Buffalo NY. We do not think he graduated. In school he played first string violin.
He did a lot of overseas construction during WWII. He was a charming fellow who loved his drink. He was unreliable as a husband and dad, and should never had been married.
He disappeared about1955, was declared legally dead 1962. We discovered in 2004 he had remarried and died in 1988 in Maine. “Good old Dad!”
Our grandfather, George Valentine Brooks, was known as “Cowboy Brooks”, (I have taken the liberty of inserting an arrow) animal tamer of the Bostock Circus in 1911 in group picture.
At this point I will give you a very brief history of the circus.
Where or when the first circus act took place is unknown. However, the word Circus was coined by the Ancient Romans to describe their open air arenas, usually called the Circus Maximus, (Meaning the biggest Circus), where they held different kinds of events such as Chariot Racing, wrestling, feats of skill, animal training and unfortunately, where they also fed Christians to the lions. This type of circus became extinct when Rome fell. However, the ideas of entertainment and showmanship survived and wandering troupes of performers, including clowns, began presenting their acts at various kind of fairs throughout the world.
Birth of the Modern Circus
Not until the late 1700s did the modern circus begin to take form. It is believed to have originated in the exhibitions of horsemanship that became popular in England. A former cavalryman, Philip Astley, was presenting such feats in London in 1768. Astley put his horses through their paces in a large circle, or ring. Ever since his time the ring has been the central performance area of the circus.
The Circus in North America
John William Ricketts, a Londoner, brought the circus to the United States when he opened a show in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1793. He may also have introduced this entertainment to Canada, for a man named Ricketts had a circus in Quebec City in 1798. These were both one-ring, resident (non-traveling) circuses.
Eliminating Competition
In the late 1920s this show had one significant rival. It was the American Circus Corporation, owner of a list of titles that included John Robinson, Sells-Floto, Hagenbeck-Wallace, Sparks, and Al G. Barnes. In 1929 John Ringling, the only one of the brothers then living, bought the American Circus Corporation.
The Decline of the Circus
Eventually there was a period when the circus began a decline from which it has never fully recovered. Part of the decline was a direct result of the depression. There were many other factors, however.
One was the increase in circus expenses. Shows had to pay more for railroad travel, city license fees, salaries, and lot rentals. As expenses rose, the shows raised the prices of their tickets.
As I said earlier, our late grandfather was George Valentine Brooks (AKA Cowboy Brooks) He often told us kids he was the first animal trainer to put lions and tigers in a cage together.
We just found some pictures in the attic that show him with the Bostock Circus and we can remember him talking about being with the Miller Brothers Circus. He was an animal trainer with the Bostock circus around 1910 & 1911 and then with the Miller Brother’s Circus.
When I was about born in 1935 I do not think he was with any circus by then. I know for sure by 1938 he was not because that is how far back my memory clearly takes me regarding him. He had bought a lot of real estate in Queens N.Y. during the depression with the money he saved while being in the circus. He also had a painting business that he painted the outside of houses and brownstones on Staten Island and in Brooklyn and Queens and I remember going out to Staten Island with him and my father and staying there on a big painting job they were doing during the time my brother George was born.
But to get back to the lions and tigers, apparently it is a very hard thing to put lions and tigers together. I read that scientists say that lions have the strongest forelegs of the big cats, and they have a knack to being more ferocious. Even though tigers are heavier and longer, it’s ferocity that determines a winner. Lions have all the equipment of a fighter with huge forelegs, the mane, and the stocky body. Because of the mane the male lion is a poor predator. He however has a fierce desire to defend his territory. They have been known to kill or drive off rhinos. The tiger is nervous around a male lion and cat trainers have said that this has caused problems in zoos and circuses. The same trainers have mostly said that the male lion appears to have no fear of the tiger even in a large group of tigers.
The big cat trainer Clyde Beatty lost 12 tigers to lions and didn’t lose a single lion. He once had a tiger and lion fighting in a live performance and tried to stop it he couldn’t and the lion went on to maul the tiger to death in front of all these people. He also had a lion he called Sultan the First and he beat ever male tiger he ever faced. There are 3 films that have been made about fights between a male lion and male tiger and in all three the lion won. ‘Lion-Tiger Fight’, 1930’s, Castle Films (16 mm) is a short documentary about a fight between a lion and a tiger which occurred during an expedition to capture some tigers in the Gir region of India (The only place where you can find lions and tigers living together). Typical of documentary/educational films of the time, it explores the background of the event, and the culture of the people involved. B/W, 25 minutes.
There are many memorable animal tamers that I can remember as a kid, and Clyde Beatty is one of them. He used to walk into a cage filled with up to 40 wild animals, armed with nothing but a whip, a wooden chair and a gun loaded with blanks
Clyde Beatty became a circus star in his late 20s and was still a headliner, running his own circus, when he died in 1965, in his early 60s, not yet old enough to qualify for Social Security. In the 1930s and 1940s, he was one of the most famous people in America, the star of movies, radio programs, comic books and his own touring circus act.
People like Clyde Beatty couldn’t happen again in America–or anywhere else.
In his day, Africa was still “the dark continent,” the exotic and exciting place of dense jungles, wild animals and endless adventure. There were still vast areas of the African continent that Americans knew little about. It was easy to imagine that people like Tarzan lived there in a tree house, along with Bomba, the jungle boy, and Nyoka, the jungle girl. If you were connected in any way with the African jungle, you might become a star.
My brother, George Brooks, says our grandfather mainly talked about his days with the Miller Bros circus. George believes Miller Bros were from Texas, from what he learned on Antiques road show.
I have tried to research Miller Brothers Circus and the only info I find to date is that there is a Kelly-Miller Brothers Circus and I am trying to find out whether or not this is one of the mergers that occasionally took place.
There was a Miller Brothers Circus 101 Ranch that was a wild west show.
Colonel George Washington Miller relocated his growing cattle operation from the Oklahoma/Kansas border country to the rich bottomland of the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River in 1892, some six miles southwest of current day Ponca City. This was the Colonelís third ranch effort within the northern area of Indian Territory once known as the Cherokee Outlet (Cherokee Strip).
In the spring of 1895, the industrious native of Kentucky began to put 2000 acres of virgin prairie to the plow and planted it in order to winter Texas cattle. In the fall, several thousand additional acres of wheat was sown and produced for that time period, an impressive 35 bushels an acre.
Buying additional property along with lease agreements with the Ponca Indian Tribe, the 101 Ranch expanded to some 75,000 acres of pastureland. With hard work and good fortune, the Ranch grew to an estimated 110,000 acres. Its boundaries were found in the four Oklahoma counties of Noble, Pawnee, Osage and Kay. The communities of Marland (originally Bliss, O.T.), Red Rock and White Eagle were within the bounds of the giant farm and ranch operation.
With Colonel G. W. Millerís passing in 1903, his three sons, Joe, George and Zack continued expansive operation of the ranch. Experimental and highly successful agriculture applications were developed while the brothers built a herd of 25,000 longhorns. Led by Joe Miller, the brothers additionally raised large herds of Holstein, Shorthorn and Hereford dairy cattle along with Duroc-Jersey hogs. Their swine production alone resulted in their ability to ship 10,000 hogs a year to market.
Correctly earning the title of a ëFabulous Empireí, the ranch constructed its own packing plant, ice plants and cold-storage lockers. Other innovations for the time included a tannery, a cider mill, an alfalfa mill, an electric power plant, a dairy and the ranchís own cannery. Later when oil was found on ranch land, the three Miller brothers built their own refinery producing gasoline, kerosene and fuel oil.
Greater expansion was soon on the horizon when the ranch entered the entertainment field. Gaining an endorsement from the National Editorial Association of St. Louis to hold its annual newspaper editors convention for 1905 in Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory, Colonel Joe Miller scheduled an entertainment gala for the influential visitors at the 101 Ranch.
Drawing from the legends, lore and history of a quickly passing period of American history, the days of the ëOld Westí, the Miller brothers put on an eye-popping extravaganza they promoted as a ëRound-upí. Souvenir programs, much like you purchase at todayís 101 Wild West Rodeo, additionally billed the Oklahoma Gala as a Cowboy Reunion, Indian Celebration, Buffalo Chase and Historical Exhibition.
Featuring at least 200 local cowboys, ranch hands and Indians, arrangements were made to have the imprisoned frontier warrior Geronimo brought to the ranch under military guard from Fort Sill, O.T. The aging warrior killed a buffalo in the arena, signed autographs and sold souvenirs. Among other larger than life promotions, the Millers advertised in area newspapers they would offer a $1000 prize to anyone who would submit to being scalped by Geronimo.
More than 65,000 people attended the long afternoon of events of June 11, 1905 and overflow crowds easily filled a mile long grandstand built for the event. Performing ranch honed skills, cowboys and cowgirls paraded that huge grandstand on the south side of the Salt Fork River along with vividly costumed Ponca, Kaw, Otoe, Missouri, Tonkawa, Pawnee and Osage Indians, marching bands, soldiers and Geronimo. Along with Geronimoís mock ëbuffalo huntí, trick riding, bucking horses and a performance by the ëDusky Demoní from Texas, Bill Pickett, the evening ended with an unannounced frontier style wagon train attack by Indian performers.
The remarkable performance gained national attention and brought the 101 Ranch into the venue of thrilling western entertainment. So successful was the show, Colonel Joe Miller and his brothers formed the 101 Ranch Real Wild West Show and began to tour the United States. They joined the ranks of such notables of that era which included Buffalo Billís Congress of Rough Riders, Pawnee Billís Wild West Show and P.T. Barnum as well as a myriad of smaller circuses and western shows touring the U.S.
By 1914, the 101 Ranch Real Wild West Shows began touring internationally. This included performances in England, the European continent and South America. In 1925 the Miller brothers entertained the King and Queen of England along with an estimated 700,000 spectators during thirty-three performances.
Prior to the 1930ís it wasnít unusual for visitors traveling to or through the 101 Ranch to see captive deer, caribou, alligators, apes, chimpanzees, anteaters, ostriches, peacocks and a soda pop swilling bear named Tony.
Following the unexpected deaths of brothers Joe (1927) and George (1929), brother Zack was unable to cope with managing what had become a vast empire while dealing with changing economic times of the great depression.
The 101 Ranch Real Wild West Show went on the road for the last time in 1931. By the spring of 1932, all assets of the ranch were gone. A federal receivership and bankruptcy haunted the last surviving Miller brother, Colonel Zack Miller, Sr and what had once been a truly western empire, the 101 Ranch and its Real West Shows.
Although the Miller brothers, their ëFabulous Empireí, their ëRound-upí Shows and Wild West Show are gone, the Ponca City 101 Wild West Rodeo Foundation was formed and produced their first celebration parade and rodeo in 1960.
100 years after the first 101 Wild West Round-up, the citizens of Ponca City and the devotees of the truly western sport of rodeo should be proud of the on-going efforts to honor the 101 Ranch and the rich history of western America.
I am also currently trying to find out if there is any connection between this and the original Miller Brotherís Circus.
However, letís get back to our Grandfather. Our grandfather said he was the first man to ever have Lion’s and Tigers in the same cage together. He spoke of how “Frank Buck” never brought back the animals he said he did in “Bring Em Back Alive”.
Take the case of Frank Buck, whose basic job was catching wild animals for zoos. He, too, became a movie star in the 1930s and was still remembered enough to become the hero of “Bring ‘Em Back Alive,” a weekly one-hour action series on CBS television in 1982-83. (He was played on screen by Bruce Boxleitner.)
Or how about Martin and Osa Johnson, the husband and wife team of “explorers,” who starred in their own long series of hokey documentary adventure movies in the 1930s–”Congorilla,” “Borneo,” etc.–and penned several best-sellers until Martin was killed in a plane crash and Osa retired.
One reason why you’ll never see another Clyde Beatty or Frank Buck is our modern enlightenment about the treatment of wild animals. Even though it probably still takes a certain amount of courage to trap wild animals in the jungle, you’re not going to consider the people who do it heroes. Tarzan wanted to throw all those Frank Buck types off a cliff. He was ahead of his time. Most of us now believe wild animals deserve to be left alone in their natural habitats.
Many folks like myself are mostly turned off on “wild animal trainers,” the polite term for “lion-tamers.” Today’s animal rights activists would never let Clyde Beatty get away with letting his lions and tigers maul each other for public entertainment. The Cole Bros. Circus, which still survives today, no longer carries the Clyde Beatty name and has eliminated any “big cat” shows. It finally stopped using elephants in 2004, the result of constant pressure from animal activists, government regulators and the rising cost of keeping elephants in a traveling show.
And the Africa of Clyde Beatty’s era just doesn’t exist anymore. Poachers have driven several species to the brink of extinction, housing developers have chopped down millions of acres of forest, the “savages” are now crowding into cities and the real menace of travel in Africa today is fear of diseases like AIDS, draught and tribal warfare, conducted with automatic weapons instead of spears.
Here is another picture with arrow. We do not know where this was taken. It might have been at Bostockís permanent pavilion at Coney Island NY. I found information about Bostock Circus that said they had one there.
This one was taken in front of an entrance to what might have been their permanent showplace either in NY or Glasgow, Scotland. About 2 inches of the picture to the right is broken off.
This one is the group Christmas picture in what I believe is 1911. “Cowboy Brooks” is standing in full attire on the far left. The signs above say, “Where shall we go” “On Christmas Day” “?” “To the Jungle” “Of Course”. The other signs says, “The Jungle Xmas Tree. 20,000 gifts and toys for boys and girls” The Jungle might have been at Olympia Hall, Thornton Road, Bradford.
Though I could not find out anything about “Cowboy Brooks, he apparently was a headliner because he is in all these pictures, plus all the ones my brother has, which are totally different than these.
I had lost contact with my grandfather after I was about 16 years old. My brother George who is named after him and looks exactly like him stayed in contact with him. My grandfather eventually moved into Georgeís home in Sayville, NY.
Our grandfather lived a long and healthy life and died 3 days short of his 100th birthday as the result of being run down by an teenage driver, (who was operating an automobile for the first time) while crossing the road in Sayville, NY.
This one was taken in 1911-12 as it says under Bostock’s signature, so it might have been their New Year’s celebration in the center cage.
I looked up on Googleís search engine the name Bostock Circus and here is what I found. Apparently Bostock’s was a wild animal Circus.
Bostock’s Circus had a long association with Glasgow, with a permanent site on New City Road in Cowcaddens (the Scottish Zoo and Variety Circus) from 1897. Apparently they did a lot of work in England and had a permanent pavilion at Coney Island, NY. Bostock’s Circus was an exercise in excess.
Park manager Sam Gumpertz was instrumental in bringing the show to Dreamland to rival Luna’s circus. One of the most famous acts here was Captain Bonavita’s Lion Show, where the Captain dealt with over twenty lions at once. One famous picture of Bonavita shows his tiny face peeking out from a crowd of his lions, all standing close to him- some less than a foot away. Note the two elephants on top of the building and the live ones in front of it.
“The Zoo Hippodrome in Glasgow, Scotland, owned by the Bostock’s of the well-known Bostock Circus family, had no balcony, so there was no way of arranging a front spotlight. Mr. Bostock came to me very much perturbed and said, “I don’t know how I can arrange this for you. I have no such light and no place to put it.” This was said to a visiting magician, Nate Liepzig in 1905I found this except while traveling Google, about Christmas in Glasgow, Scotland, “Still, people were determined to enjoy themselves as and where they could. The original Kelvin Hall, built in 1916, was the scene of the carnival and circus, as it was to be for future generations when it was rebuilt in the late 1920s after fire destroyed the first building.
Above is Bostock and Wombwell’s Menagerie. Calne, Wiltshire. 1928.
The early events included entertainment by Bostock’s Parisian Circus and Bostock and Wombwell’s Menagerie, where children lined up for rides on the elephants and camels. The side shows, said the announcement in the Glasgow Herald, included “some of the most up-to-date novelties, such as the whip, the whales, and the joy wheel and the customary carnival entertainments.” An illuminated fairy fountain produced a “picturesque effect”.
The most famous traveling menagerie had been founded in the first years of the nineteenth century by George Wombwell and its reputation was such that the name was still traveling until December 1931 when Bostock and Wombwellís Menagerie showed for the last time at the Old Sheep Market, Newcastle, a moment captured in photography below.
Here is Bostock and Wombwell’s Show Snake Charmer. Nottingham Goose Fair. 1924.
Many people join Bostocks!
Bearing no known relationship to the famous buffalo hunter and showman except for the moniker, the actor Bill Cody was born William Joseph Cody, Jr., on January 5, 1891 at St. Paul, Minnesota (some sources give Manitoba, Canada as his place of birth but I believe that is erroneous). Not much is known about his early life except that he attended Saint Thomas Military Academy in Minneapolis/St. Paul, and later St. Johns University in New York. In 1932 Cody joined the Bostock Wild Animal Circus with his Wild West show as the featured attraction. It’s likely he continued into the next season since no film credits are shown for 1933.The Strongest man on earth was Arthur Saxon in 1900, at least according to Saxon. He is what he says in his autobiography, “At the conclusion of my engagement with Mr. Bostock of the Zoo, Glasgow, he was kind enough to present me with a medal on which are inscribed the following words:
THE STRONGEST MAN ON EARTH, UNDOUBTEDLY.
PRESENTED TO ARTHUR SAXON, BY E. H. BOSTOCK, ZOO CIRCUS, GLASGOW, 30th November, 1900.
I much esteem this presentation, as you may be sure Mr. Bostock made strict enquiries into my claims before presenting me with such a splendid award.”
Though we have no photos, apparently in 1903 a short or documentary was made about Bostock circus. Plot Summary for Bostock’s Circus Fording a Stream (1903)
“This moving picture shows just what its name implies, a circus fording a stream. The immense elephants and camels are seen drawing heavy circus wagons through a shallow stream. This picture is decidedly more interesting than an ordinary picture showing merely the animals, as they prove their usefulness by drawing heavy loads, not possible to be drawn by ordinary horses.” Summary written by Lubin Catalog
They also made another black and white silent movie in 1903 titled, “Bostockís Educated Bears” Plot Outline:” Here we show educated polar bears, the property of the world famous Bostock Zoo. This will prove particularly interesting with the little folks.” Says one silent movie critic.
I think they made a 3rd silent movie. Something about “Bostockís Educated Chimpanzees”in 1902.
EAST PROMENADE & FACING SURF AVENUE – 1904
It was his love of the circus that convinced Bostock to combine his American and
European trained animal shows and perform with them in a permanent arena
Dreamland’s impressive Main Entrance along Surf Avenue was 150 feet deep, 50 feet wide and 75 feet high. Huge columns on either side were decorated in gold and its top was crowned by a figure symbolic of Dreamland. The entry served like a theater’s proscenium through which the public was able to see a portion of the great show beyond. It acted like a magnet to draw patrons in and the cost of admission was only ten cents (attractions extra).
A large semi-circular Grecian style building, located to the right of the entrance, between the east and west promenades, housed Bostock’s Circus. Over the arena’s entrance on Surf Avenue were large groups of animal life and at its sides were two elephants trumpeting. Surrounding the semi-circle on the park side were life-sized statues of lions. Captain Bonavita and his troupe of lions was the outstanding feature of the three ring circus. Other acts included Madame Morelli and her seven leopards; Herman Weedom with a motley group of lions, tigers, leopards and hyenas; and Madame Aurora with several polar bears. During the winter Bostock and Company toured Europe.Here is some more info I found of the place they had in Coney Island.
Bostock’s Circus was an exercise in excess. Park manager Sam Gumpertz was instrumental in bringing the show to Dreamland to rival Luna’s circus. One of the most famous acts here was Captain Bonavita’s Lion Show, where the Captain dealt with over twenty lions at once. One famous picture of Bonavita shows his tiny face peeking out from a crowd of his lions, all standing close to him- some less than a foot away.
My research shows that workers at Dreamland on Friday May 26, 1911 were applying the finishing touches to get the amusement park ready for its opening the following day, Memorial Day weekend. It promised to be Coney Island’s best summer season ever. That was an optimistic prediction because for the first time in a quarter of a century, Coney’s amusement attractions would have to draw crowds without the powerful assistance of its three racing tracks. Reformers in Albany had passed strict laws against gambling at racetracks, and after a two year struggle, the tracks had closed the previous season. Coney’s amusement attractions had always taken for granted the influx of free spending visitors in the evenings after the horse races had been run.
Dreamland’s owners had poured in another $60,000 to remodel and redecorate their park in hopes of recharging its sagging attendance. Samuel W. Gumpertz was promoted from manager of the Lilliputian Village to Dreamland’s top executive post. The park had been newly repainted cream and fire-house red, a little more exciting than its previous all white decors.
Before evening everything seemed ready except one attraction. William Ellis’s Hellgate was a boat ride through dimly lit caverns that progressed through rapids and into a giant whirlpool before depositing its passengers safely at the exit. This attraction had sprung a leak three days earlier during a trial run. Ellis contracted Samuel Englestein, a tinsmith, to make the necessary repairs. He and his workers were caulking the leak with tubs of hot tar.
Hellgate, a boat ride through the caverns of hell was the start of the Dreamland fire.
At 1:30 A.M. inside Hellgate, overhead light bulbs soon began to pop. The bulbs either began to explode from the heat of the tar, or from a short circuit. All at once the lights flickered and the men were plunged into darkness. One of the workers accidentally kicked over a bucket of bubbling tar and a moment later Hellgate was in flames.
At first there was panic. Two or three workers rushed up the steps towards an exit and safety, while the others shouted and scrambled about in confusion. Epstein remembered there were some hand extinguishers and a reel of hose nearby. He and his workers wasted valuable minutes scrambling up the spillway in search of them. By the time they returned with them, they were confronted by a fire that was already licking at the rafters. With their efforts doomed, they ran for their lives.
It is said that James Lillis, the night watchman, heard the running men and noticed the orange glow at Hellgate. He rushed into Dreamland’s administration building and yelled, “Fire!” It was 1:58 A.M. when he yanked hard on the fire alarm switch.
Soon the alarm bells rang in the nearby fire house which was on West Eighth Street, only 100 yards from Dreamland. In seconds, the horse drawn steamers, engines and hook-and-ladder trucks were racing through the streets. The alarm bells also rang at the high-pressure pumping plant and engineers there increased the pressure to 160 pounds. The station at Twelfth Street and Neptune Avenue was recently constructed to help fight Coney Island’s periodic fires. It boasted five pumps that could deliver 4500 gallons per minute, enough to operate twelve lines of hose with a pressure of 125 pounds. It had been tested only the month before in a full scale dress rehearsal.
Upon arriving at the scene, fire Battalion Chief William Rogers, took one look at the burning Hellgate building and ordered a second alarm sent. He then ordered three lines stretched from the high pressure Corey hydrants into Hellgate. When the nozzles were first opened, the firemen played their streams of water into the flames, but soon the streams of water fell short, then even shorter. Something had gone terribly wrong. The breeze was carrying the flames to either side of Hellgate, and Chief Rogers called in a third alarm at 2:06 A.M.
The flames, fanned by the breeze, were getting higher and great flaring sparks lofted by the updraft headed for the Baby Incubator building, the Dreamland power plant and the soaring tower. Rogers was desperate and ordered streamers hooked up to the low-pressure mains. He then ordered a signal sent again to the main pumping plant for more pressure. But his frustrated men began to fall back from the heat of the blaze.
Dr. Fischel arrived promptly at his Baby Incubator Building that was now threatened by fire. Smoke billowed through the doorway as he and the several nurses wrapped the six premature babies in blankets and carried them from the building into the safety of the night.
Firemen from all over Brooklyn raced towards the Dreamland fire. Pretty soon there were four engines and a truck at the first alarm; four more engines and two more trucks at the second alarm; three more engines and another truck at the third alarm. Other horse drawn fire equipment was in motion as they were temporarily assigned to fire houses that would have been stripped of equipment.
As the park reverberated with the sounds of exploding shells in the burning shooting galleries and the heat induced popping of several hundred thousand light bulbs, night watchmen and policemen hurried through Dreamland and the adjacent streets. They pounded on doors and shouted to upstairs tenants to evacuate to safety.
The animal arena was on the eastern side of Dreamland, a couple of hundred yards from Hellgate. By the time the night watchman aroused Ferrari and Capt. Jack Bonavita (owner and trainer), and eight keepers out of bed, the wary animals were wide awake and restlessly pacing back and forth in their cages. Ferrari was confident that the fire could be halted on the other side of the lagoon, but in order not to panic the 80 odd wild animals, his plan was to let them out of their cages and into the main arena.
With a steady crack of their whips, they kept the lions, pumas, bears, wolves, leopards, hyena and antelopes on a steady parade around the oval. Things were going as planned until the overhead lights flickered and went out. The terrified animals, lit by the red flickering glare of the 275 foot tall tower now aflame, panicked the wild animals. None-the-less Ferrari and Bonavita, with only the light from eight lanterns, managed to get five leopards and four lions, one of them the pregnant Victoria, into movable cages and dispatch them to a nearby livery stable. Six Shetland ponies were blindfolded and led along as well. However, Little Hip, the beloved elephant, refused to budge from the concrete block where he was chained. He would only obey Captain Andre, his bull man, who unfortunately hadn’t returned from a farewell party in Manhattan.
Capt. Jack Bonavita, Dreamland’s lion tamer with one of his lions.
The raging fire became unchecked and the frustrated firemen were sent to the pumping plant to find out what was wrong with the high pressure fire fighting system. The firemen were dismayed when the engineers pointed to the pumps hard at work. The paper drum recorder showed that the line pressure had dropped from a high of 160 pounds to only 20 pounds, an indication that there were too many hoses connected to the system and they weren’t just the fire fighter’s hoses. It became obvious that in the first panicky moments after the fire had started, merchants all over the area had tapped into the system to hose down their flimsy wooden buildings to prevent flying sparks from setting them afire. The fire fighters had no choice but to send in the department’s three fire fighting boats and battle the fire from the sea.
Since the firemen became concerned that the sea breeze might cause the fire to leap across Surf Avenue, they used what little water they had to wet down the building facades on the north side of the street. Most all the Luna Park employees were busy wetting down the park’s paper-Mache palaces from what they claimed was a separate water system feed from the sea. Fire chief, Kenlon, called in a double-nine alarm which meant that every fire company in Brooklyn that would normally answer a third alarm was to rush to Coney Island. In total thirty-three fire companies responded to the alarm, some from as far as eight miles away. The journey was so far for many, that teams of fire-horses pulling the equipment, had to be slowed down to a walk several times during their long journey to the sea.
Huge Crowds drawn by the eerie red glow and by the tall finger of flame engulfing Dreamland’s tower began to gather from all over Brooklyn and Manhattan. They were stopped by police lines at the edge of the fire zone, a mile from Dreamland. They had little to do but cheer the arriving horse drawn fire trucks.
Finally at 3:10 A.M. the Dreamland Tower, which had been burning for thirty minutes like a candle above a fiery hell, came down in a spectacular fiery crash. It was fortunate that the cables for the high-wire bicycle show on the seaward side stopped the tower from falling onto the nearby animal arena. However, the frightened animals there began to fight savagely as the arena itself began to burn. The keepers began to flee while Ferrari, in vain, ordered them back to shoot as many animals as possible to save them from a burning death. He too had to flee from the flames after firing just a few shots. As Ferrari came out of the blazing entrance of the ring on to Surf Avenue, he encountered Captain Andre, the elephant’s bull man who had just returned from Manhattan. He could hear the poor elephant’s trumpeting last cries as the heat encircled it, but it was too late. A lucky bear cub managed to escape and ran out into Surf Avenue. A young man, who had an auto standing near the Luna Park gate, grabbed it, pushed it into his car, then quickly drove off.
While all this was going on, inside the park, the Midget City Fire Department sprang into action. After responding to hundreds of false alarms over the years, they finally faced the real thing. They bravely fought the fire with their miniature steam engines to save Old Nuremberg, but to no avail.
Fate intervened and the wind shifted and began blowing offshore. The firemen rallied as they attempted to control the fire rather than extinguish it. A police launch, docked along the Dreamland Pier on the ocean side, was engaged in rescuing those who had been trapped by the flames. Soon the police launch had to retreat as did the nearby fire fighting boats, when the fire’s intense heat made it unbearable.
The dense crowds watching the blaze from across Surf Avenue were suddenly startled when a creature ringed with flame burst through Dreamland’s Creation entrance. The thing screamed in anguish before it moved into the street toward the crowd which scattered in panic. A three-year old black-manned Nubian lion called Black Prince emerged with its mane on fire, its eyes bloodshot and its flanks scorched and bleeding. The police with guns drawn approached it warily as nearby onlookers shinned up poles. They fired and Black Prince, roaring once more in anguish, sprang across the street into the entrance to Rocky Road to Dublin, an indoor scenic railroad.
The lion climbed up the incline of the railroad as two trainers followed the cat’s bloody footprints in near darkness. They were followed by Ferrari, Bonavita and two armed policemen. They could hear the great cat’s roars ahead, and they the trainers kept firing their blanks to keep the cat on the move. When they finally reached the top and the open air, Black Prince was standing, outlined against the sky. He made a splendid target and Ferrari gave the cops the orders to fire. They emptied their guns into them as thousands watched from below. He fell and still twitched. Someone threw up an axe and policeman Coots split open his skull. They found 24 bullets in the lion’s head alone. The crowd below roared and Black Prince’s body was dragged down the incline and into the street for display at 3:25 A.M.
By this time the buildings on either side of Dreamland began to burn. It was hard to prevent the loss with so little water pressure. Within thirty minutes they lost Pike’s Peak Railroad, L.A. Thompson’s Oriental Scenic Railroad, Johnson’s Carousel, the Whirlwind Ride, Taunton’s Bathing Pavilion, Steubenbord’s Restaurant, Lentz’s bathing Pavilion, Stratton’s, Jolly’s and Frosin’s hotels. Once Balmer’s Baths started burning, everything along New Iron Pier Walk was doomed. The tall Observation Tower’s sign caught fire in the intense heat and soon it became a blazing torch. A few minutes later, the tower collapsed and fell inward on its base.
The fire was contained by 4 A.M. between West 5th and West 10th Streets. The steel framed Giant Racer roller coaster at West 10th Street probably acted as a firebreak and prevented destruction of Feltman’s and the Bowery. More than 400 firemen had fought the blaze. By daybreak, the scene was of devastation. Only one or two twisted arches were left of the bridge that had spanned Dreamland’s lagoon; all else was leveled. Even Dreamland’s steel pier and the Iron Pier were reduced to smoldering piles. The loss was more than $5,200,000 with little of it insured. More than 2500 people (1600 at Dreamland alone) had lost their jobs.
The owners of Dreamland had suffered a $3,500,000 loss and decided not to rebuild. Their park hadn’t been the success they thought it would have been. Since they were politicians, they had little trouble in unloading the property to the city for $1,800,000.
The Dreamland fire had ended an era with its most spectacular and costliest pageant. It employed a cast of thousands and was witnessed by an audience of hundreds of thousands. Unfortunately it wasn’t at the end of the season but opening day. There would be nothing to replace it.
Dreamland never became as popular as Luna or Steeplechase, but its cascade of lights completed a skyline unlike anything else in the world. Coney was more than three big amusement parks, it was a city. The newspapers called it the “city of fire.” The following was in the Exter Flying Post, 1883.
The oldest and most extensive traveling collection of beasts, birds, and reptiles, known to many generations as Wombwellís wild beat show, and officially described as “Edmonís, late Wombwellís, Royal Windsor Castle Menagerie”, is once more on a visit to this city, after an absence of eleven or twelve years.
During the summer Mrs Edmonds has been make a very successful tour through Devon and Cornwall, and arrived in Exeter from Starcross last Friday, the very day of the week and the month on which the menagerie entered the city when it was here before. The long procession of caravans, with their teams of powerful horses, headed by a superb band carriage drawn by three camels, made a very imposing display, and created a favorable impression as to the extent and interest of the collection.
The exhibition was opened late in the day in St. Jamesís field, where it is to remain until after Monday next, Bank Holiday. Several performances are given daily, and the exhibition has been liberally patronized. The collection altogether numbers several hundred specimens, and includes many interesting additions, recently made.
Foremost amongst them is the group of war camels which did duty in the recent Egyptian campaign; the greatest novelty is probably the Vlak Vaarke, from Abyssinia, an extraordinary animal something like a pig, and the first of its species ever imported.
Of lions there is an unusually fine collection, at the head of them a magnificent specimen of the race named “Wallace”, and for which an offer of £600 has been refused.
By the mid-1850s, Wombwellís Menagerie was touring Britain with a live gorilla on display Worldís Fair (Jack Wilkinson), 1928. Bostockís brisk business at Bradford.
Appropriately advertised as now an established success, Bostockís Jungle, Circus and Fun City continues to draw huge crowds to the Olympia Hall, Thornton Road, Bradford.
How the people miss the daring performances of Captain Fred Wombwell. However, I had quite an enjoyable talk with him, though he is unable to put the lions through their paces, because of being troubled with rheumatism, and was walking with the aid of a stick and is only looking forward to returning to his normal duties to show everybody how it is done. Still, he can always be found in the menagerie supervising.
The animals were a great success when at St. Jamesí Market, and are in the pink of condition.
Bostocks are exceptionally lucky with their elephant trainer, Mr George Braham, who will be better known to the audiences for his wonderful experiences with birds, chiefly cockatoos. I did not fail to notice how fond of his elephant Rosie he was, and also how attracted to him she was.
Bostockís then moved onto Leeds. They had been at Bradford from Monday, 22nd October and terminated on the 17th November 1928, much to the disappointment of the citizens of Bradford and district. I noticed their two Burrell Road Locos Nero and Rajah in a yard close-by, both generating the lights.
Worldís Fair (Jack Wilkinson), 1928. Bostockís Circus and Jungle at Leeds.
The above completed its four weeks stay at Jungle Buildings, Sheepscar, Leeds. It was a nice, fine and frosty evening last Thursday, so I naturally selected my cycle. What a contrast to last Sunday morning when on snow-covered roads it necessitated me taking an hour and a half for the same journey.
It was a pleasure to renew the acquaintance of Captain Wombwell, Mr Braham, and the usual members of Mr Bostockís staff. I was more than pleased to see Bonzoís (the sea-lion) mistress, Zetta Hills, and I had quite an enjoyable chat with her. I soon found out how attached to Bonzo she really was, and the capable manner in which she never fails to hold the numerous audiences spellbound. It reflects great credit on her. I hope to have the opportunity to see her again at a not far distant date.
As usual the animals were in their usual healthy condition , and performances were given at frequent intervals by Messrs Kayes, Luck and also by Miss Kayes. Owing to the enormous number of people waiting to gain admission, the management considered it necessary to give four performances at 2:00, 3:30, 5:00 and 8:30pm.
The staff takes great pride in explaining anything. One of the most important things I notice every time I visit Bostockís menagerie is that none of the clever trainers suffer from conceit, or to put it bluntly, swelled head, and I marvel at Professor Brahamís technique in getting that massive elephant Dixie to perform. It reflects great credit on him.
All the cages were illuminated by electricity. I went to the 8:30 performance and this took about an hour and a half, and I can say that it is a first-class show. The Stephenson family is a clever set of riders. Rosie the elephant is also very good, and the dogs are also remarkably clever.
But what I consider pride of place in the whole circus program (with no doubt whatever) is Bonzo the sea-lion. Never before have I seen an animal do the performance this animal is capable of doing. At juggling it is marvelous. The whole of the performance is carried through without a hitch.
Worldís Fair (Jack Wilkinson), 1929.
Miss Zetta Hills left Bostock & Wombwellís employment, after three and a half years with them, and Bonzo. She was Englandís unique aquatic performer. She was the first person to water-cycle the English Channel from Dover to Calais and also a clever swimmer at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924.
Worldís Fair (Jack Wilkinson), 1929. Bostock & Wombwellís menagerie in Yorkshire.
It was on the glorious Sunday morning of 10th March 1929 I was cycling in Wharfedale entering the picturesque market town of Otley, when I could not fail to notice the gaily colored posters on every hoarding, B & Wís Royal Menagerie, established 1805 will visit Otley one day only Wednesday, 13th March, 1929.
When I last heard of them they were in Lancashire, so I was more than a little surprised to find them in the county of Broad Acres. Well, after what seemed like a long wait, Wednesday arrived.
Immediately after 7:00pm I was entering the fairground, where the traveling zoo was built up and drawing huge crowds as usual, and what a lot of old friends I met: Mrs Frank Bostock, Captain Fred Wombwell, Miss Zetta Hills, Professor George Graham and Professor Thomas Kayes who showed me round.
A unique of this show concerns the sheep-dog, which in addition to its own puppies, is mothering one of the lion cubs, and a little leopardess. The lioness, which recently had six lion cubs, is looking after the remaining five. In this valuable collection all the animals were in the pink of condition. T.Kayes training two new and handsome tigers and lions which will shortly be shown to the public.
From Keighly, they moved to Ossett, and Horbury for Monday, 15th September and Tuesday 16th September. Again I was impressed by the huge illuminated show front, Bostockís Jungle, which could not fail to attract the attention of the passers-by. After Leeds, they moved onto Sheffield, where they were under cover at the Drill Hall, which had been leased by the Ministry.
When at Keighley, Captain Jack was in charge of the leopards, and Togo was the snake King and Captain Douglas was in charge of Bonzo.
Outside the menagerie was the Devilís Disc and Greenís (Preston) with their caterpillar. Business with them was at a standstill. As usual, the ever popular zoo looked as good as ever and thanks to Captain Wombwell, I was privileged to see the Globe of Death and what a thriller. The Globe is 14ft 6 in diameter, and the runs are provided by the Garlosch troupe, who are direct from the Continent and who are making their first appearance in England.
An amusing incident occurred in the last week when a local newspaper reporter entered the lions cage, accompanied by that famous trainer Professor Thomas Kayes. That, once inside the cage, the reporter viewed the situation from a much different angle, was very noticeable.
Worldís Fair (Jack Wilkinson), 1931. Bostock & Wombwellís menagerie at Nottingham. Bostock & Wombwellís attended Nottingham Goose Fair for the last time. Thomas Kayes put up a very fine show with two lions and two tigers. It was like old times to see Charlie Deakin in the show, but it doesnít seem the same without Fred Wombwell.
Inverness Courier (undated).
The gaily-apparelled gentleman on the decorated penny-farthing cycle in Inglis Street is not in a fancy dress parade. He has a placard on his back which the lady in the raincoat is trying to read as he passes. Is this an advertising gimmick?
It wonít be a shop sale – a sandwich board man would do that better. Nor is it likely to be for a garden fete or a flower show, because investment in clothing such as this would have taken up most of the showís profits. They are too well-tailored to be anything other than bespoke. The whole outfit has been designed for a purpose, and not just for a one-off parade.
Moreover, penny-farthings were not common when this photograph was taken. Probably the only one in Inverness was the example given to the Museum in the 1930s. Riding these cycles was not easy, so it is my guess he was advertising a circus.
The earliest circus recorded in Inverness is described by John Fraser in “A Walk Through Inverness” as performing on the Maggot Green in the 1840s. This was John Orde, a famous equestrian, who swelled his audience by raffling two gold watches, three silver ones, a boll of meal and a pig.
The show included a dramatic scene “Dick Turpinís Ride to York”. This was followed by Billy Button, the Tailorís Equestrian Adventures, in which John Orde, whilst standing on the saddle of his favorite horse “Cromarty” as it galloped round the ring, divested himself of five different outfits, finally appearing as Rob Roy.
All the while, a lively tune was being played by an orchestra comprising a fiddle and trombone. This was followed by his assistant, Delaney, performing a climbing act with a ladder, and the younger members of the troupe tumbling.
The Maggot Green, a tiny portion of which remains became too small as the travelling shows became larger. So they moved to Capel Inch. It was here that Wombwellís, and the Pinder-Orde Circuses performed in the mid 1800s.
Even the Capel Inch could, however, prove too small for the larger circuses that came to Inverness in the 1880s. The first of these, John Sanger and Sonsí “Monster Hippodrome, Circus and Menagerie”, played at the Northern Meeting Park on Saturday, 23rd and Monday 25th June, 1883. John Sanger was followed by his brother, who called himself “Lord” George Sanger.
Its 1883 advertisement claimed it was five times larger than any other in England, due to its “stupendous cost, overwhelming magnitude and electrifying nature”. The star of the show was Mdle. Demajuta. “See her subdue, play and fondle the Deadly Poisonous and Venomous Reptiles, which astonishes all beholders!” proclaimed the posters. In addition, the Great Whip, Mr E. Bourke, drove 40 horses in hand.
On the Monday evening, Major Rose and Officers of the Rifle Volunteers gave their “distinguished patronage” and the battalionís “splendid band and pipes” attended. First Class seats (carpeted) cost 2/-, second class 1/- and children under 10 years of age paid half price.
Lord George Sangerís Circus returned on 15th and 17th August, 1891. It now boasted of “250 horses and ponies, a herd of elephants, flock of camels, 20 carriages of wild animals, with 200 specimens of wild beasts, including the only Horse Faced Antelope in Europe”. The birds were under the management of Pasha Laurence, “the noblest Roman of them all”.
There were Lady and Gentlemen Equestrians, wire walkers, gymnasts, acrobats, and tumblers, but the star of the show was “Iasia, the Woman of the Nile, in her crystal barge with crocodiles, alligators, serpents, etc. She will summon them, they will obey her, she will command them, they will perform!” She was obviously some woman!
Each day, there was a grand street parade led by two bands, featuring the Royal Carriage, on the summit of which rode “Britannia and the living lion Wallace”.
The Inverness Courier reported immense crowds attended the performances which included “horsemanship probably the best ever seen in Inverness” and wire walkers and acrobats who performed “daring feats and not a single hitch”.
This was the golden era for circuses. Bostockís had now amalgamated with Wombwellís and in May 1893 they advertised a visit on 2nd and 3rd June to the Capel Inch. Their star attractions were Young Cardono with his untamable lion, Wallace, (surely not Britanniaís friend!), and Princess Delawarr who did a clairvoyant act blindfolded in the lionsí cage.
Sangerís duly put the kybosh on Bostock & Wombwellís attractions. The week following the latterís advertisement, Sangerís announced that they were coming to Inverness “shortly” and their show would have 320 horses and ponies, 12 carriages of wild animals, and the usual herd of elephants and flock of camels.
As if this was not enough, they also boasted “Georgina, the handsomest female of the Age, walking upon the air 80 feet from the ground” together with the same procession as “given before the Royal Courts of Europe and America”.
Yet another circus came to the Capel Inch that June. After apologizing for being delayed by a Royal Command Performance at Balmoral, Fred Ginnetís Circus performed there on the 12th and 13th. Their gimmick was a six-a-side football match between a local team and six Glasgow Celtic players under their celebrated captain, James Mílaren.
The Inverness Courier did not bother to report the performances of the lesser shows, but it did say of Sangerís when it appeared on 31st July and 1st August that “nothing was boring or slow”. The star was the Horse of The World. This animal was trained to leap into a burning home and rescue a dummy child, which “it delivers into the arms of a distracted mother”.
The reporter declared the Horse was the “hero of the evening”, but he wasnít impressed by Georgina, whoís “face, form and talent crowns her Queen of all Lady Performers”. Incidentally a “real” fire brigade put the fire out.
Lord George Sanger seems to have specialized in beating Bostock and Wombwellís to the punch, because in the same issue of the Courier of May 1898 that the latter advertised coming to Capel Inch on 14th and 15th June, Sangerís announced they would be at Bruce Gardens on 6th and 7th June.
Bostockís ace cards, “the only performing Polar Bears ever submitted to the British Public” and “Slavin, the world-renowned boxing kangaroo”, were trumped by Lord Georgeís promise of 460 horses and ponies, 20 carriages of wild animals, 12 monster elephants, including the one on which the Prince of Wales rode in India, two flocks of camels and dromedaries, and the usual beautiful Lady Equestriennes, sensational mid-air performers, acrobats and clowns.
His advertisement ended with the statement: “The Company decided not to introduce into their marvelous exhibition any freaks of nature that are so objectionable and dangerous to the health of ladies and young children”.
Hundreds of spectators failed to get in to the performances. The Courier praised the horse riding, daring feats on the trapeze by Mdle. Ida Evilo and the Flying Stellios, and the clairvoyant and the “talking horse which simply astonished the audience” but the star act was “The War in the Sudan”. In this scene, 300 men and horses, together with elephant and camel batteries of Field Artillery, re-enacted a battle, made realistic by coloured lights and blank cartridges.
According to the advertisement, Army Reserve men and genuine Sudanese and Arabs took part. Probably the “savages” were the same colored men who formed a large part of the roustabout gang erecting the big top.
Until World War I, Sangerís, and Bostock and Wombwellís circuses returned to Inverness every two or three years, each trying to outdo the other, although Lord George Sanger always produced the most outstanding show.
He was, however, totally eclipsed in September 1904 when Colonel William C. Cody (Buffalo Bill) presented in person his Wild West Show. It was so large that Victoria Park couldnít hold it and so he took over a field at Mr Fraserís Dalneigh Farm where he erected an arena seating 13,000 people. It was filled to overflowing every performance.
Bertram Mills, who superseded Sangers as the star circus, came to Inverness in the 1930s and 1953 and 1956. Billy Smartís Circus came in 1957. Could our penny farthing cyclist have been a fly-poster for one of these? They always had a daily Grand Parade but fly-posting was done a few days before arrival.Edward Henry Bostock, Menagerie and circus proprietor. Born at Stoney Stratford, Buckinghamshire (whilst his parents were on the road with Wombwellís Menagerie) on 19th October 1858. He was the son of James Bostock and Emma (nee Wombwell).
Apart from a few years at school in Essex almost all the years of Edwardís early life were spent traveling. While the show was in Ireland in 1876 James Bostock called Edward and his brother James William over to join him directly from school, at which point Edward was 12. James Bostock died in 1878, at Farnham, Surrey and wife Emma took over the business with her sons assisting. Edward eventually married his cousin, Elizabeth Bostock, in 1881, at Leek.
Edward gained much experience traveling with his mother and in 1883 set out on his own with “Bostockís Grand Star Menagerie”, at Tutbury near Burton-on-Trent (the town where his wagons had been manufacturerd by Orton & Spooner). It was a small but smart and up-to-date concern and proceeded from Burton-on-Trent to Scotland, via Berwick-on-Tweed, visiting Wick and May.
Returning south, his son Gordon Bostock was born at St. Mungo in 1884. A second visit to Scotland soon afterwards was a great success, laying the foundations of his fortune as a showman.
E.H Bostock bought his motherís business in 1889 and the name “Bostock and Wombwell” became a household phrase. The menagerie toured Britain, Europe and the far East and Edward later promoted circuses, theatres, cinemas and skating rinks. He added a circus to his menagerie in 1893.
E.H. Bostockís No.3 menagerie took to the road in 1892. This was bought from Frank Hall and in his ownership operated under the name of “Barnham”.
Due to his Scottish connections E.H Bostock was a member of Glasgow City Council (1908-1911), a J.P. and an F.Z.S.
Elizabeth Bostock died in 1927 and E.H re-married Mrs Jean Nesmith Flint on 11th August 1930.
When the menagerie ceased traveling the animals were sold to London Zoo. E.H. Bostock was remembered as a tidy methodical man in the self-made, self-reliant mould of the old time showman, sometimes brusque but with a generous nature under the surface. He was intensely proud of his show and of his profession and conducted an excellent establishment through the closing years of the nineteenth century and in the first third of the twentieth.
In addition to his circus and zoo interests he was also the prorietor of the Bostock Theatre Circuit, with establishmentís at one time in Ipswich, Hamilton, Paisley, Colchester, Motherwell, Greenock, Blantyre and Norwich. A good man, a non-drinker and a non-smoker, reputed to work a 20 hour day! A member of the Showmanís Guild.
E.H and Elizabeth Bostock had five sons and three daughters. Edward Henry Augustus (1882-1942), James Francis (1883-1887), Alexander Gordon (1884-1919) and Douglas Fairgreave (1886-1963) Bostock.
E.H. Bostock died in 1940, at Glasgow and is buried at Bearsden.
Emma Bostock (Mrs.) Daughter of William and Hannah Wombwell. Married James Bostock. After his death in 1878 Emma carried on Bostock and Wombwellís menagerie with great success, until she sold the business to her son E.H. Bostock in 1889. She died on 14th December 1904, aged 70 years, at Norwich and is buried there at St. Markís.
Frank Bostock, Menagerie proprietor. Francis “Little Frank” Bostock was born on 27th March 1868, at Leek, the son of Henry and Elizabeth Bostock. He was educated at Leek Grammar School and married Lena Birkett (Kendal), on 30th April 1901, at St. Maryís Church, Glasgow.
Frank worked as manager of Bostockís circus, but c.1926 was put in charge of Bostock and Wombwellís Menagerie until it was wound-up in 1931.
In June 1929 he was reported to be in poor health and in September he was at Harrogate recuperating, with the menagerie touring Cumbria. By October, at Nottingham Goose Fair, he was back with the show.
Oversaw the Bostock and Wombwell menagerie farewell tour in 1931 and by 1932 had started his own sea lion and penguin show that toured the fairs. He was noted at Nottingham and Hull fairs in 1935.
He had two children, John and Clementine. Frank Bostock died on 25th October 1948, at Chertsey (Surrey).
The Bostocks had places all over the world.
Ontario Park, NY
Frank brought in rides and all sorts of fun things like this bostock switch back transmission ride.
James Bostock
Born 1814, at Leek, Staffordshire, the son of James Bostock and Mary nee Wardle. Left home, aged 18, when his father re-married in 1832. Good with horses he joined Wombwellís menagerie 1839, initially as a wagoner and later as advance agent, remaining with the show for 28 years.
Married Emma Wombwell, niece of the proprietor, on 6th October 1852 at Tollesbury, Essex. Became proprietor of his own show in 1867, leaving Wombwellís which was then under the control of Harriet Edmonds.
Father of James William (1855-1919), Edward Henry (1858-1940), Emma (1864-1878), Frank Charles (1866-1912) and Frances ëFannieí Wombwell (1874-1933. Bostock, had several other children who died young. Died in 1878, at Farnham, aged 63 years, interred at Leek. His widow, Emma Bostock, died in 1904.
James William Bostock Eldest son of James Bostock and Emma nee Wombwell. Traveled extensively with a menagerie and riding machines in Europe and America. Active in the USA for a decade or more operating fairground riding devices, switchbacks, etc. He left America for a season in Paris, in 1910. One of the earliest promoters of the Showmen and Van Dwellers Association and a president of the Showmen’s Guild. After the Great War, exhibited the midget “Anita, the Living Doll”.
He died on 18th December 1919, aged 63 years while visiting London for the Allied Circus. Buried at Abney Park Cemetery. One of the greatest novelty showmen.
For 1911-12 Bostock’s Circus was indeed in the Curzon Hall, with Capt. Edwards the animal trainer, presenting horses and an elephant. There was also the ‘Texas’ spectacle (World’s Fair, 27/1/1912; ibid, 3/2/1912, p.10, ibid, 17/2/1912, p.4). In 1915 Bostock and Wombwell’s Menagerie was at the Birmingham Zoo, with Capt. fred Wombwell the lion tamer (WF, 6/3/1915, p.12). In 1930, Bostock and Wombwell’s show was at the Grand Theatre (WF, 8/2/1930). In 1931-32, Bostock’s Royal Italian Theatre, was at the Empire Theatre, Birmingham (WF, 9/1/1932, p.28). Local papers will have all the details.
Every year millions of holidaymakers flock to Blackpool to enjoy themselves and for many of them their stay isn’t complete without at least one trip to our unforgettable and very beautiful circusBlackpool Tower Circus has often been described as ‘the word’s most beautiful circus building’ and when you visit you’ll see that this is very true.
Amongst others there was the visit of the great Barnum and Baileys Circus in 1898, the Alhambra Circus virtually next door in 1899, the Hippodrome in 1900, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in 1904, the Coliseum with Valpi’s Royal Italian Circus in 1905 and the visiting Bostock’s Animal Arena, which was sited near the Manchester Hotel on the Promenade, in the same year.May 27, 1911, was opening day of the season. At two o’clock in the morning, workmen were still busy at Hell Gate in Dreamland when the circuitry started acting up. Light bulbs burst. Someone knocked over a bucket of hot tar and it caught fire. In minutes, Hell Gate was ablaze. Nearby fire companies got there right away, but everything was lath and plaster, wood and tar and paint. Half an hour after the first alarm, the Dreamland tower was a column of fire so tall and bright, it could be seen in Manhattan.
Animals from Bostock’s Circus ran, panicked and burning, out onto Surf Avenue. At three o’clock, the Dreamland tower collapsed. L.A. Thompson’s old scenic railway disappeared and the Great Whirlwind coaster and finally, the old Centennial Observation Tower itself fell. Thirty-three fire companies had gotten to the scene, but it was a change in the wind that saved what was left of Coney. There was talk of rebuilding Dreamland, but it never happened. Two years later, George C. Tilyou died. Fred Thompson went bankrupt and lost Luna Park. World War I came. The public fascination with recreated disasters declined.
Authorís note: Our grandfather had a large portion of his upper left arm gone. He said this was the result of a lion biting him in the arm during a fire. The above may have been where it happened. Unfortunately, we may not know for sure.
Right after I wrote this and put it on the web, we received an email from Kathie Ingolio in Brooklyn, NY and here is what she sent on 11/1/05. “Hi Arlene;
While researching my family history I came across your name in relation to the Bostock Circus.
My Great Grandparents as well as my Grandmother were members of Bostock’s menagerie until 1914. They all were lion tamers from France. I was fascinated with the photos you have posted in Learn-America as they may be in one of the group photos. I was unable to enlarge the photos to have a better look.
I would really love to talk to you and compare notes, photos, family stories etc. I have several photos of my family and of Frank Bostock. From what my grandmother told me, the circus was here in 1914. When the war broke out, Frank Bostock asked them if they wanted to return to France with the circus but they chose to remain in NY. Thus ending their career with the circus. My Great Grandfather was known as Baron X
My Great Grandmother was Madame D’Orcy and my Grandmother was Miss Ottowa.
They all worked with lions. Here is a picture of Madame D’Orcy.
Here is a picture of Miss Ottowa, both shown with Kathie Ingolioís permission.
Should anyone have any more information about here grandparents and great grandparents, you can contact her at fleurkat@yahoo.com
On 11/2/05, Kathie sent us the following info, “In 1917 my Great Grandmother and Grandmother were in California with Capt. Jack Bonavita. They appeared in a silent film with him (and lions) called the Raja’s Sacrifice. I have one still photo of that. They were with the circus in Coney Island My Grandmother told me lots of stories as I was growing up, some of which I’ve long forgotten. I’m just sorry that as an adult I didn’t ask more questions and record the answers. Sometime in the 1970’s a reporter visited my Grandmother asking to do a story on her as she had been regarded (for her time) as the youngest lion trainer. Unfortunately, she declined the offer despite our encouragement.”
On 11/3/05, Katie says, “Its funny how some family members have no interest in their heritage. Outside of one brother who has a cursory interest, my other siblings could care less. I believe Capt. Jack Bonavita was involved with Bostock in Coney Island as well. He was good friends with my family. I’m told that Leo the Clown lived with my Grandmother and Great Grandmother for awhile as they lived not too far from Coney Island. Did your Grandfather have any siblings? Perhaps their children might know something? I’ve tried contacting the editor of the Galloper but apparently the email address is no longer valid.”
I know, Kathie, I wish we had all paid more attention or asked more questions.
The above picture is Kathie’s Great Grandfather Baron X and his lions taken prior 1914.
Below is his employee pass to move through the Expositions.
On 11/6/05 Kathie sends an email that says, “On the back of that Shepherd’s Bush exhibition pass there is a signature at the bottom IMRE KIRALFI and under the name it says Commissioner General. I “googled” it and this is what I came up with! Interesting!” Here is what she found about Imre Kiralfi:
Born in Budapest in 1845 the son of Jewish parents, the Hungarian Imre Kiralfy soon gained an international reputation as one of the most prolific impresarios, organizers and producers of numerous imperial spectacles most, though not all, held in London. Although largely forgotten today, leisure historians have gone so far as to call him the “British Empireís public relations agent, glorifying imperialism”.
Having trained as a dancer and subsequently as a theater manager in Brussels, New York and Chicago, Kiralfy produced his first independent show in New York in 1874. He became better known towards the end of the 1880s when he put much bigger historical spectacles, pageants and expositions on stage such as Nero, or the Fall of Rome (1889), the “aquatic pageant” Venice: The Bride of the Sea (1891), the Empire of India Exhibition (1895), the Paris in London Exhibition (1902) or eventually the lavish Franco-British Exhibition (1908) in west London. While his early European productions were undertaken in co-operation with the American Barnum Circus Enterprises at a venue in Olympia in West Kensington, in 1895 his newly established company The London Exhibitions Limited moved to a second, completely redeveloped and entirely restructured London site in Earlís Court. Here, he was to run nine expositions over the course of the next nine years (1895-1903). All of them were devoted to imperial themes of different kinds and scope: Either they displayed typical products of single colonies (Empire of India Exhibition 1895), had the most comprehensive theme one could think of (International Universal Exhibition 1896) or presented a “best of”-selection of the 1900 Parisian Exposition universelle in a London context (Paris in London Exhibition 1902). Although these Earlís Court exhibitions didnít feature official participants from abroad, their enormous popularity made Kiralfy nonetheless an “expert” in the publicís eye. Subsequently, Kiralfy was appointed permanent counsellor of the British government for foreign shows.6
Continued success made Kiralfy move yet again, for the third time, to another venue in west London, the White City, specifically created and designed for the purpose of exhibition. There Kiralfy produced seven further expositions between 1908 and 1914. In a self-congratulatory text entitled “My Reminiscences” Kiralfy retrospectively described the largest of them, the Franco-British Exhibition of 1908 with 8.4 million visitors, as the “summit of my lifeís achievements in the domain of public spectacle.”7 Before it actually opened, the Duke of Argyll crowned the “showman” Kiralfy, “Roi des fÈes”, thus alluding to the bi-national character of his most comprehensive exposition project. After its close, he was likewise heralded “superman in the exhibition world”.8
It is clear that Kiralfy had more than just some say in this constant process of self-fashioning. But more decisive in this context is the enormous number of different types of transnational networks in which Kiralfy actively participated. I will name only four:
Expositions themselves: Kiralfy had visited a number of international expositions (1873, 1873, 1893, 1896, 1900) and sought to incorporate their cultural respectability into his own mass productions, sometimes quite literally so: In Act III, Scene 4 of one of his patriotic spectacles organized within the framework of the 1893 Worldís Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the exposition itself actually appeared on stage, together with his usual allegorical characters such as “Progress, Peace, Liberty” and so forth.
Personal contacts: While Kiralfy obviously had a huge number of personal contacts at his disposal, some of them were more crucial than others since they crossed institutional and national boundaries, for instance his co-operation with Phineas Taylor Barnum, the great American impresario and circus showman.
Institutional overlapping: The second modern Olympic Games were held in connection with and on the grounds of the Franco-British Exhibition. It was only later that the Olympic Games and worldís fairs became differentiated into two entirely separate institutions with the former superseding the latterís significance, but Kiralfyís London Games helped the Olympic movement to become a worldwide spectacle with international cooperation on all issues of concern.
Transnational imports and cultural transfers: Kiralfy incorporated numerous elements into his spectacles that had first been introduced and proved successful elsewhere. While some of these elements were of European origin (e.g. miniature ships from the Berliner Gewerbe-Ausstellung 1896), the majority he imported and copied from the US, in particular from the 1893 Chicago exposition. Examples include the Ferris wheel at Earlís Court and central design elements of the White City such as the “Court of Honour” and, of course, White Cityís very name. While The Times had initially praised the White Cityís whiteness as “extremely brilliant and fairylike”, in retrospect it grumbled when revealing the nameís origins. It considered the name “White City” Ñboth inept and commonplace:” “There have been and are dozens of ëWhite Citiesí; the term has come to mean little more than a fancy pleasure resort.”9
When Kiralfy died in April 1919, aged 74, he left a considerable fortune exclusively earned through the organization and production of imperial exhibitions and spectacular displays.10 Within a British context, Kiralfy had definitely made the public medium exposition into a private business enterprise. Yet how central the exhibitionsí mostly imperial themes were to their popular success, is difficult to ascertain. Though they were clearly dominant, they were by no means the only themes; others included antiquity, foreign countries and places but in Europe, traveling, tourism. Simultaneously, they were very much en vogue in numerous other places and hence seem to have been easy to sell.
Katie sends us more info on 11/7/05, “I was trying to research the early French circus but couldn’t find much. I can’t find much info on Bostock in France either. I’ve a feeling most of their performances were in England. My Grandmother said they also went to Belgium. I believe thatís where my Great Grandfather was killed. My Grandmother told me that the bear trainer took ill and they asked my Great Grandfather (Baron X) to do the show in his place. She said one of the biggest no no’s is to work with animals you are unfamiliar with. Since the bear trainer was his friend he agreed. I think it was during rehearsal, my grandmother was watching in the bleachers. At one point, Baron X tripped on something, stumbled. One of the bears saw the opportunity and pounced on my Great Grandfather. My grandmother said she was shooting blanks into the air to frighten the bear and other trainers were trying to get the bear off him but to no avail.
She also told me that castrated male lions were used and fed hormones so they would lose their manes. It was said they wanted it to appear they were working with the more aggressive female lions.
Another story. The trainers were all given a chimp to train. The chimps would be tied to a stake outside the trailer. Each trainer would teach the chimp how to sit at a table, use utensils etc. Once the chimp learned the basics it was turned over to its permanent trainer.
The one she worked with was called Consul (he is written about in books). This chimp hated my grandmother. One day while the permanent trainer was working with his troupe of chimps, Consul spotted my grandmother watching from the bleachers, broke free, and beat her up!”
We heartly thank Kathie Ingolio of Brooklyn, NY for her contributions and permission to add these to our article.
“Tread the Earth Lightly” and in the meantimeÖ may your day be filled withÖ.Peace, light and love,
Arlene Wright-Correll
I grant “ONE-TIME” publishing rights
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