FUNERAL SERVICE FOR CHARLIE SMITH

The funeral arrangements for Charlie Smith, long time Ringling Bros. Trainmaster, have been finalized. He is survived by his wife Kitty Smith.
Funeral:
Saturday, Nov 29, 2008
Ewing Funeral Home
140 E Venice Avenue
Venice Fla 34285

Visitation: 10:00am - 12:30pm
Funeral: 12:30pm
Depart for cemetary: 2:00pm

Flowers can be sent directly to funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to:

ShowFolks of Sarasota.
5204 Lockwood Ridge Rd
Sarasota, FL 34234

Cards of condolence may be sent to Kitty Smith at:
117 Palm Avenue
Nokomis, FL 34275

AND YET ANOTHER GREAT ONE LOST: IN MEMORY OF SONNY MOORE

And it just keeps going on, we just came home from Billy Rodgers' Funeral & found this on the computer, from Adam Hill.


On Friday, November 14, 2008, at 12:20 am,Sonny Moore Passed away.

It was a peaceful and quiet passing, just another adventure for Sonny in his full and wonderful life.

He had a geat life, full of excitement and surprises and love, both from his animals and the women he has known.

He started out in show business at the age of 17 with a dog and pont act that he had purchased from Mrs. Curtis and Denny. A year later he also bought the Taxi Metor Mule Act, and in no time he was a very busy young man.

Then the War came along and he was drafted into the Army. He told them that the only training he had was working with dogs and ponies, so he was tansferred into the K9-corps, and a whole new adventure began.

He was paired with a beautiful German Shepherd that had been donated by a young nurse and her husband. His name was Captain and for the next three years, these two would never be separated. Cap was trained to smell out the enemy, just as a bird dog does with birds, and in this case the enemy was Japanese. Sonny and Cap served in the Phillipenes and Japan, their outfit was one of the first that went into Komoki Japan after Atom bomb, and the surrender. They met some wonderful people in Komoki and spent a few months there, before feing sent home.

Because it was the Army and rules have to be followed, Cap was sent back to the nurse that had donated him, but he was lonely for Sonny, and would not eat or drink water, so she decided that he would have to go back to his army buddy. Sonny was already back in show business, having picked up his dog act from his brother Dwight, who had been looking after his dogs, and working the act for him.

This started his career all over again, and off he went on different circus's, television, vaudeville, sportsmand shows, and then an offer to travel to England to work the Bertram Mills circus, and a command performance before the Queen and the Royal Family. Prince Phillip was very intriqued with Major the pony, and asked how old he was, and thought that it was interesting because he was quite old at the time.

After arriving home in the U.S. again, Sonny was in demand as the Dog Act that had had a command performance. He was on the Ed Sullivan show and other TV. shows that were popular at that time.

When I first Sonny he had just come out of the Army. Before he left for the Pacific, he married and had a son James. When he came back he had divorced Jim's mother, and soon met and married a lovely little girl named Pat. I lost track of him for a few years, and when I saw him in Ontario, he had been married to Jean. That is when I met him again, and in 1981 we were married for 27 years. And what wonderful years they have been. He will be missed so much by all of us here, and by his family, and my family amd many many friends in the show business world.

Happy trails to you Sonny from all of us.
Your loving wife, Pam Moore

Sonny is having a Military Funeral on Monday Dec.1st, 2008 in Springfield Mo. at the Veterens Resting Place. In lue of Flowers, please send any memorials to the Dogs for the Blind, in San Carols Calif.



I would like to add that Sonny Moore Lived with our family for many years first in Burlington WI. and then in Fordland Mo. I always considered him my second Dad. He taught me compaction when training animals. When I was 12, Sonny taught me to train my dog act. I could go on all day talking about Sonny I just want to say I will miss him and we have lost a great animal lover/trainer. Have a safe journey Sonny.

Adam Hill

IT'S TURKEY TIME AGAIN,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL YOU BLOGGERS

Since Trudy & I are all alone, we've been invited to Judy & Lee Stevens' house for Thanksgiving Dinner........ ATTSA NICE!!!!

IN MEMORY OF OUR DEAR FRIEND CHARLIE SMITH

He greeted everyone with a friendly smile, a gentle handshake, & a soft spoken word. It's hard to imagine a world without Charlie Smith. Kitty, our hearts go out to you, and we keep you in our prayers.

The funeral arrangements for Charlie Smith, long time Ringling Bros. Trainmaster, have been finalized. He is survived by his wife Kitty Smith.
Funeral:
Saturday, Nov 29, 2008
Ewing Funeral Home
140 E Venice Avenue
Venice Fla 34285

Visitation: 10:00am - 12:30pm
Funeral: 12:30pm
Depart for cemetary: 2:00pm

Flowers can be sent directly to funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to:

ShowFolks of Sarasota.
5204 Lockwood Ridge Rd
Sarasota, FL 34234

Cards of condolence may be sent to Kitty Smith at:
117 Palm Avenue
Nokomis, FL 34275

IN MEMORY OF YET ANOTHER OF OUR FELLOW PERFORMERS GONE :LOLA GOETSCHE

Vera “Lola” Goetschi
Oct. 14, 1922 - Nov. 17, 2008
Lola Goetschi, 86, of Sarasota since 1947, originally from Sofia, Bulgaria, died at home, Nov. 17, 2008.
Lola is survived by her son, Emil, Jr., and grandson, Zachary. She was preceded in death by her husband,
Emil, Sr., in 2002.
Memorial service will be held at (2pm on Monday, December 8th 2008) at the Show Folk's Club of Sarasota.
Born October 14, 1922, she was the daughter of Alex & Anna Dobritch. It was in Sofia that she studied ballet
and wire walking. Her love of these arts lead her to become known as the ballerina of the silver strand. She
would dance on her toes across the wire, pleasing audiences wherever she performed. Lola's beautiful talent
took her throughout the world.
In 1946, Lola married unicyclist, Emil Goetschi. It was in 1947 that they came to the Untied States to
perform with Ringling Bros. Circus. After a few seasons with Ringling they continued to tour in America
with various circuses, performed in many Las Vegas clubs, and were featured on several television shows
including Ed Sullivan. Her favorite, of course, would be her brother's circus, Al Dobritch International Circus.
After retirement, Lola still enjoyed the circus and ballet, and would often be seen in the audience cheering on
new talent.
The family wishes to thank Tidewell Hospice for its comfort and care during her last days, and in lieu of
flowers, donations to Hospice would be deeply appreciated.

IN MEMORY OF ANOTHER SHOWMAN GONE TO REST: BILLY RODGERS

BILLY RODGERS PASSED AWAY THIS MORNING, NOVEMBER 24, 2008!

When I first met Billy Rodgers, he did a Cloudswing Act under the name of Billy Orwell, after his hometown, Orwell, Ohio. I'm sure Billy's career was cut short by a very bad automobile accident years ago, even though he continued performing I think the effects of the injuries eventually took their toll. He stayed connected to the circus business when he opened his, "Pirates Treasure Cove", and supplied us all with baubles, bangles, & beads, for many years.
Rest well dear friend.





RODGERS TROPICAL FANTASY


THE AERIAL WILKENS
This is Billy with his partner Kenny Dodd.


BILLY ORWELL 1964
Billy Rodgers Cloudswing.

NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE/SEPTEMBER, 1980

I DON'T KNOW IF THE GLOVES WERE ANY GOOD, BUT THE GUY ENDORSING THEM WAS TOP QUALITY ALL THE WAY!!!!

JOANNE'S ROUTE: WITH CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DO NOT KNOW, JOANNE & PEE WEE ARE ON THE ROAD FOR 30 WEEKS WITH THE BROADWAY SHOW, "CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG", WHERE JOANNE'S DOGS ARE APPEARING IN THE SHOW.

CLICK ON THE ROUTE & IT WILL ENLARGE

FOR MORE ON THE SHOW, GO TO .... chittyontour.com .... & CLICK ON THE TOP LINK.

FROM DICK FLINT REGARDING POSTERS

Good evening, Bill!
A big "WOW" to the stunning number of posters on your blog! Its
particularly nice to see some of the older stock work for small shows
not often illustrated in circus publications that always go for the
same "classics." Admittedly, a lot of this is interesting to me since
I've generally concentrated on the truly old posters and don't look at
stuff I once considered too modern!

For anyone interested in the beginnings of the show poster houses and
color woodblock (letterpress) work, I have an extensively detailed
article well-illustrated in color with some of the very earliest
posters known that will appear in about six weeks in issue number 50
of "Printing History," the journal of the American Printing History
Association. It is titled "'A Great Industrial Art': Circus Posters,
Business Risks, and the Origins of Color Letterpress Printing in
America."

I do have a number of comments and corrections to make, however, but
let me first state that I wholeheartedly support Neil Cockerline's
discussion about poster conservation and care.

As to the size of the poster sheet, this goes back to before there
were circuses and has more to do with paper makers though it is not
clear just why sheets began to be made and trimmed in somewhat uniform
sizes. In the late 18th century the first paper making machinery was
developed by Fourdrinier resulting in paper of "endless" lengths. The
size of a printing press "bed," where the type sits on which the paper
is then laid, could be twice the size of the platen that presses the
paper to the inked type; it just required rolling the form holding the
type a second time further along under the platen, thus requiring two
"pulls" on the press handle to press the paper against the inked type.
Most newspapers were printed this way: while a double page of type
would be in the bed and a single sheet would cover both pages of type,
each page required its own "press" of the smaller platen against the
inked type.

The only thing holding back the use of large images on posters was the
cost and size of the wood used for the pictures. Traditionally, only
mahogany or boxwood was used. Both were very expensive and neither
was available in large sizes. A man named Joseph Morse developed ways
to cut upon cheap pine and this was done specifically for circus
posters beginning in the 1830s. Morse also developed ways to print in
color by the 1840s. All of this, along with the story of how show
printers were often tied to the financial fate of their circus
customers, is detailed in my article. In it, readers will also learn
how, in the 1870s, one show printer, Torrey Bros., collapsed because
of the failure of the Great Eastern circus yet James Reilly's shop
weathered the financial troubles of the Great London Circus and
survived. There are 22 illustrations, most in color, and no poster
illustrated is later than 1873.

There was only one 100-sheet poster ever printed and that was by
Strobridge for the W.W. Cole show in the early 1880s. Forepaugh
contemplated one but it was never produced; Barnum is not known to
have considered such a large bill. 100-sheet posters have been
constructed by stringing together four 24-sheet posters and adding a
two-sheet "reader," such as Buffalo Bill did with his surviving "Look
Upon This Picture" poster offering a textual description of the four
scenes. This, of course, is not a single image so it is not a true
100-sheet.

By the time lithography is used for circus posters (as early as about
1850 but not at all common), the sheet sizes were pretty much
standardized so the Bavarian limestone was cut to match the size of
paper that the press could accommodate. Lithograph was a slow,
expensive process until cylinder presses (which had been used for
letterpress posters by the early 1830s) were first used by
lithographers in the 1870s. Cylinder presses allowed steam power to
be used and this greatly increased the speed of printing, thus
reducing costs. The change from letterpress to litho work was rapid
and the old-style woodcut, now regarded as crude compared to the fine
details of a litho, was rapidly eclipsed by the late 1870s. Some show
printers hung on, such as Calhoun, doing work for small shows that
were judged as second-class because of their crude appearing posters.
Let me also note that stone work was being replaced by zinc plates as
early as the 1870s and the metal plates could actually imitate the
appearance of stone. When photographic processes began to be used to
transfer an image to a light-sensitive plate, so-called rotary offset
presses came along in 1904. This method of printing can be discerned
from just looking at the image as the dot pattern is quite regular
(like the old half-tone photographs in newspapers) unlike the random
pattern (actually the tiny grains of sand in the litho stone) found on
more traditionally executed litho images. In 1911, when Enquirer
moved to a new building that Old Whitey will remember but was torn
down in the 1980s, they decided to concentrate on date sheets and
other letterpress work rather than make the costly transition to the
newer rotary presses. In the long run, this old fashioned method
meant they survived since shows, especially early movies, were
satisfied with the more craftsman-like work. The Depression hit them
hard but the 1935 Cole show helped revive their pictorial show work
and show posters constituted the majority of their production until
the death of Harry Anderson in the 1980s. Their old presses have been
discarded in favor of offset in their new location.


One of the best-designed of the early woodblock, or letterpress,
posters is that of the "Five Celebrated Clowns Attached to Sands,
Nathans & Co's Circus" that was done by Joseph Morse himself in 1856.
It is a 9-sheet—almost 7 feet tall and over 11 feet wide—and I am
sending a copy for you to post alongside this response to your
comments that began this wonderful new series. Remarkably, two copies
of this poster survive. More amazing, another large poster from 1835
that is 6 by 9 feet survives in four copies and one collector actually
owned two of them at one time but they were discovered separately.
I'm fortunate to have a two-sheet from that date but I am wondering
how many other collectors are so lucky to own any such early gems (to
use a Bob Parkinson word) from the 19th century other than Strobridge
posters. If there are, I would be interested in possibly using them
in a future book on circus posters and show printers. Most such
survivals, of course, are in the two big well-known collections or in
museums.

Also attached is a charming children's book illustration
from the 1840s showing a billposter as well as a photo from the 1970s
of some posters ready to be shipped from the old Enquirer shop.

In the photograph you see so many "days" worth of paper that would have
gone to one town along the route to be picked up by the billing crew.
What made the show printer special was not the technology of printing
but his service—the ability to deliver so many "days" worth of the
correct posters on time to specific towns where the billing crew
awaited them for the single day they were in town. You didn't want
you posters sitting around the express office to be lost (or sabotaged
by a rival show!). Enquirer's Harry Anderson once told me how Doc
Miller once drove to the Enquirer plant to pick up posters because of
his worry about a rival show; Anderson found it amusing because he
thought Miller was the only guy still around that knew the tactics of
the past!

Dick Flint

POSTERS: INTRODUCTION ,, REGARDING POSTERS,,,, & POSTS:

Normally I like to get a series of posts completely together before publishing them, but in this case it is so time consuming, it will come in installments, and will grow as I add to it, some times daily, so,,,,Y'all come back now, y'hear!!!!

I would also like to include more commentary, but the truth is, I am not that knowledgeble on the subject. If some one would like to comment on a particular poster I would be more than happy to move the comment to the proper poster.


DEDICATED TO EVERY BILLPOSTER WHO SPENT HOURS,,DAYS,,MONTHS,,YEARS,, WALKING THE STREETS OF EVERYTOWN, U.S.A. CARRYING A BUCKET OF PASTE, A HAMMER, & A POCKET FULL OF TACKS!


REGARDING POSTER SIZES!!!!
The dimensions of circus posters are extremely important historically, and may help in identifying the period of production. Originally, the sizes of random posters were based solely upon the size of the printing press bed, and thus varied greatly. Eventually, however, with lithography virtually taking over the printing industry, a unit of measure called a "sheet" was standardized at 28 by 42 inches. These dimensions were based upon the standard dimensions of a lithography stone that a single man could handle or carry. Circus posters were identified as "sheets" or multiples of sheets. Probably the most common were "one-sheets" measuring 28 by 42 inches, followed by "half-sheets" measuring 28 by 21 inches. "Flats" would have the poster in a horizontal format, while "uprights" would have a vertical orientation. Various multiple sheets were also produced including 2-, 3-, 4-, 6-, 8-, 12-,15-,16-, 20-, and 24-sheets, with corresponding multiple dimensions. Larger multiples were also produced in rare instances, including 100-sheet posters and larger, first for the W.W. Cole Circus, Forepaugh-Sells Brothers and the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show.
There were also some posters produced that did not adhere to the standard sheet dimensions. "Panels" were designed specifically for use in merchants' windows, to allow advertising without covering too much of the window display. One-sheet panels measured 54 inches long by 21 inches wide and one-half sheet panels, which were printed both with horizontal designs and vertical designs, measured 14 by 42 inches . "Streamers" were also printed, which had the show title one sheet high by from 2- to 28-sheets wide. These were used across the top of large pictorial posters.
For every pictorial poster show printers produced, they also printed numerous "date sheets". Date sheets included the show title, the town, the show date, and sometimes generic advertising text, such as "One Day Only","Wait for the Big Show", etc. These posters were printed by letterpress, usually in one color, either red or blue, or more rarely in two colors, usually red and blue, with overlapping areas appearing deep violet or black for a third color. Date sheets were printed in standard sheet sizes, along with smaller "date tags" (known also as "date strips" or "date tails") which would be pasted along the bottoms of pictorial one- and half-sheet posters by the circus' advance billing crews.

COMMENT FROM NEIL COCKERLINE,
Hi Bill:
This series of posts is really great! The poster description paragraphs were written by me in an article entitled "Ethical Concerns for the Conservation of Circus Posters", which I originally wrote for museum conservators (formerly known as restorers) and curators, and it was later published by Mr. Pfenning in the Bandwagon magazine for the Circus Historical Society. You can see my original article at http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/waac/wn/wn17/wn17-2/wn17-205.html, which is part of the Stanford University Library web site. The "restoration" treatment for posters in most museums is VERY different than what happens to most in private hands. As a graduate trained Fine Arts Conservator who has worked on thousands of Masterpieces during my 30+ year career, I am very concerned about how many posters are "restored" by unknowing individuals who decide that restoration consists of gluing a poster to a piece of linen fabric. You will not find this being done to posters at the majority of important museum collections that contain circus poster collections including the Library of Congress, the New York Historical Society, the Shelburne Museum or many others. Unfortunately, Circus World Museum started mounting posters to an irreversible linen lining called "Chartex" many years ago which in my professional opinion, has permanently destroyed many rare original posters that will never be saved. The heat set adhesive on Chartex consisted of a wax-resin mixture that chemically cross-links with age and can only be undone with very strong organic solvents that will dissolve the original inks. Thankfully, CWM is no longer using this product to my knowledge, but unfortunately the majority of their posters have suffered this fate. Too many posters, even today, are being lined to linen and other fabrics with adhesives that become irreversible with age, some are irreversible as soon as they are applied. I have also witnessed too many posters where "restorers" have used linen linings without the proper understanding of how paper expands and contracts with moisture or heat, leaving horrible wrinkles in posters that can never be removed without heavy-handed treatments in an attempt to remove the fabric linings. The only acceptable museum conservation methods for posters that really need linings (and the actual number requiring linings is a fraction of what is currently being done out there) is to line them with Japanese tissue paper and Wheat or Rice Starch Paste as an adhesive. At the leading collections including those mentioned above, this is the ONLY adhesive that is ever used on works of art on paper EVER. The reason being is that it is completely reversible in MOST cases. The addition of linen or any other type of fabric is absolutely unnecessary, if a Japanese tissue paper lining is done correctly. People do not realize it, but amazingly some inks used in early posters are actually water soluble, thus ireversibility of CORRECT linings has to be done with absolute understanding and precise technique.

Since I'm on the topic, many ill-informed "restorers" also get too enthusiastic when trying to retouch damages. I have seen circus posters where air-brushing has covered entire areas of posters where a small tear or ink loss is smaller than one quarter of an inch. Many of the paints used for this type of work are also completely irreversible and will become even more damaging as the original inks and paper naturally discolor with time and age, while the over-painting will age and change very differently and become increasingly discolored next to the original printing materials with time. I am also adamantly against retouching or painting over fold lines or fold marks in posters, especially multiple sheet posters, since these marks are ORIGINAL to the manufacture and use of the poster. Printing Companies including Strobribge, Courier, Riverside, Donaldson and others that printed circus posters had to send them to advance crews folded up so that they could be shipped, back in the day. I would even suggest that the fold lines are historically significant and could even vary from Company to Company depending on their own folding process. This is historical information that should be PRESERVED, not covered over by some restorer for an uninformed collector that wants a pristine image. Pristine posters are simply covering up history.

I am sure that many collectors who read this are going to get their underwear in a cinch, but these are the facts of the matter in the MUSEUM WORLD that exists today. You should always be careful about having anything restored, period. Professional conservation is expensive because it takes a level of professional knowledge that few take the time to gain. Many of today's professional conservators in museums have had training equal to that of a medical doctor and have gone through internships and fellowships at leading museums throughout the world as part of their training. I am sure that you want the best doctor available to treat your personal medical conditions, so you should seek the same level of professionalism when you are having your prized possessions treated or "restored" as well. Private Collectors of circus posters or anything else for that matter are just like museums in that they should only consider themselves as a caretaker of artistic or historical artifacts that should last much beyond their own existence.
Neil Cockerline
Circus Poster Collector and
Director of Preservation Services and Conservator
Midwest Art Conservation Center
Minneapolis, MN

COMMENT FROM P.J. HOLMES,
Great job again Bill......
Have a question for Mr.Cockerline. First,thank you for the information on how we should care for our litho collections. Along time ago, I had a museum staff member recommended that I should store my lithos in archival plastic which you can still purchase by the roll for a reasonable price. I have placed them in plastic,leaving room for the plastic to expand and contract. Some of these have been like this for 35 years with no damage to the litho. In fact you can handle them without fear of wear and tear. I store them in large flat file drawers. The biggest problem that we have today,is that the lithos that do turn up, are sometimes in bad shape. What type of tape do you advise to help these from coming apart? Also, I have problems with Kelty's that have been stored rolled up for 60 years. They need some type of tape to repair them and I have not used anything for fear of it bleeding into the print.
As you stated,we are just the caretakers for this material.
regards,
P.J.Holmes

POSTERS: OWNERS

"EVERYBODY WANTS TO GET IN THE ACT"

POSTERS: FROM ACROBATS, TO WIRE WALKERS, TO AERIALISTS,

POSTERS: SPECIAL THEMES

AT TIMES THE SHOW'S POSTER WOULD EMPHASIZE THE THEME OF A PARTICULAR PRODUCTION NUMBER.

SUCH AS THIS PATRIOTIC THEME IN 1943






COMMENT FROM CHRIS BERRY,
In 1942 John Ringling North wanted something unique in the show so he asked George Balanchine to choreograph a ballet for the big show herd. Balanchine then asked Igor Stravinksy to write the music and the "circus polka" was born. Poster enthusiasts aren't wishy-washy about this design - they either love it or hate it. It may not be too "circusy" but the design by famed poster artist E. McKnight Kauffer and produced by the McCandlish Litho Co of Philadelphia is sought-after by collectors because of the many powerful names on it: Stravinsky, Balanchine, Kauffer and of course Ringling, Barnum & Bailey.

POSTERS: STARS & SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS

STROBRIDGE-1912


STROBRIDGE-1916










THIS IS THE TRADEMARK FOR THE NORMAN BEL GEDDES STUDIO FROM THE ALFRED COURT POSTER ABOVE.