RED TREE STUDIO

Siamese Twins.

Our Siamese Twins shot was based from a shot taken in 1945 of Daisy and Violet Hilton who were born in Brighton, East Sussex, England on February 5, 1908 to a young, unwed barmaid, Kate Skinner. At the age of two weeks, the twins were "adopted" by Mary Hilton, their mother's landlady who was also their midwife. The sisters were pygopagus twins - conjoined at the hips and buttocks. They shared blood circulation and were fused at the pelvis but shared no major organs. Soon after acquiring the twins, Mrs. Hilton put them on exhibition. They were managed by Ike Rose of Rose's Royal Midgets fame and exhibited alongside Rosa and Josefa Blazek, probably the first time in history that two sets of Siamese twins were ever shown together. Daisy and Violet were later taken on an Australian tour with Mary Hilton, her husband Henry, and their daughter Edith. While in Australia, Edith married Myer Myers, a carnival balloon salesman.

Bearded Lady.

Baroness Sidonia de Barcsy (pronounced "Barchy"), born in present-day Budapest on May 1, 1866, was a double rarity in the show world: a genetically-female bearded lady, and a true member of a royal family. Her husband was Baron Antonio de Barcsy. The lovely young Baroness was beardless until the age of 19, when she gave birth to her son, Nicu, who weighed just two and a half pounds at birth and would stand only three feet tall as an adult. Twelve days after Nicu's birth, Sidonia began growing hair on her cheeks. Her doctor ordered that all the mirrors be removed from her house, lest she be frightened to death by the sight of her hairy face. It was no use delaying the inevitable, however; Sidonia was mortified to find herself possessed of a full, eight-inch beard within just a few weeks. Her husband the Baron expressed a fondness for her new bewhiskered look and even threatened to divorce her if she shaved.
The Baron brought his family to Western Europe in the 1890s to pursue a career in sideshow and museum exhibition. Though some stories blame political upheaval for the Baron's exodus, the latter decades of the 19th century were in fact a time of relative peace and prosperity in Austria-Hungary. A second, more believable account is that the Baron lost a fortune in poor investments and placed his family on exhibition to earn it back. And he was successful: Sidonia was, after all, the world's only bearded mother of a midget son, and the Baron himself, at nearly four hundred pounds, made a passable Fat Man. The "De Barcsy Troupe" was such a success that they soon had enough money to travel to America. They did so in 1903, and for the next nine years were a fixture with the Ringling Bros. and Campbell Bros. Circuses.

Contortionist.

Contortion (sometimes contortionism) is an unusual form of physical display which involves the dramatic bending and flexing of the human body. Contortion is often part of acrobatics and circus acts. In general, contortionists have unusual natural flexibility, which is then enhanced through gymnastic training.

Most contortionists are categorized as either frontbenders or backbenders, depending on the direction in which their spine is more flexible. Relatively few performers are equally adept at bending both frontwards and backwards.

Cooch Dancer.

Burlesque is a humorous theatrical entertainment involving parody and sometimes grotesque exaggeration. In 20th century America, the form became associated with a variety show in which striptease is the chief attraction.

While the American form of burlesque has its origins in 19th century music hall entertainments and vaudeville, in the early 20th century American burlesque re-emerged as a populist blend of satire, performance art, and adult entertainment featuring striptease and broad comedy acts that derived their name from the low comedy aspects of the literary genre known as burlesque. Here the term "burlesque" was used loosely to describe these adult revue shows in which striptease acts would perform—often with themes, characters or gimmicks—but classic striptease and "hootchy kootchy" dance were already forms in themselves and not automatically "burlesque" by default.

In burlesque, performers, usually female, often create elaborate sets with lush, colorful costumes, mood-appropriate music, and dramatic lighting, and may even include novelty acts, such as fire breathing or contortionists, to enhance the impact of their performance.

Dracula's Bride.

The Dracula's Bride shoot was inspired by the essence of what the side show and carnival acts were back in the 1800's and that is essentially a fear of the unknown. Aleera is Count Dracula's youngest bride in the movie Van Helsing, perfectly portrayed by Elena Anaya and was our inspiration for the 21st century take on a Carnival Shot.

Escapologist.

The art of escaping from restraints and confined spaces has been a skill employed by magicians for a very long time. It was not originally displayed as an overt act in itself but was instead used secretly to create other illusion effects such as disappearance or transmutation. In the 1860s, the Davenport Brothers, who were skilled at releasing themselves from rope ties, used the art to convey the impression they were restrained while they created spirit phenomena.

Other illusionists, including John Nevil Maskelyne, worked out how the Davenports did their act and re-created the tricks to debunk the brothers' claims of psychic power. However the re-creations did not involve overt escape, merely a replication of tricks with the statement that they were accomplished by secret magicians' skills rather than spirits. It took another thirty years before the pure skill of escape began to be displayed as an act in itself. The figure most responsible for making escapology a recognised entertainment was Harry Houdini, who built his career on demonstrating the ability to escape from a huge variety of restraints and difficult situations.

Fallen Angel.

The Fallen Angel shoot was inspired by the essence of what the side show and carnival acts were back in the 1800's and that is essentially a fear of the unknown. Our Carnival Shot was based on a painting by Unspire Artworks www.unspire.com.

Travelling Seer.

Our shoot of the travelling seer or fortune teller was straight out of the text books. We set the scene with some of the familiar props like a crystal ball, tarot cards and let our very capable model do the rest. The notion of a travelling seer dates back to the 1600's when gypsy trains would roll by and read card, tea leaves or the crystal ball for willing clients.

Snake Charmer.

Snake charming is the practice of apparently hypnotising a snake by simply playing an instrument. A typical performance may also include handling the snakes or performing other seemingly dangerous acts, as well as other street performance staples, like juggling and sleight of hand. The practice is most common in India, though other Asian nations such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Malaysia are also home to performers, as are the North African countries of Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.

Ancient Egypt was home to one form of snake charming, though the practice as it exists today likely arose in India. It eventually spread throughout Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. Despite a sort of golden age in the 20th century, snake charming is today in danger of dying out. This is due to a variety of factors, chief among them the recent enforcement of a 1972 law in India banning ownership of serpents. In retaliation, snake charmers have organised in recent years, protesting the loss of their only means of livelihood, and the government has made some overtures to them.

Many snake charmers live a wandering existence, visiting towns and villages on market days and during festivals. With a few rare exceptions, however, they typically make every effort to keep themselves from harm's way. For one, the charmer typically sits out of biting range, and his animal is sluggish and reluctant to attack anyway. More drastic means of protection include removing the creature's fangs or venom glands, or even sewing the snake's mouth shut. The most popular species are those native to the snake charmer's home region, typically various kinds of cobras, though vipers and other types are also used.

Our inspiration for the mood of the shot came from a photographer named James Walter Collinge born in 1883 www.jwcollinge.com

Tattooed Lady.

Living in a time when it was scandalous even to show a bit of ankle, a small number of courageous women covered their bodies in tattoos and traveled the country, performing nearly nude on carnival stages. These gutsy women spun amazing stories for captive audiences about abductions and forced tattooing at the hands of savages, but little has been shared of their real lives. Though they spawned a cultural movement--almost a quarter of Americans now have tattoos--these women have largely faded into history.

Target girl.

Target girl is a term sometimes used in circus and vaudeville to denote a female assistant in "impalement" acts such as knife throwing, archery or sharpshooting. The assistant stands in front of a target board or is strapped to a moving board and the impalement artist throws knives or shoots projectiles so as to hit the board but miss the assistant. The image or character of the target girl has also permeated beyond the impalement arts and become an icon in fiction and visual media.

Although some assistants are male there is no common equivalent term for a male assistant. This reflects the fact that, historically at least, female assistants have predominated in the acts in question. The presence of an assistant as a human target provides a powerful element of risk. Without assistants placing themselves in danger these acts would be simple demonstrations of accuracy, but with the potential for injury or death the show is much more dramatic. Target girls often wear revealing costumes, thus adding an element of overt sexuality to an act. In this respect there is some similarity to magicians' assistants, although there is a distinct difference in that any apparent danger to an assistant in a magic act is mostly an illusion, whereas impalement acts are demonstrations of accuracy, nerve and calculated risk and the danger is real.

X-Ray Eel.

In 1894 wealthy eccentric Alphonse Zukor shocked European society by mounting an illegal underground cabaret--an alphabetic series of erotic acts featuring beautiful nude women and exotic animals. The bizarre performances changed the world by attracting and influencing such luminaries as Thomas Edison, Sigmund Freud, and Igor Stravinksy. In this lavish volume, artist David Delamare deftly recreates each of the cabaret's darkly alluring show cards. A living mermaid, a fire breathing tiger tamer, the knife throwing Donatello twins, and a Houdini inspired escape from an octopus tank are just a few of the twenty-six seductive acts captured in these sensual sepia tone paintings. An expert showman, Delamare spins a fantastical tale of creative obsession and singular vision to lure audience members into his own smoky kaleidoscopic world. At curtain's close they are left wondering whether they've witnessed an actual slice of history or an artist's sleight of hand.

David Delamare (http://www.daviddelamare.com). David Delamare (born in Leicester, England) is a British-American artist produced a series of images called 'Animerotics: A Forbidden Cabaret in 26 Acts' which dipicts some of the cabaret acts.

He/She.

The HeShe act in the carnival circuit was treated with some scepticism. Even the other acts didn’t really take this one seriously. A HeShe was normally played by a straight male wearing a costume of half man, half woman and makeup would match. We were very lucky to find a model who had just completed a short film and had all the costume and looks to pull this one off.

Legless...

The twin sons of Baltimore couple Amelia and John Eckhardt, Robert and John Jr., were born on August 27, 1911. Twenty minutes after the delivery of Robert, John Jr. appeared, to the horror of his parents and his midwife, who is said to have cried, "A broken doll!" It wasn't a clean break though - rather than appearing "snapped off at the waist" as he would later claim, little Johnny was left with withered, useless legs that never grew even as the rest of him did. Clothed as he always was in a neat tuxedo jacket, however, Johnny appeared to be a perfect half-man.

Robert was charged with looking after his brother, who was handicapped in name only - Johnny taught himself to walk on his hands at the age when most children learn to walk on their feet. Both twins were bright boys who excelled in school, and John aspired to be a preacher. At the age of thirteen, however, Johnny's career as the "King of Freaks" was already taking shape. The twins were spotted by a magician while attending a local carnival, who convinced them to join the sideshow, with Johnny working as a freak and Robert as his manager.

Lionel the Lion Face.

Polish-born Stephan Bibrowski began his American show career in 1901 with the Barnum & Bailey Circus. "Lionel, the Lion-Faced Boy" stood on the platform and told his life story to an intrigued crowd: he had been born in Wilezagora, Poland, in 1890, the fourth of six children who were all normal except for him. When his mother was pregnant, she had seen her husband attacked and killed by an escaped circus lion, thus imprinting her unborn baby with the face of a lion. He was also gifted with the eyes of a feline and could see in the dark. So superstitious were the villagers that the military had to intervene to protect the boy.
Of course, this story was fabricated; there were no lion attacks in Poland in the year 1890, and even the town name, Wilezagora, was made up. Lionel actually came from a suburb of Warsaw and was discovered at the age of four by a German showman known only as Sedlmayer, who took Lionel and his mother to Berlin so the child could be exhibited. While the three were staying in Berlin, Lionel's mother abandoned the boy in Sedlmayer's care and returned to Poland.

In private life, Stephan was a talented watercolorist who enjoyed painting landscapes. As a boy, he had aspired to be a dentist, but knew he could be more successful in the circus. After nearly fifteen years with Coney Island's Dreamland Circus sideshow, he returned to Germany in 1928 and became a German citizen. He died in 1932 of a heart attack.

There be Giants.

Count Olaf, the Norweigan Viking Giant, was born in Oslo, Norway, Oct. 18, 1906. He was born a healthy boy weighing twelve pounds. His parents are normal people. His father measures five feet, nine inches and weights 145 pounds. His mother is just a little smaller. He is the only boy in the family but he has two sisters younger than himself of ordinary size. [...] There is no way of accounting for his enormous size except that we know he is a direct descendant of the Norwegian Viking, Olaf Sigurdson, who was a giant king among giants. That is how Olaf gets the title of Count.

Clifford spent four years with the Al G. Barnes Circus and four years with Ringling Bros., Barnum and Bailey. While with the latter, he met a 5'6"-tall dancer, Mary Mars, and after a year of courtship they married in Rockford, Illinois, in 1939. After eight years as a career giant, he left the circus to become a traveling salesman. Though no longer a freak by trade, Clifford was still continually on display, representing everything from the Blatz Brewing Co. to The Big Shoe Store in Stevens Point. At the Wisconsin State Fair he wore a sign that said "Drink Milk: Look what it did for me". He advertised the 1935 Ford V8 as roomy enough for a giant, although his own car was custom-fitted to accommodate his size.

Photo: Snapshot of Cliff Thompson with two unknown dwarfs, from the estate of Princess Estella Smith, circus dwarf.

Little Princess.

Little Princess Nouma-Hawa came to the United States in 1902 with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, having already made a name for herself in Europe as "The Smallest Woman in the World". Where the name Nouma-Hawa came from is unknown, for in real life she was Mathilda Cajdos from the small village of Baraolt on the Hungarian-Romanian border. She sang and danced and was fluent in English, French, Hungarian and Italian. In 1904 the Princess married fellow performer Maurice Andrew Gowdy in Los Angeles, California. Although only 6'4" tall, Gowdy, a native of Shelbyville, Indiana, was billed as a giant. After five years of marriage Mrs. Gowdy became pregnant. She died in Hot Springs, Arkansas, on December 18, 1909, after giving birth to an average-sized child that was "expected to live".

Alice From Dallas.

Alice Wade was born in Dallas, Texas in 1894 and spent at least 20 years touring with the Ringling Bros., Barnum and Bailey Circus as "Alice Dunbar" or "Alice From Dallas". In 1922 she married Frank Julian, a tattooed man in the sideshow. Her peak weight was said to be 685 pounds, though she slimmed down to 425 after retiring from showbusiness. She died at home in Dallas on November 25, 1955.

Strong Man.

The circus strongman is one of many acts found in a modern circus. The strongman demonstrates great strength, power and agility to the audience. The strongman/strongwomen were very popular attractions in the circus in the 19th century.

Early strongmen would usually exhibit their awesome strength by lifting or moving objects which the audience would believe impossible to move. They would lift Anvils, have anvils placed on their chest, bend metal bars and some were even reported to hold cannons on their shoulders while an assistant lit and fired the cannon.

Sword Swallower.

Sword swallowing originated thousands of years ago in India by fakirs and shaman priests who developed it, along with fire-walking on hot coals, snake handling, and other ascetic religious practices, as demonstration of their invulnerability, power, and connection with their gods. Sword swallowing is still popular in certain parts of India, and there is said to be a tribe of sword swallowers in the state of Andhra Pradesh who pass down the art of sword swallowing from father to son.

http://www.swordswallow.com/