Advertisement: Page from a theater agent's sales book, circa 1895
MSS 027 Box 1 Folder 7 Item 1
1894 – 1896 (Date manufactured/created)
Advertising page, circa 1895, taken from a theater agent's sales book, promoting the Great Pantomine Trick House Act performed by Edwin Fritz Smith ("Fritz"), his son of the same name but known as "Eddie," and a third partner, Lewis Leslie. The act was a vaudeville or stage act. Another version of this shows the two hoops used for portraits of two of the men. Eddie, who was born in 1880, would have been a boy or teen at the time, and both he and his father were clowns, while partner Leslie was the policeman. The opposite side of the page advertises the work of a graphic artist, P. Richards, whose specialty was letterhead design for theaters. The sales book that this page was removed from was almost certainly printed for Hurtig & Seamon, a New York-based theatrical agency. The collection includes an 1896 sales agent's book of Hurtig & Seamon with the Trick House page intact.
Fritz Smith was a circus performer who emigrated to America in the early1870s. He was born in Liverpool, England, the son of a tailor, and was apprenticed to a "mountebank" from the age of 8 to 15 to learn tumbling, leaping, and acrobatics. He performed with his master, William Chantrell, and other apprentices as the Chantrell Family. Fritz won a prize, a silver belt in recognition of his talent, when he was about 13 or 14. After completing his apprenticeship he taught his older brothers Sidney and Alfred, and for about five years the three performed throughout Great Britain and in Europe as the Fritz Brothers. After Alfred was killed in an accident on stage, Fritz struck out on his own and partnered with another acrobat about the same age, James Cassim, The two traveled, among other places, to India, possibly because James' father had emigrated from India (his mother was Scottish), and they also performed in Spain and in France. The two of them left England sometime in the first half of 1870 headed to South America with a newly formed circus company, Courtney and Sanford, who promised to pay high salaries. The company opened in Lima, Peru, on June 1, 1870. Ultimately Fritz and his partner Cassim were left stranded, along with other performers, when the company went bankrupt and the owner disappeared. They finally succeeded in returning to the coast and finding a ship to get them to San Francisco where they performed for some time before heading east across the U.S. They worked in San Francisco for a time and then began working their way east. In New England Fritz met Catherine "Kitty" Sharpe and the couple married in August of 1874. She was a sand dancer, also known as a clog dancer or jig dancer, performing on stage in music halls and vaudeville; she also performed comic songs. The couple had five children. They traveled with their eldest child to Australia, where their second child was born. The journey proved to be quite an ordeal, and caused Kitty to refuse to travel overseas again. Fritz's entire career was devoted to performance and he became the head clown for Barnum & Bailey in the late 1880s. Fritz knew James A. Bailey very well, as he worked for Bailey and his partner James Cooper prior to Barnum & Bailey. He was also previously employed by the Adam Forepaugh circus enterprise. Kitty did not want him to travel abroad when Barnum & Bailey decided to go to England in 1889 so Fritz left the circus to work on stage, creating the Great Pantomime Trick House Act with a short succession of partners. He performed with his second son and namesake "Eddie" as clowns, and Eddie later became a partner in the Trick House Act. Fritz was forced to retire from stage after an injury in the Trick House Act, but he continued to be involved in the entertainment world. The Smith family settled in Saratoga Springs, New York, around 1883 when their third child was born, and Kitty and Fritz remained their until they died. Kitty's parents and one of her sisters and her husband also settled in Saratoga Springs, forming an enclave of circus and vaudeville performers.
Fritz Smith was a circus performer who emigrated to America in the early1870s. He was born in Liverpool, England, the son of a tailor, and was apprenticed to a "mountebank" from the age of 8 to 15 to learn tumbling, leaping, and acrobatics. He performed with his master, William Chantrell, and other apprentices as the Chantrell Family. Fritz won a prize, a silver belt in recognition of his talent, when he was about 13 or 14. After completing his apprenticeship he taught his older brothers Sidney and Alfred, and for about five years the three performed throughout Great Britain and in Europe as the Fritz Brothers. After Alfred was killed in an accident on stage, Fritz struck out on his own and partnered with another acrobat about the same age, James Cassim, The two traveled, among other places, to India, possibly because James' father had emigrated from India (his mother was Scottish), and they also performed in Spain and in France. The two of them left England sometime in the first half of 1870 headed to South America with a newly formed circus company, Courtney and Sanford, who promised to pay high salaries. The company opened in Lima, Peru, on June 1, 1870. Ultimately Fritz and his partner Cassim were left stranded, along with other performers, when the company went bankrupt and the owner disappeared. They finally succeeded in returning to the coast and finding a ship to get them to San Francisco where they performed for some time before heading east across the U.S. They worked in San Francisco for a time and then began working their way east. In New England Fritz met Catherine "Kitty" Sharpe and the couple married in August of 1874. She was a sand dancer, also known as a clog dancer or jig dancer, performing on stage in music halls and vaudeville; she also performed comic songs. The couple had five children. They traveled with their eldest child to Australia, where their second child was born. The journey proved to be quite an ordeal, and caused Kitty to refuse to travel overseas again. Fritz's entire career was devoted to performance and he became the head clown for Barnum & Bailey in the late 1880s. Fritz knew James A. Bailey very well, as he worked for Bailey and his partner James Cooper prior to Barnum & Bailey. He was also previously employed by the Adam Forepaugh circus enterprise. Kitty did not want him to travel abroad when Barnum & Bailey decided to go to England in 1889 so Fritz left the circus to work on stage, creating the Great Pantomime Trick House Act with a short succession of partners. He performed with his second son and namesake "Eddie" as clowns, and Eddie later became a partner in the Trick House Act. Fritz was forced to retire from stage after an injury in the Trick House Act, but he continued to be involved in the entertainment world. The Smith family settled in Saratoga Springs, New York, around 1883 when their third child was born, and Kitty and Fritz remained their until they died. Kitty's parents and one of her sisters and her husband also settled in Saratoga Springs, forming an enclave of circus and vaudeville performers.
Gift of Susan Crozier Fairchild
MS-0027-107-001