This is a blog about music, photography, history, and culture.
These are photographs from my collection that tell a story about lost time and forgotten music.

Mike Brubaker
{ Click on the image to expand the photo }

The Well Dressed Clarinetist No. 3

30 June 2017



Buttons, lace, braids,
cords, fourragères, aiguillettes
cuff insignia, shoulder straps, epaulets,
belt buckles, cap badges, collar dogs,
feathers, plumes, and cockades
were once standard accoutrements
of a well dressed musician. 

During the years between 1865 and 1900
the proliferation of bands in America
created a demand
for distinctive uniforms with styles
that would look good on bandsmen,
both in concert and on the march.

To judge by the number in my collection,
Clarinet players, or clarionettists, as they were once called,
seemed particularly fond
of being photographed in their band uniform.
This young man strikes a gallant pose
in his bandsman's uniform
which has the full livery
of a typical musician of the 1880s.
His cabinet card photograph was taken by
J. Hebbel of 409 N. Gay St., Baltimore, Maryland.






Unfortunately he has set aside 
his hat which could offer a good clue
as to whether he really was a military musician.
Though his buckle does have an embossed eagle
which would be appropriate for a member
of a United State Army or State Militia band,
in this era there were many civilian bands
that dressed in an elaborate quasi-military style.


* * *









This hirsute clarinetist does wear a cap
but it is pushed back on his balding pate
so as to hide any insignia.
His uniform has ornate embroidery
borrowed from the styles of
European military uniforms.
Pinned to his chest is a ribbon medallion
which I believe may be
a sign of some special occasion
rather than an award for musicianship.
His clarinet has a lyre attached
holding a folio of his music




 His cabinet card photograph
was made in Marion, Kansas
by Mrs. McMullin,
a rare example of the work
of a female photographer.

   UPDATE:   
In February 2018
I wrote a longer story about
the photographer of this clarinetist
and her career in Marion, Kansas—
Mrs. McMullin Took Their Picture.





* * *








This musician stands with
a more at-ease pose
with his clarinet.
His American style forage cap
has a musical lyre badge
surrounded by a wreath,
a universal symbol for a musician,
and still used today as a military band insignia.
His jacket has toggles instead of buttons
with embroidered braid not unlike
German or Austrian uniform styles.








His photo was taken by
Julius Gross
successor to Cramer
at 1001 South Broadway
cor. Chouteau Avenue
St. Louis, Missouri.

Fine Art Painting
a Specialty
Oil, Pastel, & Crayon.

Sadly Mr. Gross's camera was a bit out of focus
for us to see the clarinetist's music placed
on the wire music stand next to him.
I suspect it indicates
his was a principal first-chair musician.
.









* * *








This final cabinet photograph 
shows a clarinet player
with an impressive beard
wearing what is perhaps
the most flamboyant uniform
in my collection.
From the plume on his tall white hat
to his two-tone belt,
his costume seems far beyond
even full-dress military attire.
He wears a decorative knotted cord,
similar to the Baltimore clarionetist,
that is not quite an aiguillette, nor a fourragère.
Maybe it was a kind of clarinet swab. 
 
I think his white (or lemon yellow?)
fancy uniform is most likely
the costume of a circus bandsman.
Compare this musician's hat
with the band in the second wagon
in my story from last weekend,
The Day the Circus Came to Town.
There are initials on his hat
but
unfortunately the contrast
is too bright to read what they are.
 I especially like his colorful satchel
where he kept his music, extra reeds,
and maybe a hairbrush too.

 



His cabinet card photo
was taken by the Newcomb studio
of 162 S. Main St., Salt Lake City, Utah.

Salt Lake City was an important railway hub
for theatrical troupes and musical groups
traveling the entertainment circuits
that crisscrossed 19th century America.
Every circus had a band as did
minstrel shows and vaudeville troupes.
Fraternal and Masonic societies
also established bands
that performed in extravagant uniforms.




* * *


None of these clarionetists left a name on their photograph.
We can only suppose that they lived
in the same community as the photographer,
but they could easily be just traveling through.
All are photo styles that date from 1885 to 1898.
 
It was an era when a manly man
waxed his mustache, 
combed his epaulets,
and was proud to display his instrument.

To see more examples of
clarinet uniform styles
check out my post from 2011
The Well Dressed Clarinet
and the sequel from 2012




This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday
where you never know what you'll see.

http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/2017/06/sepia-saturday-374-1-july-2017.html






The Day the Circus Came to Town

23 June 2017


"Say kids, if you want to have a good time and excitement enough to beat a dime novel sky high, don’t you miss that Hagenbeck Wild Animal show that’s going to come here next Saturday.









I tell you kids, I was in St. Louis last week and my aunt she took me, at least I went with her, and she lost me, but that crowd coming home after the show wore a smile all right, all right.








You see it was like this. Uncle got up early and that put aunt in a sweet mood and she said we’d go and see the parade and when we saw the parade, gee, it was just the best ever. All the new wagons and cages full of animals what I never did see before and one kid he got so excited running behind a wagon with a tiger in it that the tiger reached out and touched his hand with his teeth and the kid near dropped dead.







Aunt she screamed out. Ain’t women pesky things? I found out afterwards there was no danger as the tiger is quite friendly with the trainer and lets him play all sorts of tricks.






Tulsa OK Daily World
02 September 1906

After I saw the parade I was just stuck on going to see that show but being as father says ‘financially embarrassed’ and as mother says ‘just a little short today,’ I had to depend on aunt taking me and I want to tell you I had the old man’s kind of a time jollying the old soul into it, too.








She said she ‘lowed the shows was great but she though she was too old to go to a circus. Then I had my chance and I laid on the salve about an inch thick and told her she looked better than she did five years ago. We had dinner early and went to the afternoon show.








We got there early so as to see the menagerie but aunt got tired so I got her a reserved seat and then ducked back to the menagerie. I spent five cents for peanuts and gave over two cents worth to the baby elephant that was just as cute as a big pig and then some feller come and stood next to me and I put some peanuts in his pocket and the mother elephant saw me do it and put her trunk in the old guy’s pocket and tore his pocket out. Laugh, I tell you these educated animals are awful wise.






Guthrie OK Daily Leader
11 September 1906

Pretty soon after that the performance started and I found aunt who was terrible worried about me, so she said, but if she was she needn’t be. There were three big rings and a great steel cage in the centre in which they put the awful savage animals they couldn’t trust. Right at the start Aunt said she couldn’t see what was going on because she had left her glasses at home.









Now if you kids think I’m going to tell you all I saw at that Hagenbeck animal show you are muchly mistaken. If I told you all that I saw there you’d say my first name ought to be Ananias or something of that sort and then there’d be a fight.








No, kids, it was just the best ever and when you see those lions and tigers performing on the backs of horses and elephants and the man laying on top of the lions for a bed and the Polar bear wrestling with his trainer and a whole lot more, I tell you, you won’t forget it as long as you live.








Aunt she felt a bit scared, I could tell that alright, she didn’t say much but she fidgeted something terrible, and every time the trainer got through with one of his big stunts she’d sigh like she’d hurt herself. And kids, see if what I told you about the parade ain’t the candy.”







 * * *

The preceding anonymous "eyewitness account"
was published in the May 2, 1905 edition
of the Fort Wayne IN Daily News
and entitled
Fort Wayne Boy Saw It.



Fort Wayne IN Daily News
02 May 1905



 * * *



These two images of circus wagons were mounted together on black card stock. They are slightly smaller than the old standard postcard format, so I suspect they were taken by an amateur photographer with a box camera, standing at the same position on an unknown city street. The photos are unmarked and the only clue is the lettering on the clown's band wagon – The Carl Hagenbeck Co.- Trained Animal Show, which identifies it as the Hagenbeck Great Shows Circus owned by Carl Hagenbeck (1844–1913). Hagenbeck was a German animal trainer from Hamburg. In the 1870s he became a famed collector and dealer in exotic animals, creating the European fad for zoological gardens and wild animal circuses. In the U.S. he supplied circus animal acts with great success that appeared as the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, IL, and the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis.

In the 1900s a circus was the ultimate of show business productions. Hagenbeck's American circus was an expensive and lavish show with hundreds of animals and acts, but it was not considered a financial success. In 1905 the Ringling Brothers made an offer on the Hagenbeck circus but the deal fell through. In 1907 another major circus impresario, Benjamin Wallace, purchased the Hagenbeck show, including Hagenbeck's illustrious name, and turned it into the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. This new "combined" show was, for a time, the second largest circus on the American circuit. It folded up the tents in 1938.

Since the band wagons in these photos only have the name Hagenbeck and not Wallace, I believe they date from before 1907. The second wagon with the band perched on top in white pointed hats is a well known wagon called the Lion and Snake or Lion’s Bride Bandwagon. It was built in 1904 for the Hagenbeck Trained Animal Show seasons 1905 and 1906. After the show became the Hagenbeck-Wallace Combined Circus in 1907 it continued as the main band wagon until 1925. After that it was renovated, reused, and finally restored and now resides at the Feld Entertainment complex in Ellenton, Florida. It's original color was likely a red background with carvings painted silver.



In February 1905 Hagenbeck announced plans to make St. Louis the winter quarters for his circus.

St. Louis Mo Post Dispatch
26 February 1905

The 1905 Hagenbeck Circus tour began in St. Louis on April 24-29. The kids of Fort Wayne, Indiana saw the show on May 6. Carl's son, Lorenz Hagenbeck (1882 - 1956), was listed on the Circus Route Book as the Assistant  General Manager. Route books were a popular circus souvenir as they list all the performers, staff, ring crew, and workers who traveled with the show. In 1905 The Hagenbeck circus played in 96 towns and cities in Missouri, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. In total, from its start on April 24 in St. Louis to its finish on October 7 in Lebanon, PA, the circus covered 7918 miles following the railway lines. The longest leg of the tour was 167 miles., but most sections were less than 100 miles, roughly averaging about 30-40 miles between towns. When the circus ended for the season, the animals and trainers traveled 608 miles by train back to the show's winter quarters in Carthage, OH.

The show toured with 16 four-horse drivers, 6 six-horse drivers, and 2 eight-horse drivers, along with 8 blacksmiths, a Buggy Man, and a Wagon Greaser. The Hagenbeck menagerie required 22 animal handlers with 6 additional unnamed Singaleese Mahouts for the elephants. There were five clowns, the same number atop the first wagon. Morris Davis was the head clown, and his fellow funny mend were Ed. Esberger, Chuck Howard, H. Aldean, and Rube Ryan. 

The bandmaster was Prof. A. V. Cicio. The musicians are not listed, perhaps because the band members changed over the season. The website for the Circus Historical Society  is a treasure trove of information on the golden age of the circus world. I found an article called Circus Windjammers,
by Sverre O. Braathen which appeared in the May-June 1971 edition of the Bandwagon journal. The article quoted descriptions of circus band life from musicians who worked in shows like the Hagenbeck Circus. Here's an excerpt of what a bandsman experienced in a circus.


Edward J. Heney played clarinet and saxophone with both the Sells-Floto and the Al. G. Barnes Circus bands and with the Arthur Pryor band and for some years saxophone soloist with the Sousa Band. In comparing circus and concert work he has written: "So far as circus bands were concerned when I traveled with them, I should say that 'trouping show band experience was mandatory. Endurance, musically as well as physically, speaking was most necessary in circus bands. Without these two a circus musician could not stand up under the daily grind. In those days we were on the bandwagon for the usual two hour morning parade in the towns and cities. The main performance was always preceded by an hour concert in the ring. The big show lasted two to three hours during which time we played constantly, only resting during the clown frolics. In addition, we had to play the 'after show' or wild west performance - and collect tickets for same in the bleachers. All the foregoing twice a day from 8 A. M. to 11:30 P. M. - on the go the entire time.

"Concert band experience plus the ability to stand long transcontinental tours yearly and a general idea of solo work before the public were the 'certain something' a Sousa bandsman had to have. Playing in different towns every day, some times two communities a day (one in the afternoon and one at night) resulted in some strenuous living, playing and traveling.

"To conclude and to answer your pointed question, I should state that considering everything, the most difficult band jobs in those days were the circus bands."

Cleveland Dayton of Ottumwa, Iowa, was a trombone player with the Barnum & Bailey Circus for a number of years and served as assistant director under Edwin H. "Ned" Brill. On leaving the Barnum Circus at the close of the 1915 season, he took over the direction of the Ottumwa Municipal Band and has held this position ever since. His comment regarding the playing in circus bands: "There was no harder work for musicians than a big circus band during my time. Parade at 10:00 A. M., two hours at least. Into the big top at 1:30 for the concert and program until 4:30. Back at 7:00 for the concert and program until 10:30, and very little rest did you get during that time. There were no silent acts. That should explain why it was so hard to hold musicians."

Another musician with both concert and circus experience wrote: "The quality of musicians was good and bad. The old timers were pretty rugged and could hold their own with any one. Most of the one year boys couldn't take it. The grind was terrific. I have seen a number of excellent musicians go to pieces as a result of this tortuous grind. That was one reason why so many musicians remained in the circus business for only one year."





Life on the road with a circus was tough work.
Yet for a ten year old kid from Fort Wayne,
the allure of the Big Top
must have seemed
like the biggest
and bestest adventure ever.



This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday
where no one ever lets a parade pass them by.


http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/2017/06/sepia-saturday-373-24-june-2017.html



Boys with Sticks 2

15 June 2017


An Orchestral Rehearsal.
“Are you ready, Shentlemen?”




















Addressed to Master Ray Elphick
of 18 Cliffe
Lewes (Sussex)
and posted from Tooting on April 25, 1911

Dear Ray
I thought you
would like this
for your album, my
fond love to Cyril
& yourself from
E. M. R.









An Orchestral Rehearsal.
“You 2nd Fiddles! Vill you please make
zat pizzacato more marked?”







Posted on April 29, 1911

Dear Ray,
Many thanks for
very interesting p. c.
I received this morning
how well you wrote
it, my fond love &
kisses to Cyril &
yourself.
E. M. R.








An Orchestral Rehearsal.
“Very goot! Very goot!!”








Posted May 6, 1911

Dear Ray,
I hope Cyril &
yourself are still
quite well, am
sending you another
card for your album,
the little boy looks
quite pleased with
himself does he not?
my fond love & kisses
to you both.
E. M. R.









An Orchestral Rehearsal.
“Stop! Stop!! Stop!!  Zat is 'horrible.”










Posted May 17, 1911

Dear Ray,
I hope Cyril &
yorself are quite
well, my fond love
& kisses to you both,
E. M. R
.







An Orchestral Rehearsal.
“Hush-sh-sh, Piano, Pianissimo.”










Posted May 31, 1911

Dear Ray:
Another p.c to let
you know I have
not forgotten you
my fond love & kisses
to Cyril & yourself.
I hope you are both
quite well.
Your affectionately
E. M. R.






An Orchestral Rehearsal.
“Grand Finale”









Posted June 17, 1911

Dear Ray,
I am very sorry
I did not see you
on Sunday, but hope
to do so on Thursday
next, fond love to
Cyril & yourself
E. M. R.




* * * *



This set of six charming postcards of a temperamental Wunderkind orchestra conductor was published in London by J. Beagles & Co, whose founder was John Beagles (1844 – 1907). His company both before and after his death, was known for postcards of royalty, theatrical artists, London street scenes, and humorous novelty sketches like this series. However this postcard originated much earlier in 1903 with a German printer, Paul Bayer of Dresden. The boy conductor's image is identical to second card of the set, but the print quality is noticeably inferior.




Der kleine Kapellmeister

Stopp, Stopp, was ist denn da blos los,
Da setzt der Bass nicht ein,
Die erste Geige spielt auch falsch,
Dir Flöte stimmt nicht rein,
Das Pizzicato, bitte sehr,
Markiren Sie doch etwas mehr,
Es hört sich sonst so leirig (leidig) an,
Was ich nun mal nicht leiden kann.
Ich bitte auch um mehr GefĂĽhl, –
Na, ĂĽberhaupt - es fehlt noch viel.
~
The little Conductor

Stop, stop, what's going on,
This is not the bass,
The first violin also plays wrong,
Your tone, flute, is not pure,
The pizzicato, please very
more marked a little,
It sounds otherwise so annoying.
What I do not like.
I also ask for more feeling, –
Well, overall – there is still a lot left.





It was posted 2 December 1903
to Herrn Ernst Hapfelel (?)
Sergeant


The six images of the boy conductor, age five or six maybe,
are humorous parodies of what adults would recognize
as imitating the capricious demands of noted Germanic orchestra conductors.
I've posted other stories about similar postcards of young maestros,
Boys with Sticks, in September 2013,
and Le Chef d'orchestre, in July 2013.
which, I am embarrassed to say, was an unintentional repeat,
of A Young French Maestro from September 2011.


All of these postcards are just clever young boys
pretending at conducting music for the photographer's camera.
There were however,  quite a number of actual boy conductors
who were marketed as real musical "geniuses" of the orchestra baton.
So stay tuned for another sequel in the future:
Boys with Sticks 3  (or even 4)





* * * *


CODA

The English set was sent to Raymond Elphick of Lewes, Sussex, England. As 1911 was a census year, it was easy to find his family in the archives of Ancestry.com. Ray Elphick was then age 6, and his brother Cyril was age 1. Their father was Samuel Elphick, 31, a Corn & Seed Merchant. His wife was Edith Elphick, 32 and at that time they had just two sons. Their household at 18 Cliffe, Lewes included a sister-in-law, Samuel's widowed mother, an aunt, and a domestic servant.






It's impossible to know if the original photos came from Germany or Britain, but the score on the boy's music stand attracted my attention because the title was deliberately obscured by the printer with whiteout. However the other cover lettering is clear and we can see:

The Only Complete Edition,
Price Half-A-Crown
London & New York
Novello, Ewer & Co.


The back page on the left has a catalog list;
Cantatas and ...? for Female Voices.





The composer's name is hidden, but this is not some symphony score. The whiteout was added by the photographer or printer but enough of the letters are visible that with a little digital adjustment the letters stand out better. They are capital letters – LIEDER OH.. W..RTE.





I believe it spells LIEDER OHNE WORTE, a collection of works for piano by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. It translates as Songs without Words, and some pieces were often arranged as instrumental solos with piano accompaniment. Here is another cover of an edition by Novello, Ewer, & Co. The only reason I can see for obliterating the title would be to dodge copyright issues, or disguise the title as an orchestral score.










This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday
where a gardener's hope springs eternal.

http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/2017/06/sepia-saturday-372-17-june-2017.html





  UPDATE: 

A recent comment by a reader offered a link to an image of a real conductor, the great Austrian composer and conductor Gustav Mahler. It was published in 1914 but created before 1900, so not it's impossible that it was known to the producer of the German boy conductor's postcard series. Following the variety of gestures used by a conductor to cue orchestral and opera music is part of the fun for music patrons. But when done to excess, a conductor's flamboyant movements become a real distraction to orchestra players who prefer not to watch. Just show us where beat ONE is!


Gustav Mahler, Silhouette
Böhler, Otto ()
Dr. Otto Böhler's Schattenbilder
,
Vienna, Austria: Wilhelm Lechner, pp. 20, III
SOURCE: Wikimedia


Cornets and Bicycles

09 June 2017



The owner of a long brushy mustache
lives with emotions hidden
under a perpetual shade tree.
Whether a frown or a smile,
it's all the same to the rest of the world.
This gentleman's face might convey
anxiety or annoyance
as easily as elation or delight.
Who can tell?
But I think there's
a hint of pride
beneath that brush
of a man pleased with his new bicycle.





He's dressed in a working man's shirt and trousers with a homburg hat cocked at a jaunty angle on his head. His bicycle is of a simple design without gears, chain guard, or fenders. But there is a bell on the handlebar and a tool bag under the top bar. It's an early safety bicycle, but more on that later.

His name is James C. Keeran which is written neatly in ink on the back of his small cabinet card photo. There is no photographer's logo, but the dealer from whom I purchased it identified the location as Shawnee, Kansas, a town in Johnson County and now part of the greater Kansas City KS/MO metropolitan area. 





Mr. Keeran also appeared in another photograph from the same lot, standing at the back of a brass band posing on the steps of an octagonal bandstand. It's either late fall or winter to judge by the snow on the ground, but perhaps not too cold as the men are dressed in ordinary suits without overcoats. In the background are some houses or shops with a horse and wagon on the right.




Six have mustaches and they all wear hats, but James C. Keeran is easy to spot at the back. The hat tilt is the same, though whether he is smiling or grimacing is hard to say.






There are ten musicians with snare drum, bass drum, a small tuba, two baritone horns, two tenor horns, and at least two cornets, with maybe a third hidden at top right. It's a typical American town brass band usually called a Cornet Band.





The photo is a large format albumen print and quite faded. It was part of several photos identified as coming from Shawnee, KS, and in fact a copy of this this photo is in the Johnson County Kansas Museum collection. But their photo doesn't have the names of the musicians written on the back in green ink.





On 26 January 1888 the Olathe Mirror, the official paper of the county, reported that: 

The Shawnee band is progressing finely under the management of James Keeran and Fritz Sauter. We think we have the best band in the county according to the town. The membership is composed of the following ames: Chas. Douglas, James Keeran, Fritz Sautter, Chas. Hollenback, B. F. hollenback, Chas. Loomis.

There will be a dance at the hall next Friday evening. Everybody invited. For the benefit of the band.



Olathe KS Mirror
26 January 1888



The earliest report of the Shawnee Band that I've found was from November 1887 when they were said to be progressing finely under the instructions of Mr. Johnson of Kansas City. So in only a few months they became proficient enough to give public concerts. Of the six members then listed in the band, four are names on the back of my photo.

According to the 1880 Kansas Agricultural Annual Report, the population of Shawnee was 2,477. In the 1890 report, the population surged to 2,612 making Shawnee the second largest township in Johnson County after Olathe. Of course the big city was Kansas City, Missouri which was actually a bit closer to Shawnee than Kansas City, Kansas which was north of the Kansas River. 

A cornet band provided a town with more than music. The band boys functioned as ambassadors to state and county fairs. Every town celebration from the 4th of July to a school graduation required a brass band. Politicians on the stump always engaged a band to energize their constituents. Funerals, weddings, store openings, church picnics, and fraternal society dinners were big public events for a small town and they all needed music to make the occasions memorable.



Olathe KS Mirror
25 April 1889









In April 1889 the Olathe Mirror published an audited account of Johnson County's expenditures. Listed were nine of the ten names on the Shawnee Cornet Band. Each man received 80¢ (except for two who got 90¢) for being witness before county attorney. It seems too coincidental that they were all members of the band so I suspect this was a fee for furnishing music at some civic event. I also think the list dates the photo to around 1889-1890.

Of course these men were not really professional musicians, but just ordinary town folk.

James C. Keeran (top row, left) was born in 1848 and would be about age 41 in 1890. He was a blacksmith, married to Amanda Keeran and by 1900 had six children from age 21 to 5.

Ben Hollenback (top row, center) or B. F. Hollenback was born in 1836, occupation Groceryman.

Charley Douglas (top row, right) was a farmer, born in 1867 and brother to Henry.

Pete Wortz (3rd row left) was Peter Wertz, a Prussian immigrant born in 1833 who was a farmer and also ran a dry goods and grocery in Shawnee. For a time he was town clerk and treasurer.

Harvey Maloney (3rd row, right) was born in 1869 and became a physician like his father who kept a practice in Shawnee.

Ben Earnshaw (2nd row, left) was born in  1869 and became a farmer. In 1900 he was the Shawnee enumerator for the US Census. Based on his handwriting in the census, I believe it is his handwriting on the back of the photo.

Henry C. Douglas (2nd row, center) was born in 1862 and also became a farmer.

Fritz Sautter (2nd row, right) was Earnest F. Sautter born in 1864, occupation groceryman. In 1900 Suatter, Maloney, Hollenback and James Keeran were all neighbors living on the same street.

Homer or Omer Hughes (1st row, left) proved too elusive to find in the census records but he is likely the brother to Norman Hughes (1st row, right) born 1868 and a nurseryman in the 1900 census.

* * *



Olathe KS Mirror
09 December 1886


The cycle rage hit Kansas in the mid 1880s when the high wheeler or penny-farthing, was the bicycle to have. Early bicycles often promoted inventive engineering for the times. Alber Ott, bicycle agent for Olathe, Kansas in 1886, advertised a Quadrant Tandent Tricycle stretching the rules of geometry. The high wheel bicycles were stable once in motion but were prone to accidents when speeding down hills. In Kansas though, that was not likely a problem.



Olathe KS Mirror
10 October 1889


Olathe KS Mirror
24 May 1888




James Keeran's cycle was a "safety bicycle" which was more like a modern bike. However there were some differences. Propulsion came from pedals moving a heavy chain over a single gear, yet the safety bicycle still had no brakes. Stopping required a rider to use the same back-pedal force as on the high wheelers, but without the assist from modern coaster brakes! The tire are pneumatic but Mr. Keeran probably kept several rubber patches in his tool kit to mend blowouts. And based on the bicycle and horse incident reported in the Olathe Mirror, he had a good reason for that bell on the handlebars.





The safety bicycle was the image used by bicycle dealers adverting in the late 1890s. The Monarch Cycle Mfg.Co. of Chicago-New York-London offered a model very similar to Mr. Keeran's. I think his photo dates from this decade, perhaps 1897 to 1899, and he looks a decade older than in his band photo.


Parsons KS Daily Sun
15 August 1897

The Shawnee Band's last report in the Olathe Mirror was in 1891. It may have continued on under a different direction and name, or maybe the men just moved on with family and business concerns and were unable to keep the band going. But James C. Keeran liked bicycles and cornets and they kept him going strong. He died in 1935 at age 87.


"All the World Loves A Winner"







This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday
where there's always another box of old photos.

http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/2017/06/sepia-saturday-371-10th-june-2017.html

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