1870 adoptions?

[eric kingsley]

The Pace/MacGill Gallery also has a shot of the Harlequin with some original handwritten text under the photo. Sadly, it's too small and I can't read it. It may not actually add anything. Ah well

https://www.pacemacgill.com/art_details.php?exhibition_tag=57&exhibition_order=4

 

[eric kingsley]

The Pace/MacGill Gallery also has a shot of the Harlequin with some original handwritten text under the photo. Sadly, it's too small and I can't read it. It may not actually add anything. Ah well

https://www.pacemacgill.com/art_details.php?exhibition_tag=57&exhibition_order=4

Looks like I might have to eat my hat (if I had one to hand). Using a magnifying glass and staring into a big monitor I think I can see the words "Edward B Crichton" .... "Landlord of the Prince George" and "Dalston" on the Pace/MacGill version. This is all historically accurate. So, maybe he was a photographer at some point in his life. I still don't think he made his living from it otherwise he'd be more widely known. Baffling.

 

[MollyMay]

To the right looks like
Edward B Crichton
London The Prince George
Park ?, Dalston 1880

I like landlord better than London

 

[MollyMay]

To the left
Edwin Edwards
Clown and performing ?

 

[eric kingsley]

View attachment 9942

To the right looks like
Edward B Crichton
London The Prince George
Park ?, Dalston 1880

I like landlord better than London

I agree. Someone somewhere some time definitely thought it was him. I don't think this caption dates from the same time as the photo, but it might. It doesn't look like 1880s handwriting to me. I'd like to know what the words on the left are. The middle of the second line looks like it might be "Performing" possibly.

 

[WelchRegLost]

Not sure what happened there I was trying to look at the image and it posted it back

 

[eric kingsley]

I agree. Someone somewhere some time definitely thought it was him. I don't think this caption dates from the same time as the photo, but it might. It doesn't look like 1880s handwriting to me. I'd like to know what the words on the left are. The middle of the second line looks like it might be "Performing" possibly.

"....... Performing Sage" maybe? I'm trying to figure out how my barber's cousin got to this reference to "Edward B Crichton". It is obscure. If you simply do a "Google Image" search on the words "Edward B Crichton" then it outputs this Pace/MacGill image. On my laptop it was 3rd row, 5th from the left. I had a trip to the Prince George in Dalston but it was too successful, too crowded, too noisy, too many people. I couldn't wander round and stare at the walls without looking a bit barmy. I'll have to go back when it's empty.

If Edward turns out to be a successful landlord AND contortionist/photographer then I'm giving up this hobby.

 

[MollyMay]

I have been trying to find an Edwin Edwards clown (without any luck) to see if that made the last word more obvious.

 

[Grizel]

Googling, it seems that Edward Barnes Crichton is mentioned on p 206 of the book The Acrobat: Arthur Barnes and the Victorian Circus by John Stewart.
Unfortunately p 206 is not included in the google book preview !

 

[Archie's Mum]

From the google book Black Victorians/Black Victoriana, ‘in 1848 Pablo Fanque was billing Arthur Barnes, the somersaulter and leaper’.
I think we’ve visited Pablo Fanque here before.....so it looks like the photo is of Edward Barnes Chrichton’s ancestor, Arthur Barnes, maybe in his later life.
I wonder if the writings on the paper the photo is glued to refer to the subject, then being owned by Edward B Crichton, landlord.
Just a thought, let’s see if Arthur Barnes had a son Edwin? Arthur was obviously born 1820’s or so.

 

[Archie's Mum]

S

From the google book Black Victorians/Black Victoriana, ‘in 1848 Pablo Fanque was billing Arthur Barnes, the somersaulter and leaper’.
I think we’ve visited Pablo Fanque here before.....so it looks like the photo is of Edward Barnes Chrichton’s ancestor, Arthur Barnes, maybe in his later life.
I wonder if the writings on the paper the photo is glued to refer to the subject, then being owned by Edward B Crichton, landlord.
Just a thought, let’s see if Arthur Barnes had a son Edwin? Arthur was obviously born 1820’s or so.

Sorry, too early. The name is Edwin Edwards not Barnes....

 

[eric kingsley]

Googling, it seems that Edward Barnes Crichton is mentioned on p 206 of the book The Acrobat: Arthur Barnes and the Victorian Circus by John Stewart.
Unfortunately p 206 is not included in the google book preview !

You had me worried there for a moment. I'm definitely giving this up if he is a landlord/wine merchant/photographer/contortionist. I will try to get access to page 206. Landlord with a sideline photographic hobby I could handle.

 

[eric kingsley]

...Edward Barnes Crichton is mentioned on p 206 of the book The Acrobat: Arthur Barnes and the Victorian Circus...

The reference concerns one of the great Victorian circus performers who was called Harry Connor (apparently) who performed complicated somersaults, or somersets, as they were then known. It's clear that British Victorian circus performers did travel all over Europe and certainly performed in St Peteresburg. In Connor's first will of 1867 he named 2 trustees, Arthur Barnes from Lawley Hill near Birmingham (possibly not the circus performer of the same name) and Edward Barnes Crichton (not a relative of Connor). However, in 1878 Connor amended his will and removed these 2 names. The book has no other information of any description regarding Edward. Assuming this is the right Edward then he knew circus people, he knew Connor very well and his work may have been connected in some way with circus performers, maybe.

 

[eric kingsley]

I have been trying to find an.....clown....

It occured to me that the photo has been wrongly named. This isn't Harlequin. Harlequin ALWAYS wears a diamond check close fitting suit. This character is wearing paisley. You simply wouldn't make a mistake like that then go to all this trouble. In the UK a pantomime tradition developed from the Commedia dell'arte called Harlequinade. If you look up Harlequinade in Wikipedia it explains that the 2 main characters are called "Harlequin" and "Clown". Clown wears frilly knickers over his tights and doesn't wear diamond check. This is "Clown" and as you say the 1st word in the 2nd line is probably Clown. Wild guess - that the 2nd line is "Clown performing XXXX" where XXXX is the Victorian circus name for this particular contortion. The first line could be the performers name. Crichton might be named here on the right simply because the photo was his property, a memento from the time he spent with circus people.

 

[Archie's Mum]

The photo was in the collection of Richard Avedon, he in turn held some of the collection of Diane Arbus, herself a well known photographer. Looking at some of the photos in her collection she seems to have a few photos of ‘circus freaks’ and I don’t say that lightly. One is a very old photo of lady sword swallower standing outside a circus tent and another is of a fellow with dwarfism. This photo of ‘Harlequin’ could also be one from her collection in Richards possession.

 

[Archie's Mum]

It occured to me that the photo has been wrongly named. This isn't Harlequin. Harlequin ALWAYS wears a diamond check close fitting suit. This character is wearing paisley. You simply wouldn't make a mistake like that then go to all this trouble. In the UK a pantomime tradition developed from the Commedia dell'arte called Harlequinade. If you look up Harlequinade in Wikipedia it explains that the 2 main characters are called "Harlequin" and "Clown". Clown wears frilly knickers over his tights and doesn't wear diamond check. This is "Clown" and as you say the 1st word in the 2nd line is probably Clown. Wild guess - that the 2nd line is "Clown performing XXXX" where XXXX is the Victorian circus name for this particular contortion. The first line could be the performers name. Crichton might be named here on the right simply because the photo was his property, a memento from the time he spent with circus people.

Yes, the word does look like ‘clown’.
Perhaps he’s wearing paisley because he was a Scottish clown

 

[Sis]

@eric kingsley I have just emailed lensculture where the photo was found by you and The Richard Avedon Foundation to see if they can throw any light on whether the caption under the harlequin photo means the photo is possibly 'by' an Edward B Crichton or if they mean the harlequin himself possibly 'is' Edward B Crichton. I'll let you know if I get a reply or not. It all possibly's or maybe's with this photo, but you never know we may get an answer.

 

[AnnB]

I have to go out soon, but had a quick look at the papers and found in the Morning Advertiser of the 26th February 1864
Astley's Theatre - For the benefit of Edwin Edwards, the Clown, this evening (Friday) February 26th, the last night but one of the Gorgeous Pantomime. A Host of Talent, and additional Novelties, on this occasion only. Reduced prices as usual.
There is a lot about Astley's Theatre and the Circus at the V & A site at

https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/the-story-of-circus

Will have another look later on

 

[AnnB]

A couple more snippets
Sun (London) 27th December 1851
Olympic Theatre
……..Mr Edwin Edwards deserves especial notice; he is inferior to no Clown in modern times, and promises to become one of the first favourites in London, where he appeared last night for the first time. As a tumbler he is certainly unsurpassed; one of his great hits was walking backwards and forwards upon a ball up an inclined plane, and then descending in a similar way. He exhibits two dogs, which are the most skilfully-trained specimens of the canine race we ever saw; they waltz, play at leapfrog, ascend and descend ladders, and perform other acts which none could believe unless be saw them.

Morning Post 2nd December 1863
Astley’s Theatre
Great preparations are in progress for the re-opening, at Christmas, of this theatre, which has passed into the hands of Mr. E T. Smith, of Cremorne……. A new pantomime, by Mr Francisco Frost, to be brought out on Boxing-night, will introduce amongst other performers Mr Edwin Edwards, a clown, who during an absence from England of 12 years' duration bas acquired considerable reputation on the Continent.

 

[eric kingsley]

...a quick look at the papers...

How do you do that? I don't know how to do it.

...For the benefit of Edwin Edwards, the Clown, this evening (Friday) February 26th, the last night but one of the Gorgeous Pantomime. A Host of Talent, and additional Novelties, on this occasion only...

Well, that's good enough for me. The handwriting says it's a photo that Edward B owned of Edwin E, one of his circus/pantomime pals, dressed as "Clown" (from the Harlequinade) performing a XXXX. It looks like "Ziqi" or "Zaqa".

I've decided that Edward B wasn't a photographer even if the people at lensculture say they think he was. You can't be a photographer and have just 1 known photograph.

Frankly, I don't think that Richard Avedon or the Fraenkel Gallery who hosted the exhibition of his personal collection were interested in the history or provenance of his photos. This slide in the lensculture slide show has the handwriting cropped off!!! It's only the Pace/MacGill photo that bothers to include it. I'm sure nobody cares but I don't rate Avedon, he became famous through work for Harper's Bazaar, Vogue and Life and never seems to have got beyond very superficial, visual impact - no story - IMHO.

For people who have joined the thread recently, this started with me offering to help my barber who had been shown this picture by his cousin who was researching their family. The cousin had clearly done a google image search on "Edward B Crichton" (he knew the name through Edward's daughter's maiden name, she crops up in their tree) and that found the Pace/MacGill image. My barber directed me to the wrong image link, the lensculture one without the words, having been assured by his cousin that his ancestor was a contortionist. That's what got me interested - the story.

Sadly Edwin Edwards isn't named in the book "The Acrobat: Arthur Barnes and the Victorian Circus". I'm none the wiser about what Edward's family were doing in St Petersburg. The Crimean War only ended in 1856 and his wife was having a child in St Petersburg in 1857. They were married in Jan 1852 and the war started in Oct 1853. They had Louise in Breslau in 1854. I think they intended, maybe, to continue on to Russia but could not enter because the war was in progress. They came back to the UK where Edward was baptised then as soon as the war ended in Feb 1856 they went straight to St Petersburg where his wife had Alexander in Aug 1857. If someone suggested he was a spy I'd consider it.