This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/25/2018
Hanlon Brothers, The. The Hanlons. Circa 1895. Bust portrait of a clown in whiteface, eyes askew and lips pursed, a white cap atop his head and red ribbon around his neck. Framed to 30 x 22”. Short tears, soiling, and inexpert restoration visible, but not examined out of frame. Rare. A troupe of acrobats who developed fantastical and imaginative stage productions, the Hanlon Brothers settled in America in 1890 where they developed and patented elaborate theatrical devices that could be described as either stage illusions, or special effects – or both. Various incarnations of the troupe appeared in British music halls, on American vaudeville stages, films by Thomas Edison, and the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. This poster comes from the collection of Hanlon Brothers biographer John McKinven, whose book on the famous family was published in 1998.