This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/28/2023
SAMEE, Ramo (d. 1850). RAMO SAMEE’S BENEFIT. [London], 1822. Letterpress broadside advertising a performance at the Royal Coburg Theatre featuring three dramatic turns in combination with the famed juggler, who presents “wonderful and astonishing feats in front of the glass curtain,” including the juggling of four brass balls, the balancing of a pagoda weighing some ten pounds on his nose, and the swallowing of a sword “enveloped in fire-works.” The final act on the bill, a pantomime entitled Disputes in China, was produced under the direction of and starring the famed clown, Joseph Grimaldi. 15 × 9½". Mounted to Chartex. Arguably the first professional juggler to appear in England, Samee, an Indian, arrived there in 1819, and achieved considerable success with an act that included fire eating, sword swallowing, and magic tricks. His craft was honed as a busker, and was refined in legitimate theaters, but despite his success, Samee died penniless in 1850. This broadside advertises a performance at the theatre that would eventually become The Old Vic.