Judy's Old Wood Toys

 
 
Schoenhut's Humpty-Dumpty Circus
and the Great American Circus

Did you know that the Schoenhut circus Negro Dude is a minstrel and the Schoenhut circus Hobo is a clown? Or that cows and geese and pigs are actually performing circus animals? This article explores the Schoenhut circus' representation of the great American circus of the turn of the century.

Children toys mirror the times in which they are produced. Today, a visit to a toy shop revels modern toy themes including space exploration,  air transport, construction, television and movie characters, and electronic games. This is what children see and experience in their everyday life and this is where they want their play fantasies to go.

Toy manufacturers are aware of this today and Schoenhut knew that 100 years ago. Then, America was largely a rural society. There were no movie theaters or televisions as entertainment media. The live stage and the traveling show were the main sources of entertainment. Most rural towns did have a permanent theater or a town hall with a stage so when a circus or theater troupe came to town, it was a big event.  Hundreds of traveling circuses and entertainer troupes toured the nation.  

In this article, "circus" refers to a real circus. "Schoenhut circus" refers to the circus toys produced by the A. Schoenhut Company.

The Adventures of 
Humpty Dumpty 

In 1903, Albert Schoenhut named his new line of circus toys after a very popular play of the time, "Humpty Dumpty" , written and performed by George Washington Lafayette Fox in the second half of the 19th century. G. L. Fox performed as the clown Humpty Dumpty. Other  performers also toured the Humpty Dumpty play in troupes as the poster shown here illustrates.

The Humpty Dumpty play was performed as a stage play and not as a circus act. Notice that circus is not mentioned in this ad.

A. Schoenhut took from the play the name Humpty Dumpty and a little of the look of Fox's clown face but apparently little else.

The Humpty Dumpty Circus 
Performing People

(Click on the performer's name to see our style guide for this performer)

Negro Dude  
The minstrel show was one of the favorite shows of the late 19th century.  Minstrels were white entertainers dressed like

 black entertainers complete with black face makeup. Look at Schoenhut's early Negro Dude and you will see the typical minstrel man down to his coat, pants, and top hat. Black entertainers later performed as imitators of white entertainers imitating black entertainers! However, The black entertainers made their faces up with an oval of white make-up around the mouth.

The American Circus performers were almost exclusively white. One or two notable blacks performed in the 19th century but almost none others until the 1960s. The poster at right refers to its clowns as blackface clowns. They look like whites in black makeup.

Given this, it is easy to see why the Negro Dude's face looks a lot like the clown's - Caucasian features. Schoenhut styled a Negroid face for their Teddy Roosevelt African natives. So why then do later minstrels (Negro Dudes) turn up with the African native head? Kaonis and Yaffee in their "Schoenhut Toy Price Guide" speculate that these Dudes were made to use up African heads that had been produced for the discontinued Teddy Roosevelt sets. This is  likely the case.

Clown 

In a circus. there are three generally recognized types of clowns - the white face, the Auguste, and the character. The Schoenhut clown is a faithful portrayal of a typical white face clown. Authors point out the similarity between the Schoenhut clown and G. L. (Lafayette) Fox, a stage performer and author of the Humpty Dumpty play. 

Schoenhut did not seem to recognize a  tradition of all circus clowns then and now - that each clown's costume and make-up must be unique. A clown could not copy the makeup of another. Unfortunately, Schoenhut kept the clown's face make-up the same throughout its production, only changing its costume.

The circus's white face clowns  control the situation often pulling the pranks on the Auguste (clumsy or foolish) clowns. White face clowns traditionally do not wear false noses.  Schoenhut did not produce an Auguste clown. Auguste clowns are often characterized by wild hair, large red noses, enormous shoes, and other comically exaggerated features. The Auguste was usually the butt of the prank. Bozo and Ronald McDonald are modern examples of Auguste clowns.  

The third type of clown is the character clown. Character clowns may be firemen, policemen, or the down-trodden. The Schoenhut hobo or tramp is a good example of this character. The Schoenhut Hobo is discussed later.

RingMaster
Ringmasters are a derivative of the English riding gentleman. The costuming is the same - red or black coat and tails, high black boots, black top hat, white shirt, and bow tie. early circuses usually featured horses as their top attraction so their

 trainers adopted the colorful gentleman's riding costume for their performances. Schoenhut faithfully modeled the ringmaster.

Lion Tamer
Lion Tamers have taken on the role of a Roman gladiator, or game hunter (Frank Buck type) or  Turkish warrior. Why a Turk? I don't know but there were such acts.   Perhaps the animal trainers just liked the costume.

Hobo
The tramp or hobo character clown has long been a favorite in the circus. Emmett Kelly was one of the most recognizable hobo clowns of all time. Charlie Chaplin was another although he never performed in a circus.

Gent Acrobat
The Gentleman acrobat or strongman, is faithfully represented in the Humpty Dumpty Circus. Click on the poster thumbnail at right and See if you don't agree. Louis Cyr is shown lifting a weight quite similar to the 200 lb Schoenhut weight.

Lady Acrobat
It is one thing to see a man perform a daredevil act, but it is quite another to see a lady performing the same act. In 1877, a lady was first shot out of a cannon . Ladies have been aerial bicyclists, trapeze artists, and general gymnasts.  The tight fitting dress of the Lady Acrobat is faithful to that used by most Lady Acrobats.

lady Rider   
Schoenhut's Lady rider wears a TuTu-like dress. This dress style became the lady trick rider's dress of choice in the mid 1850s and continued for decades. The Ringling Brothers program cover at right shows a lady rider performing on a white horse (no platform) being cheared on by a white face clown. Click on thumbnail to enlarge.

Chinese Acrobat
The Chinese have a long standing tradition of acrobat acts for circuses that go back centuries. It is only natural, therefore, that Schoenhut would create a Chinese acrobat character. American children of the time would certainly identify with the toy. The long queue of the Chinese Acrobat was often used in acts to show off its strength.

In 1914, Barnum & Bailey promoted two Chinese troupes, the Chnig-Ling-He and Tia Pen, performing hair hangs, bowl spinning, and balancing acts. Click on the thumbnail at right to see illustrations of these troupes performing.

Band
Not many circuses today have live bands, but at the turn of the century, all large circuses had bands. Usually these were small but loud bands - lots of brass and drums. The bigger circuses could have bands with 30 or 40 members. I think that as much as any character  in the Humpty Dumpty Circus, the band is portrayed exceptionally well.

The Humpty Dumpty Circus 
Performing Animals

(Click on the  animal's name to see our style guide for this animal)

Alligator
The alligator has been used sparingly as a performer - usually paired with another animal lying on it or a lady performer riding it. These were "Death-defying" acts.

Brown Bear
Bears have always been a popular circus performer - bear wrestling, ball balancing and the like. Bears are trainable and well coordinated. Large animals are seen better by audiences in great circus tents.

Buffalo
While not a hugely popular performing circus animal, buffalos have been used in circus acts, usually with a cowboy performer.

Bulldog
Dogs of all sorts have been used in circus acts. Schoenhut probably didn't think of its bulldog as a circus performer but more likely a farm animal.

Burro
Burros and donkeys were used to the same end. I think donkeys were smarter than burros (smarter than horses even).

Camel
Camels, while not much of a performing animal, were often part of a circus as a parade animal and sometimes to pull parade wagons. Exotic themes using African animals and personnel were often used since American audiences were not at all familiar with those places at that time. 

Cat
I think that Schoenhut thought of its cat as a farm animal rather than a circus animal. A domestic cat's size is really too small to be an effective circus performer in a big circus. However, Barnum and Bailey did advertise a cat and pig show. See www.oldwoodtoys.com/tents.htm.

Cow
Why would anyone want to see a common cow at a circus? Well, to see one exhibiting unusual talents. Yes, cows were used in circus acts. Early circus audiences were made up of mainly farmers so farm animal acts were very popular.

Deer
I haven't found a reference to a deer act in a circus. I think that the deer was produced with the Teddy Roosevelt sets in mind. Deer were commonly seen by American circus audiences in the wild.

Donkey
The donkey was one of the first animals Schoenhut offered for its circus and rightly so - the donkey is a naturally comical character. It is  stubborn, intelligent, and independent and its antics play off that of the clown's (see poster at upper right).

Elephant  
The elephant is the animal most associated with the circus. Intelligent and strong, the elephant is both a performer and a workman, useful for pulling wagons and lifting tent poles. 

Elephants used in the circus are uniformly female and Indian. The ears of the Indian elephant are much smaller than that of the African elephant thus leading to speculation that Schoenhut may have made a large-eared style for its Teddy Roosevelt sets.  African elephants have been used rarely in circuses as they are not as trainable as the Indian. Males are not desirable since they pay too much attention to the females and not to their trainer. 

The elephant is the largest animal in the menagerie. Circuses usually had many elephants, using many in the grand entry (see painting). The Howdah blanket is a typical adornment for the elephant. 

Gazelle
The gazelle was a Schoenhut Teddy Roosevelt African animal. It may have been used as a parade animal.

Giraffe
This was probably the most unusual animal shown by the circus. No American animal was even remotely similar to the giraffe so townspeople would come out for this attraction. The giraffe was not a performer but a menagerie animal. 

Transportation for the giraffe was a problem. Its long neck required a wagon or train car with a cutout in its roof for the neck and head to extend. The giraffe's neck could, however, be easily broken by a sudden stop. Therefore, the circus never traveled with numbers of giraffes, usually only one, due to the high cost and high risk associated with each animal.

Goat
The goat is an inherently funny looking animal and was used by the clowns, mainly, in their acts (see poster).

Goose
Trained geese were used in acts (see poster above). However, I think that this animal more appropriately belongs in the Schoenhut farm sets.

Gorilla
The first  exhibit of a true gorilla was in the early 1920s by Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey.  The hugely famous gorilla named Gargantua came onto the circus scene in the late 1930s as a side show attraction. Schoenhut introduced the gorilla with its Teddy Roosevelt set but it fits in well with the circus, especially in a cage.

Hippo
The hippo has been used mainly as a menagerie animal and sometimes in the Grand Parade.

Horse
The horse, more than any other animal, defined the circus. The word circus is from the Latin meaning circle or ring. A circus' ring was standardized early in the development of the Circus at a diameter of 42 feet which was the  size that produced the right centripetal force for the horse acrobat to perform tricks.

The educated horse, referred to in Schoenhut's catalogs, was a popular show of the early circuses. The educated horse would add numbers or guess numbers by stomping its foot or braying at the appropriate time. Of course, the trainer secretly signaled the horse to start and stop counting.

Horse, white
The Schoenhut White Horse portrays the horse to be used with the Lady Rider. Its platform is not like any I have seen in any circus or photographs or illustrations of lady riders. Real lady performers usually rode and performed their tricks on bare-backed horses or sometimes on a horse with a blanket. The flat platform, however, makes for a better toy.

Horse, brown
The brown horse with saddle is a representation of the most common riding animal in the circus.  Often, the circus's ringmaster rode into the show on such a horse.

Hyena
Almost every animal has been used for a circus act at some time but I have found no references to a hyena act. They were certainly used in the menagerie.

Kangaroo
Kangaroos are from Australia and were imported to America for novelty acts, usually boxing exhibitions. They were used in menageries as early as 1895.

Leopard
Leopards have been used in circuses since the Roman days. Since the early 1800s, leopards have been frequently used in wild animal acts.

Lion
Lions, like tigers and leopards, have been used in circus arts and menageries since Roman times. 

Monkey
Trained monkeys were often used by circus performers, especially clowns. Usually, the trained monkey was dressed in a clown-like costume much like the Schoenhut monkey. Monkeys were sometimes trained to ride on the backs of pigs to perform pig races.

Ostrich
The ostrich has been used for the menagerie and for grand entry parades. I've seen no references to ostrich acts.

Pig
The pig is a smart animal and has been trained for many acts  - usually with clowns. The poster at right shows a "Turk"  trainer with his troupe of performing pigs. Click thumbnail to enlarge poster.

Polar bear
The polar bear, like the brown bear, was commonly used in circus acts. Keeping a polar bear cool enough in the summer season was certainly a problem for touring circuses.

Poodle
Poodles are an especially intelligent dog so they were favorites of the dog trainer. I don't know why Schoenhut made them so big - probably in deference to production efficiencies. Schoenhut was making toys, not scale models. 

Rabbit
A farm animal. Used sometimes by clowns in magic tricks but too small an animal to be used generally in a big circus.

Rhino
The rhinoceros was a very popular menagerie animal. It was used in a few exotic acts and in parades. 

Sea Lion
Animal trainers don't really teach animals new tricks, they get the animals to perform their normal behaviors on command. Sea lions have rich behaviors that make for entertaining performances. Additionally, they are intelligent. Sea lions naturally balance objects on their noses and chests to free their fins for swimming as they carried food. Ball balancing, therefore, became a common act and is supported by Schoenhut's sea lions and ball accessories.

Sheep
A farm animal. I have yet to find a reference to a sheep act in a circus.

Tiger
The tiger, lion, and leopard have all been used in circuses and menageries for thousands of years. They have been trained for wild animal acts since the early 1800s.

Wolf
I have found no references to wolf acts although it seems possible as they are closely related to dogs.  This may be one reason the wolf is such a rare Schoenhut animal - it just wasn't popular with children for their circus displays and it wasn't a Teddy Roosevelt figure either.

I have learned that a circus act using Artic Wolves currently tours with the Weller Brothers Circus. The trainer tells me that wolves are nothing like dogs.

Zebra
Zebras have often been used in circuses as a menagerie animal. They are not very trainable for acts and also had to be kept separated from the public as they were prone to nipping the guests. Some were trained to pull parade wagons.

Zebu
Although this was first introduced by Schoenhut for its Teddy Roosevelt sets, I have found one reference to a zebu act in a circus. Not greatly popular, I suspect.

The Humpty Dumpty Circus 
Infrastructure

Tents
The first tent used in an American circus was in 1825 in Wilmington, Delaware. Before then, circuses were open air! First tents were plain canvas (sailcloth). Later, colorful stripes were added much like the Schoenhut lithographed tent.  Schoenhut's tents are designed to provide a play space for the performers and animals  and certainly provides the proper ambiance for this toy.

Flags of nations and other flags were a common feature of early tents. They served to provide both color and tent identification for circus guests.

Wagons
The circus parade wagons performed double duty - as parade wagons and as hauling  wagons. Circuses used wagons or rails to transport their shows. Wagons could be loaded on train flat cars for fast transportation. Schoenhut's early circus wagons modeled the design of real circus wagons of the time very closely. Their detail and design are wonderful. The later Schoenhut cage wagons are another story, unfortunately.

Chariots
Yes, chariots are a very appropriate grand entry wagon. Many of the great early circuses performed a chariot race in the style of the ancient Roman chariot race. These were popular acts. Click on the thumbnails at right to see illustrations of circus chariot races.

Accessories
Whips, hoops, barrels, pedestals, ladders, and the like are all necessary and common circus props. Schoenhut faithfully produced these for its toy circus.

And now you know the inspiration for the Humpty Dumpty Circus.