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Gwen Farrar as a clown in Punch-bowlGwen Farrar in motley costume for the role of the clown in Punch-Bowl playing at the Duke of Yorks theatre in 1924. Date: 1924
Norah Blaney and Gwen Farrar in Pot Luck, 1922Miss Norah Blaney and Miss Gwen Farrar in Pot Luck at the Vaudeville Theatre, 1922. Date: 1922
English Female impersonator and singer Bobby De LysA photograph of the English Female impersonator and singer Bobby De Lys, 1920s Date: 1920s
Sheet music - British female impersonator Bert ErrolSheet music featuring the British female impersonator Bert Errol, 1920s Date: 1920s
Photograph of Rex Evans, cabaret Master of Ceremonies and actor, 1920s Date: 1920s
Sheet music - female impersonator Karyl NormanSheet music representing the female impersonator Karyl Norman, 1920s Date: 1920s
Female impersonator and Male prima donna Bobbie de LysAdvert for the female impersonator and Male prima donna Bobbie De Lys Date: 1921-1925
Gwen FarrarGwendoline " Gwen" Farrar (1899 - 1944), English duettist, cellist, singer, actress and comedian. Pictured at the time she was appearing in Shake Your Feet at the London Hippodrome in 1927
Gwen Farrar and Dorothy WildeActress and variety entertainer Gwen Farrar, pictured at a cafÚá»n the Champs-Elysees with Dorothy Wilde, niece of Oscar Wilde. Date: 1937
A Painted Chinese Actor in TurkestanA painted Chinese actor in a native morality play in Turkestan. Troops of the actors visited the country and were popular with Chinese officials and traders living and working there. Date: 1932
Matthew Skeggs, as Seignor Bumbasto, playingMatthew Skeggs, in the character of Seignor Bumbasto, playing a broomstick instead of a cello with a bow. Skeggs was a publican and performer of musical tricks with the Choice Spirits
The Incomparable Ravel, French rope dancerThe incomparable Ravel, a guitar-playing French tightrope artist from the early 19th century, with two dancers on thick ropes
Street entertainer balancing on his head on a table. Accompanied by a fiddler and a young boy dancing a jig. Handcoloured engraving from Pierre de la Mesangeres Le Bon Genre, Paris, 1817
Street entertainer performing on a horn and violin. After removing his huge glasses from his nose, the old geezer blows on his horn (sarbacane) and plays the violin, grimacing all the time
Jacques de Falaise, street entertainer who ate anything. He is shown eating a live mouse, holding a snake, while an assistant receives a dagger and rose from the audience
Street performer drumming with a violinistDrummer performing tricks with drumsticks while beating a drum, accompanied by a violinist. Handcoloured engraving from Pierre de la Mesangeres Le Bon Genre, Paris, 1817
Family of street entertainers performing in Paris, 1815Woman balancing on a candlestick on a table, while a child walks on its hands. Later, Madame Herculanus fixes two anchors in curling papers to her hair
Street entertainer performing tricks with a batonStreet entertainer using a baton to remove a coin from a womans nose without touching her nose. Audience of fashionable women in bonnets, shawls and dresses with frills
Indian sword swallower in Paris, 1816. An assistant holds a sword to show its length (18 inches), and another takes something from a box of tricks
Indian jugglers in Paris, 1816Indian jugglers, 1816. The man in the centre balances a whip between his eyes, spins rings on his toes and fingers, and threads pearls on a rope with his tongue
An organ grinder and a poodle with spinning machine before an audience of fashionable women in bonnets with plumes, shawls and lace dresses
Savoyard puppeteer performing with fife and drumSavoyard boy with fife and drum makes his puppets dance in time to the music by moving his knees. Handcoloured engraving from Pierre de la Mesangeres Le Bon Genre, Paris, 1817
Indian street entertainers including a sword swallower, jugglers and acrobat. Handcoloured copperplate drawn and engraved by Andrea Bernieri after Francois Solvyns from Giulio Ferrarios Ancient
Mexican acrobats and performers. Aztec men performing balancing acts, and two men balancing on a pole supported by a man on his back
Chinese wrestler and automaton and a tom-tom player, Qing Dynasty. Street performer wrestling with a human-size pasteboard puppet
Chinese juggler keeping a 100-foot long ribbon floating in the air, Qing Dynasty. Handcoloured copperplate engraving by Andrea Freschi after Antoine Cardon from Henri-Leonard-Jean-Baptiste Bertin
Harold Davidson, former rector of Stiffkey, NorfolkHarold Davidson (1875-1937), defrocked former rector of Stiffkey, Norfolk, seen here lion taming at Skegness in July 1937. Unfortunately, this kind of activity led to his being attacked and killed
The General Up To Date, by John Southey and G W HunterPromotional music sheet for The General Up To Date music hall song of 1892 by John Southey and G. W. Hunter. The General in question refers to General William Booth of the Salvation Army to which
The Rat Tat or Postmans GalopPromotional music sheet for The Rat Tat or Postmans Galop by A Postage Stamp Esquire. Date: circa 1850s
Watching Em by A J Mills and F CarterPromotional music sheet for Watching Em music hall song of about 1899 by A. J. Mills and F. Carter and sung by popular singer Harry Ford. Ford is pictured in the policemans uniform
Thats Enough!, by Harry Boden and Bert BrantfordPromotional music sheet for Thats Enough! music hall song of 1905 by Harry Boden and Bert Brantford and sung by Harry Ford. The lyrics to the chorus seem to suggest anti-police feeling by the public
Night Duty, by Albert PerryPromotional music sheet for Night Duty, music hall song of 1899 by Albert Perry, and sung by T E Dunville. The lyrics suggest that the average bobby on night duty can only get through it with
Great Nonsense Song, by Harry Poulton and Arthur LloydPromotional music sheet for (Harry Paultons) Great Nonsense Song by Harry Paulton and Arthur Lloyd. introduced in the burlesque The Idle Prentice, which was first performed at the Strand Theatre
Its Part of a P licemans Duty, by E W RogersPromotional music sheet for Its Part of a Plicemans Duty music hall song of 1906 by E. W. Rogers. The part was played by Vesta Tilley, shown here in the centre photograph
The Happy Policeman, by Harry CliftonPromotional music sheet for The Happy Policeman song of 1867 by Harry Clifton for himself and his partner Fanny Edwards in his own show
The New Zazel Valse by Charles DuboisPromotional music sheet for The New Zazel Valse by Charles Dubois, circa 1877. Zazel was the first artiste to be shot from a cannon, and was also a trapeze artist and tight rope walker
Zazel, by G W HuntPromotional music sheet for Zazel by G W Hunt, music hall song of 1877, the year the young girl made a sensation by being fired from a cannon. Zazel was the first artiste to perform the act
Romah Waltz, by James CowardPromotional music sheet for the Romah Waltz of 1874 by James Coward. We can only assume that Romah was the stage name of an acrobat as he is seen here flying over the Crystal Palace where he
The Girards Quadrille, on airs by M JacobiPromotional music sheet for The Girards Quadrille of about 1876 on airs by M Jacobi, arranged by Charles Coote Junior. Date: circa 1876
The Farini Waltzes, by R CootePromotional music sheet for The Farini Waltzes of circa 1860s by R. Coote. The Great Farini (real name William Leonard Hunt) was famous as a trapeze artist
The Blondin Galop by W GuernseyPromotional music sheet for The Blondin Galop by W. Guernsey. Charles Blondin is shown crossing Niagara falls on a tight-rope, the feat which had made him famous in 1859
The Lion and the Bear by W JohnsonPromotional music sheet for The Lion and the Bear, song of 1878 by W. Johnson which reflects the anti-Russian jingoism of 1877-8, helped by memories of the Crimean War
England For The English, by Fred Bowyer and John BakerPromotional music sheet for England For The English music hall song of 1888 by Fred Bowyer & John S. Baker, sung with immense success by Herbert Campbell
Robinson Crusoe Quadrilles by Clarence C CorriPromotional music sheet for Robinson Crusoe Quadrilles of 1887 by Clarence E. Corri for the 1887 Christmas pantomime by R J Hughes at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin. Date: 1887
The British Lion, by Henry WalkerPromotional music sheet for The British Lion song by Henry Walker. First published in 1859, it shows a rather portly and smug lion sitting in a comfy chair with a copy of The Times in his pocket in
Puss in Boots - Childrens Dance and Lullaby by W SlaughterPromotional music sheet for Puss in Boots - Childrens Dance and Lullaby of 1887 by Walter Slaughter. The Drury Lane pantomime opened for Christmas 1887. Date: 1887
The After Dark Galop, by Charles Coote JuniorPromotional music sheet for the After Dark Galop of 1868 by Charles Coote Junior, sung by Tommy Dodd. An archetypal Victorian melodrama image of the last-minute rescue of a man tied to a railway
The Streets of London QuadrillesPromotional music sheet for The Streets of London Quadrilles of 1864, dedicated with sincere esteem to Mr Vining. The image shows shows Trafalgar Square with the the National Gallery
