Tammany Hall

“. . . Several good ballets are introduced into the programme under the superintendence of the Lauri troupe . . . “ 

“THE HANLON COMBINATION, consisting of George, William, Edward, Alfred and Frederick Hanlon, and their pupils, Julian, Francois and ‘Little Bob,’ opened an engagement at the Tammany on the 1st inst. Their great feature was a new aerial performance called ‘Their Great Act,’ and we scarcely know how to apply words sufficiently explanatory to convey a correct idea of this marvelously artistic performance. The apparatus upon which it takes place consists of two slender iron parallel bars, each thirty feet long, suspended from the dome twelve feet, and about forty feet from the orchestra, directly over the musicians. There are four iron cross braces made use of for different combinations in the performances. Hanging from each end of these parallel bars is a small trapeze bar, eighteen inches long, from which hang, head downwards, Frederick and A[l]fred Hanlon. There are also pendant slings, fifteen inches long, at each end, into which Frederick and Alfred hang by the calf of their legs. These slings are placed five feet from each end, by which contrivance the performers are enabled to vary their feats. The space between the two long parallel bars is twenty inches. About eighteen feet from the centre these bars have movable ,laps, upholstered, and so made that they can be turned up when the flight is made through these bars. When these upholstered laps are in their proper places they are used by ‘Little Bob’ for the purpose of holding himself, as he is thrown from one extreme to the other. From the dome to each side of the parallel bars are two wires for supporting the bars, while only a few feet from the dome is a cross bar, from which ‘Little Bob’ takes his flight. This as correct a description of the apparatus as can be given on paper without a diagram. The different feats performed are as follows:  Frederick and Alfred Hanlon and Little Bob descend from an aperture in the dome of the theatre by means of a rope to the parallel bars. Frederick and Alfred hang head downwards by the small trapeze bar suspended at each end of the apparatus, while Little Bob stands upon the frame work, and at the word ‘go’ from Frederick, he springs down through the aperture in the apparatus, and while oscillating is caught by Frederick by the wrists, with a nicety of calculation far exceeding anything ever before required in a flying trapeze act. Little Bob is then launched out into the air, traversing the space of thirty feet, and, turning a somersault, is caught at the other extreme end of the bar by Alfred. This feat is repeated several times, the boy being thrown from one brother to the other. In addition to this, as Little Bob is caught by the wrists by Frederick, he oscillates on the trapeze, throws Little Bob into the air, who turns a complete somersault, and is caught first by the legs and afterwards by the hands. The climax to this wonderfully startling performance is as follows:--Alfred perches Little Bob upon the small bar, a few feet from the dome, and situated in a perpendicular line exactly midway of the framework below. The upholstered laps on the bars are then turned over, giving an open space of twenty inches. Frederick Hanlon attaches himself to one of the small pendant trapeze bars, at the extreme end of the apparatus, head downwards. At a given signal Little Bob leaps from the high bar, passes through the parallel bars obliquely, and in his descent is caught by Frederick, who commences oscillating at the instant the word ‘Go’ was given. The distance that Little Bob jumps from the bar until he is caught is from eighteen to twenty feet. This is the denouement, and so much enthusiasm has seldom been heard in any place of amusement as has been created every evening by crowded audiences. The act is one of the most startling ever before attempted by any living gymnast. Singular to state, there was not the slightest hitch or mishap through the entire performance the first night; since the first night, however, Little Bob has met with some falls, but as there is a large net spread beneath the apparatus no harm can occur to any one falling. In addition to this act, the Hanlon Brothers appeared for the first time in public in a new act with conical hats, which is very amusing and is cleverly done. Their pupils Francois, Julian and Victor (‘Little Bob’) appeared in an act called ‘Poses Plastique.’”