For a short time only : itinerants and the resurgence of popular culture in early America / Peter Benes.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Benes, Peter, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sideshows--North America--History--18th century.

Sideshows.

Sideshows--North America--History--19th century.

Itinerant entertainers--North America--History--18th century.

Itinerant entertainers.

Itinerant entertainers--North America--History--19th century.

Popular culture--North America--History--18th century.

Popular culture.

Popular culture--North America--History--19th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (532 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press, [2016]

Summary:

Winner of the 2017 Theatre Library Association's George Freedley Memorial Book Award By the 1740s, colonists living in North America began to encounter scores of itinerant performers from England and Europe. These show people--acrobats, wire dancers, tumblers, trick riders, painters, dancing-masters, waxworks proprietors, healers, and singing and language teachers--brought novelty and culture to remote areas. Advertising in newspapers, they attracted audiences with the hook of appearing "for a short time only." In this richly illustrated and deeply researched book, Peter Benes examines the rise of early American popular culture through the lives and work of itinerants who circulated in British North America and the United States from the late seventeenth through the early nineteenth century. Although they were frequently reviled as quacks and absconders by many provincials, these transients enjoyed a unique camaraderie and found audiences among high- and lowbrow alike. Drawing on contemporary diaries, letters, reminiscences, and hitherto inaccessible newspaper ads, broadsides, and images, Benes suggests why some elements of Europe's carnival and folklore traditions failed to gain acceptance in American society while others flourished brilliantly.

Contents:

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

Introduction

Part I. The Tradition-Bearers

1. Itinerants and Popular Culture

2. Travel Routes and Circuits

3. A Legacy of Diversity, a Reputation for Distrust

4. Establishing a Public Presence

5. Acquiring Skills

6. The Impact of Images

Part II. Some Early Strolling Practices

7. Street Performers

8. Tavern Entertainers I: Magic Lanternists

9. Tavern Entertainers II: Puppeteers, Ropedancers, Conjurers

Part III. Itinerants Assume Schooled and Mannered Callings

10. Art of Psalmody

11. Musical Life

12. Pantomime Entertainment

13. A Time to Dance

14. Confronting the Professions

Part IV. Popular Culture Flourishes in America, 1780-1825

15. Waxwork Museums

16. Public Painters

17. Taking Faces I: The Itinerant Portraitist

18. Taking Faces II: The Physiognotrace

19. The World of Automatons

20. Penmanship Schools

Conclusion: America Comes of Age

Part 1. Fading Carnival Texts in American Popular Culture

Part 2. Itinerancy in the Antebellum Period

Part 3. The Itinerant Legacy

Notes

Bibliography

Acknowledgments

Photo Credits

Index

About the Author

Back Cover.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-61376-414-6

OCLC:

963624576