Identifier: theatricalcircus00je (find matches)
Title: Theatrical and circus life;
Year: 1893 (1890s)
Authors: Jennings, John Joseph, 1853-1909. (from old catalog)
Subjects: Theater Circus
Publisher: Chicago, Laird & Lee
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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backward and forward — toand from the audience — while the oceans roar comesfrom a wooden box lined with tin and containing asmall quantity of bird shot. The desired sound isproduced by rolling the box around. Anybody who has witnessed Milton Nobles Phoe-nix properly placed on the stage, or The Streetsof New York, must have been, the first time, bothterrified, and still somewhat delighted, with the firescenes. Of late years they have been made wonder-fully thrilling, and almost perfect fac-similes of theFire Fiend himself. The scene-painter gets up hishouse in three pieces. The roof is swung from theflies; the front wall is in two pieces, a jaggedline running from near the top of one side of the sceneto the lower end of the other side. If shutters are to MORE OF THE MYSTERIES. 189 fall, as in The Streets of New York, they are fas-tened to the scene with quick match, a preparationof powder, alcohol, and lamp wick. Iron window anddoor frames are covered with oakum soaked in alcohol
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ROSE COGHLAN. or other fire-quickening fluid. Steam is made torepresent smoke, and the steam itself is obtained bydissolving lime in water. A platform from the sideaffords a footing to the firemen who arc fighting theflames in the very midst of the burning building, and 190 MORE OF THE MYSTERIES. an endless towel with painted flames keeps movingacross the picture after the first wall and roof havebeen allowed to fall in, while red fire plays upon thewhole picture and flash torches are made to repre-sent leaping tongues of flame. There appears to be agreat deal of danger from the operation of a scene ofthis kind, but if proper care is taken the danger is asworthy of consideration as that attending the presenta-tion of a parlor scene. The World has been pronounced a novelty inscenic effects. I went behind the scenes to see howthe thing worked, and had the pleasure of finding outall about it. The play is in seven Bel scenes. The firsthad nothing unusual in it except that the ship with fu

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