La Belle Atalanta, 1874 - 1953
Dates
- Existence: 22 February 1874 - 11 January 1953
Biography
Violet Bartram nee Mynn was born on 22 February 1874 in England in a theatrical family. She made her first public appearance in the Corps Ballet at Drury Lane as a child and soon got involved in pantomime and other types of performance working for prestigioud circus proprietor Lord George Sanger. In her teens, Violet started to performe on the tightrope with Georgina Sanger at Astley's Amphitheatre. Violet married fellow performer, clown Henrique 'Harry' La Place aka August on 19 September 1889. The couple toured South America with Frank Brown Circus in the 1890s, by this time Violet was already performing as La Belle Atalanta on the tightrope and snake charmer. Violet and Harry had a son, Harry La Place junior, who was killed on active service in 1918. Henrique La Place died in the early 1900s and Violet returned to England and travelled around Europe and America on her own until 1905. Violet married Claude Carrol Bartram, a theatrical agent, showground proprietor and Editor of 'The Performer' on 10 March 1917. Claude become Secretary of the newly formed Showmen's Guild of Great Britain and Violet entered the fairgrounds through marriage. Violet eventually retired to Brixton as a widow and died on 11 January 1953 aged 78.
Found in 4 Collections and/or Records:
Handbills, 1931
Handbill advertising a sideshow. Red type on white background with a black and white illustration of a woman with a very long neck and wings.
Newspaper Cuttings, c1920 - 1929
Cutting from a magazine showing rowns of telephones and people using them installed at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Winter Garden Arcade.
Photographs and Postcards, c1902 - 1942
Black and white photographs, postcards and negatives of fairs, rides, circus and performers, including a House of Laughter at the Empire Exhibition of 1936-1937 in Johannesburge, South Africa, roller coasters, dodgems, flying chairs, juvenile roundabouts, sideshows, wall of death, Jim Burton's chairs and Pat Collin's Hawaiian natives at Barry Island, negatives of performers and animals in a circus, rides and amusements in Britain, Germany and France.
Violet Bartram Collection
Black and white photographs, negatives and postcards of fairgrounds, amusement parks, circus and performers, a newspaper cutting and a handbill.