Tramore Races. Toft's Show. Tramore Amusement Field
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Where: Waterford, Ireland
Try to find the spot where the photographer was standing.
When: 01 January 1901
Try to find the date or year when this image was made.
Hold your horses, we are off to the races, to the Tramore races in 1901 to be precise. Another fabulous photograph from Mr Poole. We see from the catalogue and the description that this is part of W. Toft & Sons amusement offering which I should think was a very attractive offering to Tramoreites and visitors alike so early in the last century. What more can you tell us about this scene?
Photographer: A. H. Poole
Collection: Poole Photographic Studio, Waterford
Date: 1901
NLI Ref: POOLEWP 0358
You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie
Source: Flickr Commons
Views: 25488
Photographer: A. H. Poole
Collection: Poole Photographic Studio, Waterford
Date: 1901
NLI Ref: POOLEWP 0358
You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie
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Owner: National Library of Ireland on The CommonsSource: Flickr Commons
Views: 25488
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John Spooner
One of the NEW FILIMS (sic) advertised - "The Motor Car Explosion" can be seen on youtube (unless there were more than one such film). Dated 1900
sharon.corbet
[https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnspooner] It also has its own wikipage.
John Spooner
As is Man of Many Coats, also dated 1900
National Library of Ireland on The Commons
https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnspooner https://www.flickr.com/photos/scorbet It is very good.
National Library of Ireland on The Commons
https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnspooner The Coat movie is still quite funny!
abandoned railways
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nlireland Box camera, next to Shawled woman selling goods
National Library of Ireland on The Commons
https://www.flickr.com/photos/abandonedrailsireland I am patting myself on the back for having spotted that!!
sharon.corbet
There is a colouredy version of this photo at the Waterford Museum.
abandoned railways
I notice the rides are populated by adults only
ɹǝqɯoɔɥɔɐǝq
*grabs popcorn*
DannyM8
These Tramoreties could not be classed as cynophilists!!
National Library of Ireland on The Commons
I have just added this fantastic Grafton Street shot to our 100,000 plus views album. [https://www.flickr.com/photos/nlireland/9199565442] www.flickr.com/photos/nlireland/albums/72157651599255125
Niall McAuley
The race course on the 25" map. I think the amusements are a bit nearer town - that's a real road with footpath and gas streetlight, while the paths out at the racecourse are more sketchy. I think this is Strand Road, still home to the amusements today. Streetview.
National Library of Ireland on The Commons
https://www.flickr.com/photos/abandonedrailsireland I wonder did the Coal come from Spencer's??
ofarrl
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/ you are spot on with the location. The field where the amusements were was known locally as Piper’s Field after one of the other amusement operators.
John A. Coffey
A lovely big trailer of coal to keep the show on the road.
oaktree_brian_1976
Edison was in the movie business starting 1896, so this was a pretty new thing in 1901. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edison_Studios
abandoned railways
A cinematograph is a motion picture film camera, invented in the 1890s in Lyon, by Auguste and Louis Lumière. First shown in 1895, so this was really new technology here. They were hand cranked. Edison invented an electric operated version, but it was peepshow style, not displayed on a screen.
ofarrl
This was William Toft’s traveling fair, his brother John was also in the same business. I believe Abby Toft who had amusements in Galway was another relative, he was married to Florence Piper from Tramore.
jamica1
[https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]] [https://www.flickr.com/photos/abandonedrailsireland] This book has a good discussion of the issue books.google.ca/books?id=WVVX4NHS8TwC&pg=PA80&lpg...
guliolopez
I'm still skitting at the classic Irish spelling of that two syllable word: "filim" :D Barely distinguishable from the regional variant: "filum" :)
National Library of Ireland on The Commons
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected] Very funny! in Dublin 4 it is exclusively Film!
National Library of Ireland on The Commons
In the 1901 Census there are 35 Toft surnames in the Census.
National Library of Ireland on The Commons
Here we have William 42 a Showman and his Wife May 34 a Showoman Census. No Sons shown?
National Library of Ireland on The Commons
There is also a Thomas Toft who was a Hobby Horse Owner!
ofarrl
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/ I believe Thomas may also have been another brother. He was sued along with William by the Central Hotel Company in 1889 over a pair of noisy steam organs they had on a plot of ground on Exchequer Street, Dublin.
ɹǝqɯoɔɥɔɐǝq
I think there is a steam(?) organ evident here below "PICTURES" (see note).
ofarrl
[https://www.flickr.com/photos/321[email protected]/] well spotted! Looks very similar to this Wurlitzer m.youtube.com/watch?v=fzz6fIUYHEA&feature=youtu.be
National Library of Ireland on The Commons
https://www.flickr.com/photos/beachcomberaustralia https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected] Eagle Eyes!!
Niall McAuley
At far left is a stall belonging to J Beach. There is only one such in the 1911 census, John Beach, 72, Showman, Fancy Fair.
ofarrl
John Beach had an advert in The Freeman’s Journal, August 1898 looking for a “RESPECTABLE, sober Man wanted capable to drive engine for set of Hobby Horses, and make himself generally useful ; also four active young men to travel with same ; also man and wife that is used to look after shooting gallery, and make themselves generally useful when required. Address John Beach, Steam Hobby Horses, Tramore, County Waterford.”
Karin Joy Passmore
Irish stone wall with the top row of stones set together like books on a shelf...
Karin Joy Passmore
Movies: let the age of propaganda begin!!
Simon Bramwell
My late great aunt's grandfather, William Toft. Her other grandfather was William Piper.
National Library of Ireland on The Commons
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sbramwell Hi Simon, we love to hear from relatives of the people in our photos, please tell us more.
DavidWard112
As far as this photo goes, there's a lot going on here. On the far left is J.Beach's Tube Shooter. These were popular items for showmen as they were compact when put away and the wagon was lightweight and their popularity among men meant it was a good little profit maker for the showman. In the background is a set of swing-boats and hidden, with the exception of some of its rounding-boards, is a set of gallopers. People today call them carousels, but the proper term is gallopers. Just stood in front of the swing-boats with a chimney on is a Savage Light Engine. A light engine was a simple boiler mounted steam engine with a dynamo driven by a belt from the flywheel. These were simple machines and required minimal effort to keep them running. Savages of Kings Lynn(UK) were manufacturers of fairground rides and indeed, steam engines to power the rides. This is likely providing power for the bioscope show and the lights adorning it. The bioscope show is what you see taking primary position in the photo, as it advertises "Edisons Latest Discovery". The bioscope show is what we consider today to be the cinema. These travelling shows consisted of ornately carved frontages, graced by a stage in front and complimented by a fairground organ. In this case, you can see the trumpet organ stood on the end of the show, this was likely built by a Parisian firm by the name of Gavioli and is possibly operated on a pin barrel system. It isn't a steam organ as there's no steam involved in how it plays, it's all entirely on air. The tent behind houses the moving picture show and these were usually movies consisting of footage from around the globe or short comedy pictures. The idea of the show is that the organ plays to attract the people and they enter to see the movie inside, which was typically musically accompanied by a piano. The popularity of the bioscope show saw people wanting to view moving pictures all year round and not just when the fair came to town. Thusly, the cinema was born and picture houses began to spring up in the cities and large towns around the country. On the right hand side is a ride which doesn't feature well in this photo but we see enough to know that it is either a switchback ride or a Venetian Golden Gondola ride. This ride would've been highly ornate, possibly built by Savages of Kings Lynn but more likely by a firm named George Orton, Sons and Spooner Limited who were based in Burton-On-Trent. Orton and Spooner were renowned for their heavily decorated and ornate rides. Right down to the cars the punters were riding in, no time was wasted by their team of highly skilled craftsmen to produce some of the finest carvings in the fairground world. Again, this machine would have had an organ in the centre providing the music, just the same as the gallopers in the background would have too. The organs in the centres of these rides would be larger than that of the barrel organ on the front of the bioscope show and thusly, much louder. They were also likely playing on the new cardboard music book system, which was patented in 1891 by Anselmo Gavioli in Paris and replaced the pin barrel system thereafter.
Ivan Fitz
The Photograph is accurately dated to 1901 and shows two fairground shows in Morrissey’s Field. Toft & Turnbull’s fairground is in the foreground. Mr W Toft & Sons Universally Acclaimed Venetian Gondola Switchback Railway is partially visible on the extreme right of the photograph. According to a contemporary advertisement, the fairground also contained shooting galleries, pipe breakers, who's Emma’s, funny faces, ringing the bottles, a bagatelle, a miniature Ferris wheel and a host of other amusements too numerous to mention. The show opened every evening at 7 o'clock sharp. In the centre of the picture is Norman’s Latest Cinematograph Show ‘Edison’s Latest Discovery. Electric Living Pictures’. Among the films advertised were Sights of the World, Irish Linen Mill, and The Dinner Hour along with the latest and up-to-date films, The Motorcar Explosion and Man of Many Coats. The price of admission was 2d. Also on view is a Savage light engine with a chimney on top for steam power and a wagon loaded with coal. In front of the picture house to the left stands the cash booth, while to the right stands the grand prize orchestrophone organ which was awarded the gold medal and diploma at the Paris exhibition 1900. The organ was purchased by Messrs Toft and Turnbull expressly for the cinematograph at the enormous cost of 35 thousand francs. This ‘masterpiece of mechanical musical instruments’ played selections of operatic and other music to the accompaniment of the whole of the amusements and would be enjoyed by all music lovers. One employee of Toft & Turnbull’s was a young travelling showman from county Antrim named Johnnie McGurk who later decided to move his family to Tramore. Further down the field in the photograph is Mr. John Beach’s Steam Circus where can be seen a tube shooter, a set of swing-boats and a set of gallopers. Gallopers differed from Carousels in the fact that that the horses moved, rather than being attached to the platform. John Beach had a daughter named Emily Eliza Beach who was born in 1864 in Uxbridge. Emily married a 22 year old bricklayer named William Seymour Colchester Piper in 1884 in Wandsworth. The Pipers were soon to play a large part in the development of amusements in Tramore.
Niall McAuley
[https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]] Here is John McGurk in Tramore, birthplace Co. Antrim. He gives his occupation as the rather vague General Dealer, his wife Maryanne is a shopkeeper.