Kathi Gultini was one of the first and brightest female juggling stars of the twentieth century. Billed as “The Lady Juggler,” she considered herself the female version of a Gentleman Juggler. Kathi was born in Germany in 1889 and began her performing career in 1908. She had been trained by her father, a well known acrobat named Josef Corty. Her primary claim to fame was being the first person to bounce 8 balls off a drum, a trick she debuted in 1920. She also was well known for her trick of balancing a couch on her forehead while juggling four cushions! Additionally, she worked with top hats, pool cues, clubs, and plate spinning. She also juggled color changing torches or lamps. Kathi was assisted by her husband, Paul Pohl, who was also a talented juggler. She seems to have been quite a hit during a 1912 tour of the United States, as there are numerous newspaper accounts of her performing across the country from that year. Kathi performed as a solo artist for over twenty years before teaming up with her husband in the 1930s to form the team of Pool and Pool. Below are 19 images of her that I’ve collected of Kathi, most of which are extremely rare.
David Cain
David Cain is a professional juggler, juggling historian, and the owner of the world's only juggling museum, the Museum of Juggling History. He is a Guinness world record holder and 16 time IJA gold medalist. In addition to his juggling pursuits, David is a successful composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and singer as well as the author of twenty-six books. He and his children live in Middletown, OH (USA).