As I said in Parts 1 and 2, old juggling prop catalogs are treasure troves of information for juggling historians. While many might think such catalogs are a modern invention, they have been around for well over a hundred years. Catalogs provide a great glimpse into what types of routines jugglers were performing at any given time in history. The very old catalogs are especially important to see what routines were like before the advent of motion pictures and high speed photography. In the earlier articles in this series, we looked at catalogs from Otto Maurer and Edward Van Wyck. Let’s take a look at some retail juggling prop catalogs from English magic and juggling supplier Ellis Stanyon.
Ellis Stanyon
Ellis Stanyon was a magician, juggler, author, publisher and magic dealer based in London, England at the beginning of the twentieth century. He sold some juggling props along with his large assortment of magical apparatus. Below is a listing of “Stanyon’s Novel Juggling Apparatus” from 1903.
Below are images from one of his catalogs showing the “juggling apparatus” that he offered for sale in 1905.
And now two additional items that Stanyon offered in 1906; juggling “bricks” and diabolos.
Below are images from a 1909 Stanyon catalog, featuring many interesting props and illustrations.
Below are images from a 1911 Stanyon catalog, featuring spinning plates, bottles, and ball pedestals and a ball.
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).