In 1848 Moses
Gompertz, a talented dioramic artist and travelling panorama
showman, employed the brothers Charles and George Walter Poole as
musicians. In 1863, following the phenomenal success of John Henry
Pepper's ghost show at the Polytechnic Institution, the Poole
brothers and Anthony Young set themselves up as proprietors of
panoramas. A 'second feature' of their shows was Pepper's Ghost.
Their entertainments developed into highly successful spectral opera
shows. From July 1878, nephews of the original Poole showmen
continued the panoramas and dioramas which, when combined with
variety acts, were eventually called myrioramas. Their children
expanded the business to include cinema from its earliest days.
Drawing strongly on contemporary
sources and illustrated with over 50 pictures, this book provides an
authoritative account of the history of the showmen and their
contemporaries.
About the author
After retiring as a schoolteacher,
John Powell found time to research his family history. Starting with
a few faded newspaper cuttings from the Stroud News and Journal and
following many visits to county record offices and family history
centres he eventually discovered the relationship of his paternal
grandmother to the Poole myriorama showmen. The discovery of a
scrapbook compiled by a manager of the myriorama shows shed new
light on the activities of the showmen and enabled this book to be
written.
Reviews
"...Poole's Myriorama is a
well-researched and information-rich account of the last famous
practitioners of this type of entertainment, and particularly
valuable for its inclusion of unique detail of the working mechanism
and effects of the Poole panoramas."
Theatre Notebook, Volume 58, Number 2
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