Lion tamers were a significant part of the travelling Menagerie show in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the first Black lion tamer to appear in the Hull and East Yorkshire area was Martini Maccomo, who performed with Manders' Royal Menagerie in Beverley as early as 1860. This article takes a look at Maccomo and the many other Black lion tamers who performed in the area. The striking photograph above, taken in Hull around 1914, shows members of the Manders family with 'Black Joe' who worked for Manders.[1]
Menageries were large travelling exotic animal shows that toured up and down the country in horse-drawn caravans. Contemporary newspaper reports, advertisements and posters record the arrival, performance and street processions of these elaborate shows in the Hull and East Yorkshire areas. Menageries, unlike zoos, used animals purely for entertainment purposes rather than for study or for their contribution to scientific understanding. Instead, they were vast travelling displays of British imperial rule and splendour, designed to excite and thrill their audiences, and demonstrate Britain's dominance over its Empire. African and Indian elephants, zebras, hyenas and camels were amongst the exotic animals on show – but what captivated the audience most was the wild beast act, were intrepid ‘lion tamers’ demonstrated feats of 'bravery' and dominance over wild lions, tigers and other 'untamable' animals.
In 1841, the very first lion tamer, American-born Isaac Van Amburgh, was recorded parading up Beverley Road in Hull with his lions and “pupils”, before a performance later that day in the town.[2] In 1858, “African Lion Tamers” were advertised on the bill for Sangers’ Zoological and Equestrian Hippodrome show at Hull’s cricket ground, but it is likely that the main lion tamer in this show was Preston-born James Crockett and like Van Amburgh, was of white European ethnicity.[3] However, two years later, in 1860, Manders’ Royal Menagerie came to Beverley and brought with it Martini Maccomo, probably the first and most famous Black lion tamer.[4]
In 1841, the very first lion tamer, American-born Isaac Van Amburgh, was recorded parading up Beverley Road in Hull with his lions and “pupils”, before a performance later that day in the town.[2] In 1858, “African Lion Tamers” were advertised on the bill for Sangers’ Zoological and Equestrian Hippodrome show at Hull’s cricket ground, but it is likely that the main lion tamer in this show was Preston-born James Crockett and like Van Amburgh, was of white European ethnicity.[3] However, two years later, in 1860, Manders’ Royal Menagerie came to Beverley and brought with it Martini Maccomo, probably the first and most famous Black lion tamer.[4]
Martini Maccomo - 'The Lion King'
Martini Maccomo worked for Manders' Royal Menagerie until his death in 1871. The 1861 English census suggests that Maccomo, described as a 'performer of lions and tigers,' was born in 1835/6 in Angola, Africa, but he could also have been called Arthur Williams and was perhaps from the West Indies.[5] His gravestone at Bishopwearmouth Cemetery in Sunderland records that he died on 11 January 1871 and was erected by William Manders of the Grand National Star Menagerie “as a tribute of regard for an old and faithful servant.”[6] Maccomo began working for William Manders in 1857, but there is little known about his early life. Manders may have recruited him in Liverpool (there are suggestions that Maccomo was a sailor) and by 1859 he was facing twenty lions and tigers in the ring and becoming the prominent and main part of the show.[7] As already suggested, his country of origin remains unclear |
and that ambiguity was also apparent in the contemporary advertisements for the Menagerie shows. He was sometimes described as a ‘Zulu’ or simply an ‘African lion hunter,’ and eventually as his popularity rose he became known as ‘the Lion King.’ It seems that as long as Maccomo was described as 'African' it didn't matter which part of the continent he came from.
When Maccomo came to Beverley in 1860 he was described as the “chief attraction” and both a lion and tiger hunter as well as a “serpent charmer.”[8] The Beverley Guardian described a remarkable scene in which Maccomo, in the “full costume” of the “African lion hunter” entered the town at the head of a large procession, driving a large “elegant” carriage drawn rather incredibly "by three camels and two horses.”[9] It was recorded that Maccomo “astonished the company by his daring feats with the lions and tigers” and that his “command” over them “was truly surprising, as a mere wave of his hand was all that was required to put these striped animals through their evolutions.”[10] Despite this, Maccomo was also involved in a number of serious accidents involving the animals under his control. The Beverley and East Riding Recorder reported one incident that happend in 1862 in which the tamer was “dragged down” by a lion who “fastened upon his left hand” during a performance in Norwich.[11] Maccomo recovered suitably enough to continue.
Maccomo performed with Manders throughout the Yorkshire region during the 1860s. In 1865 he appeared at Scarborough with “Barbary lions and Bengal tigers… trained and exhibited by Martino [sic] Maccomo – Angola’s mighty czar of all lion tamers.”[12] In 1869 he came to Hull Fair were he “went through his very exciting and very dangerous performance” and in the same month returned to Beverley, and again paraded through the town in a “grand dragon carriage,” this time drawn, perhaps even more remarkably, by zebras.[13]
Two years later, in 1871, Maccomo died from rheumatic fever in the Palatine Hotel in Sunderland. He was one of the first successful Black 'circus' entertainers and was at the forefront in the rise and success of other Black lion tamers in the travelling Menagerie business. The name Maccomo would be re-appropriated by other Black lion tamers over the following decades. A 'Young Maccomo' for example, was working for Bostock and Wombwell's Gigantic Show, in 1896 and 1897, and performing with his "nine performing lions and tigers" in Hull and Driffield.[14] See below for other lion tamers using the Maccomo name.
When Maccomo came to Beverley in 1860 he was described as the “chief attraction” and both a lion and tiger hunter as well as a “serpent charmer.”[8] The Beverley Guardian described a remarkable scene in which Maccomo, in the “full costume” of the “African lion hunter” entered the town at the head of a large procession, driving a large “elegant” carriage drawn rather incredibly "by three camels and two horses.”[9] It was recorded that Maccomo “astonished the company by his daring feats with the lions and tigers” and that his “command” over them “was truly surprising, as a mere wave of his hand was all that was required to put these striped animals through their evolutions.”[10] Despite this, Maccomo was also involved in a number of serious accidents involving the animals under his control. The Beverley and East Riding Recorder reported one incident that happend in 1862 in which the tamer was “dragged down” by a lion who “fastened upon his left hand” during a performance in Norwich.[11] Maccomo recovered suitably enough to continue.
Maccomo performed with Manders throughout the Yorkshire region during the 1860s. In 1865 he appeared at Scarborough with “Barbary lions and Bengal tigers… trained and exhibited by Martino [sic] Maccomo – Angola’s mighty czar of all lion tamers.”[12] In 1869 he came to Hull Fair were he “went through his very exciting and very dangerous performance” and in the same month returned to Beverley, and again paraded through the town in a “grand dragon carriage,” this time drawn, perhaps even more remarkably, by zebras.[13]
Two years later, in 1871, Maccomo died from rheumatic fever in the Palatine Hotel in Sunderland. He was one of the first successful Black 'circus' entertainers and was at the forefront in the rise and success of other Black lion tamers in the travelling Menagerie business. The name Maccomo would be re-appropriated by other Black lion tamers over the following decades. A 'Young Maccomo' for example, was working for Bostock and Wombwell's Gigantic Show, in 1896 and 1897, and performing with his "nine performing lions and tigers" in Hull and Driffield.[14] See below for other lion tamers using the Maccomo name.
Edmond's Menagerie
In October 1861, Maccomo and Manders' Menagerie came to Hull Fair, performing at the same time as another travelling Menagerie called Edmond’s Royal Windsor Castle Menagerie.[15] Edmond’s was an offshoot of the original Wombwell’s Menagerie, and in addition to Hull Fair, also performed in Bridlington, Hunmanby, Goole, Howden and South Cave. The advertisement in the Hull Packet describes a grand procession through Hull of the “great African Lion Tamer, driving tandem his gigantic team of war camels.”[16] The African lion tamer in question was probably Chelmsford-born George Newcombe, who despite performing with African lions, was not of African descent nor anytime in his life, did he ever travel to that continent.[17] However, the advertisement for the Bridlington and Hunmanby shows do reveal other performances by people of actual African descent.
Zulu-Kaffirs
'Described as an “extraordinary race of men”, the “Zulu-Kaffirs” were to perform in their “native costume” in the “manner and customs of Kaffir life.”[18] An extraordinary illustration of these men performing a ‘war dance’ appears under the advert (see right). The “chief of the party” is described as “Maxos” who is 5ft 9in tall and was a soldier in one of King Panda’s (Mpande monarch of the Zulu kingdom from 1841-1872) regiments.[19] The report suggested that Maxos was the son of a slain Zulu Chief and had been wounded several times in battle. The second man was named Nonswenzo, “a cousin of Faku, the Chief of the Unepondae.” He was 6ft tall and described as a “powerful man, and of violent temper if excited.” The third man was middle-aged and named Umlow, “a wizard doctor,” described theatrically as having a “very excitable disposition.” Like Maxos, Umlow was also a former soldier and famous for handling the knobkerrie, a short club used by the indigenous peoples of South Africa. A display of “Zulu huts,” and “their pots made of black clay,” as well as a variety of weaponry would also accompany the mens' performance. It seems that the addition of the ‘Zulu warriors’ perhaps added an additional African identity to the exotic animal shows.
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Ledger Delmonico
By the mid-1860s a lion tamer of African descent was working for Edmond’s Menagerie. Ledger Delmonico was an African American, born Joseph Ledger (or possibly Hollinger) in Milton, Delaware in 1841.[20] He was raised by free parents and taken to Philadelphia at the age of two. Very little is known about his early life, but a short biography that he wrote during his time working at the Folies Bergère in Paris, published in French in 1873, gives clues to his lion taming career.[21] The biography records an intriguing career in which he left America and travelled around Germany, Austria and Hungary. In 1881, Delmonico performed in Beverley and Driffield with Edmond’s and was described as the “renowned” lion tamer |
whose “performances have made such a furore on the Continent.”[22] As well as lions and tigers, Delmonico is also described as using leopards and “hitherto untameable hyenas.” By 1893, Delmonico came to Hull, but this time as an actor. Described as a “renowned lion tamer” he performed at the Grand Theatre and Opera House on George Street, as part of Greenwich Morton’s Tour “in the brightest, happiest, and most interesting drama yet,” titled Ups and Downs of Life.[23]
Sargano Alicamousa
As with the name Maccomo, the name Sargano also appears to have been re-used by different lion tamers at different times. Originally an African American lion tamer named William Dellah took the name Sargano, but after him a West Indian man called himself Sargano Alicamousa and worked for Edward Bostock’s Menagerie until 1891.[24] This man’s real name was John Holloway Bright. However, to confuse matters, another man, John Humphreys, also seems to have titled himself as Sargano Alicamousa (see photograph right). He was born in 1859, in St Vincent in the West Indies, and worked throughout Europe as a lion and tiger trainer primarily for George Sanger.[25] Nonetheless, in 1885, a Black lion tamer named Sargano was performing with Bostock and Wombwell’s Menagerie in Beverley.[26] The newspaper report described how Sargano “enters the ‘Den of Lions’ and puts them through a series of performances. He wears three medals, and possesses great power over the ‘King of the Forest’.”[27] In 1891, a Reginald Sagarno, was interviewed by the Hull Daily Mail while visiting the town with Bostock’s and Wombwell’s Menagerie.[28] He suggested he was the “son of a famous lion hunter” and “from childhood [had] been on familiar terms with the wild beasts of the forest… he would often hunt the cubs.” He also described how he entered the training of the “ferocious king in Bengal” and challenged any tamer £1,000 to perform with lions better than he. Of course much of this narrative was created for theatrical effect and to promote 'African' authenticity, since Sargano, in the wake of the famous Maccomo, also describes himself as ‘the Lion King.’ |
Other Black Lion Tamers
In 1894 a Black lion tamer named by the Hull Daily Mail as Deli Marmterno, the “celebrated African King of Lion Tamers” performed for Day’s Royal Menagerie at Hull Fair.[29] It is unclear who this might be, but the newspaper declared that the “ferocious brutes” who had killed three tamers already, had been “successfully trained” by this man. Two years later a lion tamer called Marquis Renzo (or Marcus Renzo “a negro of the blackest type”) gave a show which also included “wolves, tiger wolves, spotted hyenas and bears” for Day’s.[30]
In 1894 a Black lion tamer named by the Hull Daily Mail as Deli Marmterno, the “celebrated African King of Lion Tamers” performed for Day’s Royal Menagerie at Hull Fair.[29] It is unclear who this might be, but the newspaper declared that the “ferocious brutes” who had killed three tamers already, had been “successfully trained” by this man. Two years later a lion tamer called Marquis Renzo (or Marcus Renzo “a negro of the blackest type”) gave a show which also included “wolves, tiger wolves, spotted hyenas and bears” for Day’s.[30]
As suggested above, Young Maccomo performed for Bostock and Wombwell’s Gigantic Show in Hull in 1896 and in Driffield in 1897, and a month later in Driffield a lion tamer was seriously attacked. This tamer’s name was Franco Montano, and he is described in the report as a “coloured lion tamer” working for Chipperfield’s Menagerie (see right).[31] One of the lions apparently grabbed hold of the tamer’s leg and was beaten off “with bars of hot iron.” In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Gess’s Menagerie had a Black lion tamer who lived with his wife who was also of African descent. A wonderful image of Gess's Black lion tamer (name currently unknown) standing in front of a lion's cage appears on the Gess/Wilson family history site here. Gess also ran a boxing booth alongside his Menagerie and employed Black boxers who can be seen in a striking piece of film taken at Hull Fair in 1902. To view the film and go to our project page on Black Boxers click here.
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In later years, in 1932, Broncho Bill’s, Bailey’s and Fossett’s Combined Circus employed “Maccona the Black lion tamer” (playing on the original Maccomo name).[32]
Other names of Black lion tamers that pop up in newspaper advertisements and reports are:
1884: Henry Porter “the African now performing with Wilson’s six lions”
1885: Alexander Hugh Monroe “negro lion tamer”
1892: Joe Foster: “coloured lion tamer named Joe Foster” Buff Bill Menagerie
1893: William Beaumont “coloured lion tamer”
1895: Martino Bartlets, “a coloured man described as a lion tamer”
1898: Orlando Maccomo (b.1863, British Guiana - see advert below from the Hull Daily Mail)
Other names of Black lion tamers that pop up in newspaper advertisements and reports are:
1884: Henry Porter “the African now performing with Wilson’s six lions”
1885: Alexander Hugh Monroe “negro lion tamer”
1892: Joe Foster: “coloured lion tamer named Joe Foster” Buff Bill Menagerie
1893: William Beaumont “coloured lion tamer”
1895: Martino Bartlets, “a coloured man described as a lion tamer”
1898: Orlando Maccomo (b.1863, British Guiana - see advert below from the Hull Daily Mail)
1906: Albert Williams
1914: Albert Maccomo: travelling with Manders
1916: Joseph Foster “a coloured man” “lion tamer” “born in the West Indies”
1914: Albert Maccomo: travelling with Manders
1916: Joseph Foster “a coloured man” “lion tamer” “born in the West Indies”
Can you help?
Do you have any information about any of the Black lion tamers mentioned above? Can you help add to the stories? Please contact us here if you can.
Do you have any information about any of the Black lion tamers mentioned above? Can you help add to the stories? Please contact us here if you can.
Albert May
Following this story, Martin Hale - the grandson of 'Black Joe' - got in touch to tell us about his grandfather's identity.
Footnotes
[1] Photograph taken from the Sunderland Echo online article: LINK
[2] Hull Packet, 17 September 1841, p. 4.
[3] Hull Advertiser and Exchange Gazette, 29 May 1858.
[4] Maccomo succeeded Billy Strand, 'The Gingerbread King,' who worked first for George Hilton's Menagerie in Manchester before joining Manders. He was perhaps the original 'Martini Maccomo.'
[5] 1861 England & Wales Census, Ancestry.co.uk: Jeffrey Green also suggests that he may have been a “sailor born in Liverpool.”
[6] A photograph of Maccomo’s grave appears on www.findagrave.com
[7] Jeffrey Green, ‘Maccomo, Martini (1835/1836–1871)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2012
[8] Beverley Guardian, 4 August, 1860, p.4.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Beverley and East Riding Recorder, 11 January, 1862, p.7.
[12] Bridlington Free Press, 28 October, 1865.
[13] Beverley and East Riding Recorder, 16 October, 1869.
[14] Hull Daily Mail, 15 October, 1896, p.2..
[15] Hull Packet, 4 October 1861, p. 6.
[16] Ibid.
[17] George Newcombe (1836-1890) worked for circuses from 1852 until 1874 in both Europe and the USA. He was badly mauled in 1874 while working for Edmond’s. See Family Tree Magazine, January 2017, p. 23.
[18] Hull Packet, 4 October 1861, p. 4.
[19] Ibid.
[20] http://broadkillblogger.org/people/joseph-ledger/
[21] Ledger Delmonico, Biographie du dompteur noir Delmonico, écrite par lui-même, (de V. Fillion, 1873).
[22] Beverley and East Riding Recorder, 8 October, 1881, p.4.
[23] Hull Daily Mail, 3 October 1893, p.1.
[24] Peta Tait, Travelling Menageries, Animal Acts and War Shows, (Sydney University Press, 2016), p. 185.
[25] www.jeffreygreen.co.uk
[26] Beverley and East Riding Recorder, 17 October, 1885, p.8.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Hull Daily Mail, 15 October, 1891, p. 3.
[29] Hull Daily Mail, 11 October, 1894.
[30] Hull Daily Mail, 15 October, 1896, p. 2.
[31] Hull Daily Mail, 9 November, 1897, p. 3.
[32] Hull Daily Mail, 14 October, 1932, p.13.
[1] Photograph taken from the Sunderland Echo online article: LINK
[2] Hull Packet, 17 September 1841, p. 4.
[3] Hull Advertiser and Exchange Gazette, 29 May 1858.
[4] Maccomo succeeded Billy Strand, 'The Gingerbread King,' who worked first for George Hilton's Menagerie in Manchester before joining Manders. He was perhaps the original 'Martini Maccomo.'
[5] 1861 England & Wales Census, Ancestry.co.uk: Jeffrey Green also suggests that he may have been a “sailor born in Liverpool.”
[6] A photograph of Maccomo’s grave appears on www.findagrave.com
[7] Jeffrey Green, ‘Maccomo, Martini (1835/1836–1871)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2012
[8] Beverley Guardian, 4 August, 1860, p.4.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Beverley and East Riding Recorder, 11 January, 1862, p.7.
[12] Bridlington Free Press, 28 October, 1865.
[13] Beverley and East Riding Recorder, 16 October, 1869.
[14] Hull Daily Mail, 15 October, 1896, p.2..
[15] Hull Packet, 4 October 1861, p. 6.
[16] Ibid.
[17] George Newcombe (1836-1890) worked for circuses from 1852 until 1874 in both Europe and the USA. He was badly mauled in 1874 while working for Edmond’s. See Family Tree Magazine, January 2017, p. 23.
[18] Hull Packet, 4 October 1861, p. 4.
[19] Ibid.
[20] http://broadkillblogger.org/people/joseph-ledger/
[21] Ledger Delmonico, Biographie du dompteur noir Delmonico, écrite par lui-même, (de V. Fillion, 1873).
[22] Beverley and East Riding Recorder, 8 October, 1881, p.4.
[23] Hull Daily Mail, 3 October 1893, p.1.
[24] Peta Tait, Travelling Menageries, Animal Acts and War Shows, (Sydney University Press, 2016), p. 185.
[25] www.jeffreygreen.co.uk
[26] Beverley and East Riding Recorder, 17 October, 1885, p.8.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Hull Daily Mail, 15 October, 1891, p. 3.
[29] Hull Daily Mail, 11 October, 1894.
[30] Hull Daily Mail, 15 October, 1896, p. 2.
[31] Hull Daily Mail, 9 November, 1897, p. 3.
[32] Hull Daily Mail, 14 October, 1932, p.13.