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Description
Traveling trunk with chrome slack wire act ladder, unicycle, and accessories. Painted red with 9" wide white band around middle. On lid: "The Frances Dainty Co., RUSH, THEATER". Trunk contains: - two unicycles - one bicycle (disassembled) - several tires and wheel rims - metal ladder (in two parts) - eight tubular metal poles each approx. 48" long - two cloth bags containing small parts - wood working drill brace - pair of brown leather moccasins (MISSING) - two metal brackets each approx. 21" long The Frances Dainty & Co. Act was described in a 1926 advertisement as "The World's Greatest Cyclists in Extraordinary Feats of Cycle Riding and Balancing." Three generations of the Geer family traveled throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia performing daring feats with bicycles and ladders atop a slack wire. When not traveling, the Geer family resided in San Jose's Willow Glen neighborhood. Traveling acts such as the Frances Dainty Co. were a common form of recreation in the United States following the Civil War. The development of vaudeville marked the beginning of popular entertainment as big business and reflected the increased leisure time, spending power, and changing tastes of an urban middle class audience.
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