Cinquevalli, Paul | Perhaps the world's greatest juggler

Cinquevalli, Paul

Cinquevalli. Patience, Perseverance, Progress. Belfast: David Allen & Sons, ca. 1894

Color lithograph poster on 3 sheets (85 x 37 5/8 in.; 2160 x 959 mm). Lightly varnished, a little bit of marginal chipping and repair. Framed and glazed with Plexiglas.

Born Paul Kestner or Emil Otto Paul Braunin in Poland in 1859, Paul Cinquevalli started as an aerialist and acrobat, but after several near-fatal falls from the trapeze he applied his extraordinary sense of equilibrium to the art of juggling. He became a staple of English circuses and music halls, even performing by command before the Prince of Wales. Cinquevalli was a "gentleman juggler," who performed principally with everyday objects of disparate sizes: billiard balls and cues, hats, umbrellas, plates, bottles, suitcases, and chairs.

While Cinquevalli is portrayed in a formal, seated pose (albeit costumed in his standard leotard and tights), the imps in the border of the present very rare poster are shown performing many of the routines in his act. The poster is accompanied by a photograph of Cinquevalli upon which the poster is based, inscribed and signed by him to T. W. Clarkson, 1894, and by a postcard version of the photograph.