Music Hall Rosetta - A Lady Outside Her Time

Rosetta, her son Jack and the Charlie Chaplin connection

2023-01-26T04:47:00.002-08:00

The Sellers and Chaplin families were neighbours for a while. Charlie Chaplin's parents were also theatre performers. We have a photo Rosetta sent to Jack. It shows the cast of a show with "Twice Nightly" written above it. It is from Rosetta to Jack. If we trace what happened with this show is explains how my Grandfather, at about seven years old, came to be on stage with an as-yet-unknown Charlie Chaplin.

Charlie Chaplin was first on the stage in a show called "The Mummngbirds" where he took over the role his brother Sydney originally played as a drunken swell. Billy Reeves designed the act in 1904 and originally called it "Twice Nightly," then it became "The Mummingbirds."

Billy Reeves claims he was the first person to play the drunken swell himself in his biography. Then Charlie Chaplin's brother, Sydney, played the part. When he passed it to Charlie, it helped jump-start his (Charlie's) career. It seems the show changed its name when Fred Karno took it to America.

Our family has always known that my Grandad Jack was on stage with an as-yet-unknown Charlie Chaplin in "The Mummingbirds."

This means Grandad Jack (John Alexander Rounsiful Sellers) was in a show with Charlie Chaplin called "A Night in an English Music Hall, which later became "The Mummmingbirds" at the Star Music Hall in Bermondsey when he was about seven years old. The only logical part for him to have played is the part of a schoolboy.

Grandad Jack never told me of his acting career, but my father did. He was a "bit actor," and a stand-in as a young man. On one occasion he got so into his role in a bar scene he knocked the other actor out cold.

Thinking about Mary, Rosetta's Mother

2021-05-21T02:25:00.002-07:00

I have been trying to find out about Rosetta's Mother. She was born Mary Turner, which is not an easy name to research as it is such a common one. The first mention of her I can find is Rosetta's birth in November 1879. There is also a record of her marriage to John Barsby in the same year and the dates clarify Rosetta was on the way before the marriage. They married at St Mary Northgate, Canterbury in September. Rosetta was born in November.

Who John Barsby was, and what he did, is lost in time. Was he a gentleman? Rosetta married one, and it is possible her ancestry helped her be accepted by John's family. Or was Rosetta the result of a love affair between two equals. Perhaps her father was an actor? It is impossible to tell. However, by the time Rosetta is 12, Mary and Rosetta are alone in Lambeth.

Perhaps Mary chose Lambeth because she knew there would be opportunities in London where Rosetta could develop her dancing career. My theory is the family was poor, but resourceful and ambitious, and Mary would have been keen to find help from the ballet master, Paul Valentine.

I think that Mary may have been a domestic servant, as later in life she married a porter called Frederick Pierce in 1899. My Grandfather lived with his grandmother and step-grandfather while Rosetta travelled the world, dancing. I think that Rosetta may have been the one to support them all.

Mary and Rosetta seem to have been close. Her diary tells us she cut short a trip with the Royal Illusionist Horace Goldin, to nurse her mother, as she saw this as her duty.

Rosetta's Childhood

2021-05-21T02:07:00.006-07:00

Rosetta's childhood

Rosetta was born in 1878 in Canterbury, England. Her surname was Barsby, and she was illegitimate. Records show that John Barsby married Mary Ann Turner in 1879 at St Mary at the Northgate Church. This may account for Rosetta claiming to have been born in 1879 at various points in her life.

A childhood performer

Little survives to tell us about Rosetta's early childhood. However, a photo shows Rosetta performing aged 12 at the 'Old Canterbury Music Hall in Lambeth. John Barsby probably died while Rosetta was an infant, as only Mary Barsby and Rosetta lived in Lambeth.

The Old Canterbury Music Hall

This was a place to sit and have a drink while performers wandered around rather than a place to go to watch someone perform.

Here is a link to the history of the Canterbury Music Hall.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canterbury_Music_Hall

A runaway

Aged 12, Rosetta ran away and joined Lord George Sanger's circus. She wanted to become a trapeze artist and got into trouble for practicing when no adults were present. We know they allowed her to ride an elephant in the circus parade. My mother told me that Lord George Sanger was sweet on her, so her association with the circus may have continued after she returned home.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_George_Sanger

A dancer

From the age of 12, the Victorian ballet master and choreographer, Paul Valentine trained Rosetta.

Valentine trained poor children and placed them in ballet troupes. The earnings from the performances would help the child's family.

Perhaps Rosetta went home to the promise of dancing lessons, but we will never know. Paul Valentine remained a friend and offered her the chance of running her own ballet school, but she says in her memoirs she regrets refusing this.

Why Rosetta was not a Suffragette

2015-02-13T06:36:00.007-08:00

Rosetta's life is interesting, as she makes her money in one of the few ways open to poor women left on their own during the 1800s. Very few jobs were available unless the woman took in laundry or went into domestic service. Rosetta doesn't mention the Suffragette movement in her diaries, and as far as I am aware, never mentioned it to my parents. Yet she took full advantage of her voting rights and was clearly ahead of her time in thinking.

The acting world, and especially the music halls made much fun of the suffragette movement and Rosetta may have found it strategic not to be openly involved. Unfortunately, we cannot ask her. Possibly the need to support her parents, herself, and her one surviving child took priority.

Rosetta's career on the stage saved her from a lifetime of poverty and drudgery after her husband left her. John Alexander Sellers was a gentleman of independent means when he married, but within a year, the family was living in Bird Street, listed by General Booth as the second poorest street in London, known for drinking and prostitution.

We don't know when John and Rosetta separated. The family rumour was he drank. Possibly the early loss of his brother, mother, and father, followed later by the loss of several children of his own, was too much to bear.

The Suffragette movement began in the late 19th Century. As she was born in 1879, Rosetta would have been well aware of its existence. However, her interests may have been more directly involved with the fortunes of those on the stage. Music halls were often used to make fun of suffragettes, so she may have kept her views to herself. Rosetta benefited from the actor's strike in 1907 when many actors, famous or not, took part in a strike for better conditions in the Music Halls. Her career seems to take off at this point.

Rosetta's Early Life

2013-11-20T01:05:00.002-08:00

Rosetta's Early Life

Rosetta's early years

Rosetta was born Rosetta Barsby in Canterbury, Kent in the United Kingdom in the year 1879. Her Mother Mary, nee Turner was married to a John Barsby in 1879. They had a church wedding at St Mary's Northgate in Canterbury.

Here is a picture of Rosetta as a toddler.

Music Halls in 1879

To understand Rosetta's life we need to know something of the Music Halls of the time.

The Canterbury Music Hall had been improved and was under the management of R.E Villiers. Ballets were performed there. Music halls were used for all kinds of acts, singing, dancing, magic. They were a popular form of entertainment.

In 1879 Music halls were in their hey day and there were over 78 in London alone and more in the provinces. Music halls were places that were gradually becoming respectable places to visit although those who worked in them were still not thought so by many people. They were, however one of the few places that a woman could earn money apart from domestic service and washing. If they had enough talent then poor children could earn something in the music halls.

Lillie Langtry was a popular Music Hall star.

Famous People Born in 1879

Here is a list of famous people born in 1879. It includes the writer E.M Forster, Albert Einstein, Leon Trotsky and many others.

The role of women in 1879

Although she never mentioned them, the Suffragette movement is also important in understanding Rosetta's story as the theatre also played a role in the emancipation of women. When she was born the movement was only just gaining ground. Women did not yet have the vote and society was dominated by rigid social rules.

What else was happening in 1879?

This was the year that the Zulu war against British Colonial rule broke out in South Africa. The first light bulb was demonstrated, milk sold in glass bottles for the first time, and the first Woolworth's opened.

In the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria was on the throne and Benjamin Disraeli was Prime Minister. Blackwell's bookshop opened in Oxford and the first women undergraduates were admitted to Summerville College and Lady Margaret Hall at Oxford University. The weather was terrible. It was the coldest and wettest summer on record. (Records began in 1796.) A terrible fog enveloped London between November and March and the Pirates of Penzance was performed for the first time by Gilbert and Sullivan in New York. It reached Britain in 1980. The Blackpool illuminations were switched on for the first time and the Tay Bridge collapsed killing 78 people.

Who was Rosetta, and why does she have a blog about her?

2013-11-19T23:09:00.003-08:00

Who was Rosetta, and why does she have a blog about her?

A woman outside of her time

Rosetta Sellers, later Holmes, was my Great Grandmother. She was born in 1878 and died in 1963. Her life was a colourful one as she was a dancer and worked in the music halls and also for the Magician, Horace Goldin. Her career took her all over the world and she left an autograph book, a photo album, and a kind of diary that tell of her travels. This blog is my attempt to put her story together.

Rosetta grew up to be a beautiful woman. Here is a picture of her.

Rosetta often played male parts

2013-11-14T23:26:00.004-08:00

As a tall lady, Rosetta would often dance the male part in the ballet. This was not unusual.

About this Blog

2013-06-12T01:30:00.057-07:00

Rosetta Holmes (Stage name and name of her first husband, Rosetta Sellers) nee Barsby b.November 1878 d. 1963

Rosetta is an interesting character; a dancer and a single parent earning her money when few jobs were open to women. When at Brinsworth, the Royal Variety retirement home for those who have in some way been on the stage she wrote of her experiences. She also left the family many photographs.

Rosetta's life is an interesting journey into the world of music halls, actresses, and dancers in the late Edwardian and Victorian eras.

Interlude -Ships Rosetta Sailed In/Hotels/Pubs/Theatres

2012-12-29T07:44:00.004-08:00

This is not exhaustive. I will add to this post as I find anything more out.

S.S Momus -sailed between New York City and New Orleans. Rosetta sailed on it in 1914 but here is is in 1926. It was a steamship.

S.S Momus

The St Paul -New Orleans -I would think this would have been a paddle steamer. If anyone finds a picture, then let me know!

S.S Caledonia- I think ship number 4 on this link is the right one

S.S Caledonia

It was torpedoed and sunk in 1916. Rosetta was on it in 1915, I think.

S.S Caledonia

S.S Rushgar? Rashgar -Ceylon-No record of this one apart from Rosetta's picture |(so far)

R.M.S Edinburgh Castle
Here she is!

R.M.S Edinburgh Castle

As an armed merchant cruiser in 1916 maybe she is the one to suggest Rosetta was entertaining the troops?

S.S Khiwa
I have put this link up before but we might as well have it here as well given it is the only one we can find any proof of Rosetta actually being on board on....

S.S Khiwa

Hotels
Savoy Hotel Shanghai
Hotel Bristol Colombia

Theatres
Imperial Theatre Tokio

Pubs
Cricketers Inn Weybridge

Rosetta speaks out in Rangoon

2012-11-06T11:03:00.000-08:00

Rangoon

What a restful trip, it came to an end too suddenly. When we arrived the heat was intense, and no one knew where we were going to live, I remember a few high words arose as to the treatment of the members of the Company which numbered 35. Eventually we were sent to the Bristol Hotel Very nice people and we were goven an ? rose? bedroomSo we had much to be thankful for, In the Evening we donned our Evening Clothes and dined at Minta Mansions. The following day we were driven round to see the wonderful Temples how I should love to see them again! The Burmese women are very nice and so very spic and span, and wear such nice clothes, they love jewelry.
We then went to the Big Pagoda, and afterwards on the Lake it was an ideal day, as we had no worries of Theatre, Because we had 1 weeks vacation. We have quite a lot of Burmese Snap Shots.
For the moment I cannot recall where we went to after.but I think it was Siam, if so I will write our experiences there as much as I can remember as I go along as all this happened 3 years ago, but it may be interesting for Someone to read later on.
Farewell Rangoon, The City of Temples and Paddy Fields.

Rosetta is Cross in Calcutta

2012-11-06T10:49:00.002-08:00

Calcutta

Rosetta did not date her entry for Calcutta, but it must have been 1914 or 15. Rosetta and her co dancers appear to have had a lot of trouble with hotels.

We arrived very early in the morning, and were told we were to stay at the Hotel belonging to M. E. Bandman. Of whose Circuit we were playing.

We drove there, and found the rooms still occupied. We were obliged to sit around until the other Pros left which was not until the Evening, we were fearfully tired and dirty from the journey, and were badly wanting a real English Cup of Tea. There was only one thing to do content ourselves. It is too hot to walk in an Indian Sun, although we were curious what Calcutta was like. We were compelled to Stay in.

At 4 O clock we went into our room which was a large one And stood on the corner of Nyte Street A Very noisy one indeed, as at the Back was a native market Still the room itself was heaps better than Bombay. Our boy there was 20 years of Age, he had 2 wifes,(sic) (and had adopted and English name, Willie” which was quite familiar to us. For the first few days he was Splendid, then as they mostly do he became lazy, so I being the Elder had to Scold him, he was away some considerate time, when he returned I asked where he had been, and he would not tell one, My friend inquired and he said he had been to the Temple to Pray from me, because I had been so cross with him.

He was a very excellent Boy and our regret was we could not travel him, Afterwards he was Servant to Warwick Mayor, We met him again in Madras.

Our Farewell with Willie was most pathetic, he pointed to the Camera and begged to have a snap taken with the luggage, which he did, but unfortunately it was a busy moment ad the Sun got in tothe Camera, so that it was not very good. We then hurried down the gangway and on to the Boat which took us to Rangoon, As we sailed away we saw the Red Road which mostly anyone delights in during the evening around the Band Stand. Then everything was slowly blotted out and we travelled towards Calcutta.

The red road in Calcutta

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?hl=en&client=ubuntu&hs=Z99&sa=X&channel=fs&gl=uk&biw=1193&bih=622&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=tbNlQDdNIdbHaM:&imgrefurl=http://article.wn.com/view/2012/06/20/Sukma_collector_Alex_P_Menons_abduction_hits_Centres_road_de/&docid=8jppKdY965untM&itg=1&imgurl=http://i.ytimg.com/vi/6uFG79K836o/0.jpg&w=480&h=360&ei=QFuZUJTnKcy1hAeUwoDoAw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=752&vpy=300&dur=3323&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=122&ty=104&sig=114707649811880373844&page=1&tbnh=132&tbnw=185&start=0&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:0,i:96
Adieu Calcutta

So what did Rosetta do on stage in Bombay and what did her family do while she was away?

2012-11-06T10:15:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about what Rosetta would have done in Bombay and using the evidence from her memoirs to work it out. We know she was with the Horace Goldin Theatre company. He was a magician and became the Royal Illusionist.

Rosetta did have a bit of a shady past where magic was concerned. My Father tells me that she and my Grandfather Jack had a mind reading act in the music halls in Shepherd's Bush. He is also sure Rosetta told him it was all done with signs and mirrors. I cannot help thinking that Rosetta had hopes of getting Jack onto the stage and he did appear in the Mumming Birds with the as yet, unknown Charlie Chaplin. By 1914 however he was used to being left behind with his Grandmother Mary and Step-Father Frederick while Rosetta travelled as a dancer.

The 1914-18 war mostly happened in the trenches, and at some point during the war my Grandfather joined up -possibly like many, lying about his age. He never really talked about this except one time when we watched a film together showing men in the trenches. He said : 'It wasn't like that at all. It was worse.' I think it was the only time I ever saw him angry. He never talked about the stage and was, when I was a child, a very quiet man who often helped with the housework. This is a contrast to his younger self, apparently as my Grandmother and Father say he was quite lively then. I think he may have suffered shell shock.

Rosetta rarely mentions family, apart from her Mother in her memoirs. Perhaps having lost two or three other children she distanced herself a bit, and she had an unhappy marriage as well. It is also something to realise that if she had not lied about her age, she was actually 35 in 1914 and these days that might be thought rather old for a dancer.

Rosetta tells us in her memoir that the theatre had a courtyard. We have some photographic evidence that it may have been the Empire Theatre.
Here is a picture of the 'Empire.'

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?hl=en&client=ubuntu&hs=hX9&sa=X&channel=fs&gl=uk&biw=1193&bih=622&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=pUxPSxGnMI3KLM:&imgrefurl=http://bombaythatwas.blogspot.com/2012/06/enpire-theatre-bombay.html&docid=s0n8cEW0wJ3LEM&imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4gQkBk1F_kvE3FpuwErmG-kO7xj7UXGUtxm_KfrRKKGkWbjS06kXTusyQz0sZ5icWl0lK_AzR9xWtYwuS9rFOXGIp3PYXMHOn0rY6wy2aO2Rc1Jie5edwTVKO_zDCk9B7SdcvHdCgTHqw/s1600/empiretheatre.jpg&w=1600&h=1038&ei=FFKZUNafIsK7hAfM5YCgAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=132&vpy=290&dur=6391&hovh=181&hovw=279&tx=113&ty=116&sig=114707649811880373844&page=1&tbnh=137&tbnw=222&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0,i:87

Bandman did name some of his theatres in the Far East 'Empire.'It gets a little easier as Rosetta moves on to write about Calcutta.

Rosetta's diary - Bombay, Watson's hotel and Lysol and an scary experience.

2012-11-06T03:03:00.001-08:00

I realise I have already posted the first page of Rosetta's diary or memoirs-it is actually hard to know what they were as she seemed to write them over the course of her carreer, and then finished them at Brinsworth Nursing Home. They are really quite brief and some of the notebook is missing, but it is possible to see something of the places she visited and the experiences she had and get a sense of what it was like to be a travelling actress or dancer. I will post the first entry in its entireity, but concentrate on the hotel and means of travel today.

In the Far East

Bombay

M.E.B Bandman Circuit 1914-16

Maurice Bandman was an American, an actor, and the owner of a theatre company that mainly operated in the Middle East. I think he must have employed the actors who accompanied Horace Goldin. I do know who Rosetta travelled with: They were probably:

Alice Aldwel-wardrobe mistress
Gilbert Brown-secretary
Nellie brown-artiste
Jaques Bruske-architect
Adelin Burgon -theatrical
Henri Fredlity- artiste
James Hawkes-theatrical
Amina Labos-theatrical
Daisy Labas-theatrical
Bertha LLoyd - theatrical
Hettie Preston-artiste
Orienti Ottilio-theatrician
ROSETTA SELLERS-DANCER
Violet Stuart-theatrical
Irene vanderbilt -theatrical
By 1920 Irene was doing quite well http://www.ebay.com/itm/1920-Ad-Garrick-Theatre-Irene-Vanderbilt-Montgomery-ORIGINAL-ADVERTISING-/300801776025?forcev4exp=true&forceRpt=true
Lily Vansbury- theatrical

That is, if the cast list survived from New York and it shows that the other two members of Rosetta's own dance troupe, the 3 Clios, Ethel____and Augusta Demonte were not with her at this time.

We were at the door of India,the sights and sounds of the shore muffled in the haze that expects the sun.
Grey water below; Grey Shadowy Ships behind and to the port, and behind those, Grey banks of buildings. Then the Sun! The sky grew crimson and every rope and spar of the great P&O boat stood out, a black silhouette against the dawn. The grey phantom-like ships around us changed into torpedo boats, heavy troopers and slim cruisers, and then the Sun shone out, Amber and Gold.

Rosetta arrives in India at the start of the 1914-18 war. She is a dancer with the Horace Goldin Theatre company who began their tour in New York. One can imagine quite a daunting scene with all the ships of war as well as the liners. Here is a little about the port itself together with a picture http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai_Port_Trust
Here is the kind of boat Rosetta might have travelled in, and the kind of postcard of it she would have bought. http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/PO_Liners1.html#anchor217995

Bombay! One moment we were shining at a vista of white shining palaces then suddenly we came to a narrow strip of dirty steps. One moment we were gazing at the white robed Eutopeans, the next of natives attired in flaming Scarlet or blazing yellow and green with strings of Pearls Embroidered Muslin. A city of strange contrasts.
We were driven to the Watsons Hotel in a Garry, everything seemed so different to the Home we had left.

Here is what I think may be a 'Garry' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hanging_Gardens_Malabar_Hill.jpg
and Watson's hotel still exists and was, despite Rosetta's description, the place to be! The Hotel still exists although it seems to have shut down. Here is a good picture of it.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1076621
and here is how it would have looked to Rosetta in 1914.
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?hl=en&client=ubuntu&hs=wih&sa=X&channel=fs&gl=uk&biw=1193&bih=622&tbm=isch&prmd

It is a bit shocking these days to realise it was entirely reserved for white people and that Rosetta would just have gone along with the conventions of the day.

We were shown to our bedroom which was rather small, and did not look quite as nice as we should have liked, Still it was up to us to make it our home for the time being. We had engaged a boy to attend to our wants, so we swiftly got him cleaning up with Lysol, I think he thought we were mad. Next we discovered there were no Sheets or Pillows and these we were compelled to buy, which afterwards we found very useful for train journeys.

Rosetta did not feel that the theatre company treated them very well as regards accomodation, and from this it looks as if they were given a fairly cheap room. The fact that she does not like the room shows that however poor her family background was, they also had a standard of living and cleanliness. It is also wartime, so maybe the hotel was quite full for other reasons. The practice of employing a boy as a servant was usual at this time.
Lysol is a kind of disinfectant. It had many uses, including being used as a women's douche.
http://www.cracked.com/article_19644_the-5-most-insane-original-uses-famous-products.html
I can imagine that Rosetta and her companions carried a good supply for all sorts of reasons.

We rested then went to the Theatre, which we found built in a kind of courtyard, we were given a very nice dressing room, And an Ayah assisted us to dress each Evening.

The question is, what Theatre? It has of course, to be where Horace Goldin performed, and I suspect although Rosetta wrote 1914 most of this trip took place in 1915. Perhaps someone can fill me in? (I will talk about the actual performances and Horace Goldin in a later blog. J

Her costume was very elaborate, and her collection of bangles were very unique. I remember the day we left how very upset she was, but we consoled her with the promise that we were returning on the way back ,

We drove round the noted Malabar time out of number after the Theatre as this seemed the nicest part of the day. Passing the Towers of Silence where the Voltures delight to sit. Before leaving we obtained permission to the Grounds of the Burning Ghotts which is the Native Burial Ground, I shall never forget the horror that possessed us . when we saw the Body placed on the Iron Girdles then Logs piled on high and below, tthen lighted, and slowly it burned. Meanwhile the relatives were Singing their Songs, and banging a sort of Tambourine, this idea being to send the soul away to Happiness. We took snaps of this Ghott, but even now I shudder when I see them.

I find this bit of Rosetta's memoir chilling. I would not have wanted to visit, but when travelling I guess you do want to see everything. Here, however is a picture of the some of the route they may have travelled round the hill.

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.imagesofasia.com/html/india/images/large/malabar-hill.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.imagesofasia.com/html/india/malabar-hill.html&h=343&w=550&sz=55&tbnid=uV1C7h1SuOpfCM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=143&zoom=1&usg=__fUuqs27GmjbTpdaC_GzecUF1l4I=&docid=y3DFMzbJEoErCM&sa=X&ei=bO2YUJ_ZNM61hAf9m4HgCg&ved=0CEkQ9QEwDA&dur=7569

(My family does have photos of this rather chilling visit. I am not keen on looking at them either but suppose that others must find our own funerals as disturbing.) What I like about Rosetta's comment is it shows her to have been quite a sensitive person.

Rosetta ends the entry with:

Au Revoir Bombay.

Rosetta's Early Dancing Career

2012-11-05T02:19:00.002-08:00

Rosetta's first performance

Rosetta's earliest known performance

At the age of 12 Rosetta performed in the Canterbury Music Hall. Somehow the family had moved from Canterbury to Lambeth in London. I know from talks with my family that Rosetta also ran away to the circus around this time so perhaps her Mother decided she should train as a dancer to keep her at home!

A photograph exists of this event but I cannot, as yet, find it.

Paul Valentine

Paul Valentine. He was well known in his own right. His school was in Chandos Street in Charing Cross and he appears to have taught many different types of dance. Rosetta was taught by him from the age of 12 to the age of 21. Later, Paul Valentine moved his school from Charing Cross to Covent Garden, so it was a very successful venture. Paul Valentine seems to have been French. He taught many who became well known in their day, not all of whom were all that respectable. Lili St Cyr, a stripper, was one of them and I think that Marie LLoyd may well have been another as she is reputed to have bought ballet shoes for an entire ballet school that she attended in the East End.

In fact, the school was so successful that a letter of complaint was written to 'The Era' in 1874 complaining about children taking time off school in the Pantomime Season. The way the letter is replied to, by Paul Valentine himself, gives an indication that the habits of poorer children were improved by attending his school. It is likely that Rosetta's family were not that well off as those who were well to do attended a different school, The letter also indicates that children from the poorer classes were able to earn something for their efforts.

Paul Valentine was a dancer of repute and famous dancers trained with him. These include Lucie Saranova. a well known Austrian ballet dancer.

Although he taught ballet, Paul Valentine also taught other forms of dancing, English, Irish and American, Burlesque and Jig. Here is a link to some adverts that show his versatility. Paul Valentine Dance School. and it also includes a reference to the letter about children missing school for performances.

Rosetta's relationship with Paul Valentine

In her memoirs Rosetta mentions that she was taught by Paul Valentine from the age of twelve to the age of twenty one. She states that she regrets not taking up the offer of a dancing school. Rosetta performed in numerous ballets and probably the earlier ones were as part of performances put on by Paul Valentine.

Here is the extract from Rosetta's memoirs

New York City 1914

Sky Scrapers tremendous Buildings A city of Blazing Sights on the other page an interview from a Reporter here they use such strange words. I am not throwing Bouquets at myself but my dancing was much appreciated, and I am grateful to my dancing master long since Dead.(Paul Valentine) who trained me from the age of 12 until I was 21 years of age and even then I was not finished learning.

My regret was and still is that I did not take up the offer of a Dancing School to my Sorrow Still we miss often the good things of Life what cannot be undone.

In fact, Rosetta danced until late in her life. She even gave some Royal Command performances, but more of that later.

Rosetta and the Mosquitos

2012-11-03T06:37:00.002-07:00

Everyone wants a little fame and to be in the paper just once. I can imagine Rosetta being rather amused, but also maybe a little disappointed that this article appeared about her. I am sure she would have preferred reports of her dancing rather than of how she was being bitten to death by mosquitoes!

The picture is very faint, but the article says that Rosetta, who is being handsomly paid for her dancing is in New York and complaining bitterly of being bitten by mosquitoes. The newspaper men rescue her by getting her some anti-mosquito cream. We have lost another newspaper article where she complains bitterly that it is 'raining in New York.'

Rosetta and the Mosquitos

2012-11-03T06:37:00.000-07:00

What to write next about Rosetta?

2012-11-02T02:21:00.000-07:00

I have been wondering how to present my book about Rosetta. I have a lot of fact, but maybe it would be better as fiction.

A lot of my recent research has been about who Rosetta's parents were and what they did. I know they married and had Rosetta in Canterbury, but I cannot find out what they did there or how they went to London.

I do have a theory. Well, several.

It is quite possible that Rosetta's parents were in show-business themselves. They may simply have ended up in Canterbury because that was where they worked. However, Mary Turner, Rosetta's Mother was born in Mersham in Kent. That means that she would have perhaps met John somewhere and he could have been the performer.

Or maybe not. I did consider whether John Barsby was a gentleman as Rosetta seems to have been concieved out of wedlock, even though the marriage took place before she was born. However, I doubt a gentleman would have married Mary if she was a simple village girl.

My best guess is that they were simple country folk who at some time in Rosetta's young life decided to go to London and try their fortunes there. I would imagine that John did not live all that long, although I can find no evidence of his death, and that Mary was alone for a while.

Dancing in the music halls and other music hall performances were a way young women could avoid going into service and maybe this is why Mary was keen for Rosetta to dance.

I am not gong to reveal all so something is kept back for the book, but my researches have shown me that Valentine owned a very successful dance school which also catered for the poorer classes. I would imagine that Rosetta qualified.

As she got older, and lost her husband, Rosetta also gained a stepfather, Frederick Price. He was a kitchen porter so the family were not rich and given the way social classes kept to themselves, it is unlikely Mary was from, or married for the first time, into a good family. Both Rosetta and her son John were actually conceived out of wedlock, but their mothers married the Father.

Rosetta worked to support herself and her only surviving son, John Sellers who lived with Mary and Frederick. The stage was probably the best place for her to earn money and she appears to have begun her career at a time when conditions for actors and actresses improved.

My guess is that her contact with Valentine gave her introductions to good people in the theatre world and that while she grew neither rich or famous, she was good enough to be wanted and get reasonably well paying parts. Meeting John Sellers and marrying him was probably seen as a good thing for Rosetta, although John proved to be an unsatisfactory husband, because he had money and she probably did not. Family lore has it that he was a 'stage door Johnny.' That he is listed on my Grandfather's birth certificate as a 'gentleman of independent means,' and on the birth certificate of subsequent children as a traveller in wines and spirits and then a reporter means that the money soon grew scarce, especially as the family ended up in Bird Street, listed as Booth's second poorest street in London.

I think the story is romantic in a way. Two poor people make their way to London and find their daughter has talent and they can get her trained as a dancer. Their daughter, Rosetta earns money in the music halls and gets a limited reputation but then falls pregnant by a gentleman from a prominent family from Exeter who has lost both his mother and father in childhood but inherited the family money, They start off well but most likely use up their money quickly with a fast living lifestyle, lost several children and John and Rosetta part leaving her to bring up their only son.

To earn money, Rosetta and John junior begin to do a show in the music halls. (My Father says she has a mind reading act, and John gets a part in the same show as the then unknown Charlie Chaplin -(who lived in the same street for a while.) Rosetta finally gets parts to dance in shows and ends up travelling the world to support the family.

On her travels, Rosetta meets a Russsian prince who falls in love with her (this is what she said and my father says she said,) and he dies and leaves her all his money. With the money she and two others, Ethel and Gus start a dance troupe -The Three Clios.

Somehow Rosetta gets a position as a dancer with the magician Horace Goldin and goes on tourwith him taking several of the 914-18 war years and meaning she is able to perform on Broadway and before the Maharishi in India among other things.

She finally returns to nurse her sick Mother but continues to dance and finally, too old to be employed as a dancer becomes a wardrobe mistress to various companies and eventually ends up at Brinsworth, the home for retired Variety Artists where she appears in a film for the very first time.

I must admit, that is some life and the more I think about it better as fiction, even if most of it is fact. I could begin with where she runs away to the circus and has a supposed affair (family lore not proven) with Lord George Sanger.

Here are the facts I know.

Rosetta was born in Canterbury Kent in 1879. On November 11th.
Her parents, Mary Turner-born 1861 and John Turner- born----married in Canterbury in June 1879. By 1899 Mary was free to marry again. John Barsby probably died before Rosetta was 20.

Mary Barsby nee Turner married Frederick Price in Lambeth in December 1899
so Rosetta was only 20 at the time and she married John Sellers in 1897. Her Mother, Mary therefore married only two years after her own marriage at the age of 18. Rosseta and John Sellers were married in Lambeth, but after my Grandfather's birth in September 1897.

While married to Frederick Price, Mary and Rosetta and John all lived with Frederick Price at 82 Edgely Gardens in Clapham. I am still trying to determine what that area would have been like, but Rosetta's income was a likely welcome addition.

A little from Rosetta's memoirs

2012-09-06T05:17:00.000-07:00

Here is an Extract from Rosetta's meoirs. She was travelling as part of the cast for Horace Goldin's tour. Horace Goldin was the Royal Illusionist. Rosetta is listed on the ship's passage from Southampton as a dancer. I will post more about her travels later, but I thought this might be an interesting 'appetiser.'

Bombay

M.E.B Bandman Circuit 1914-16

We were at the door of India,the sights and sounds of the shore muffled in the haze that expects the sun.

Grey water below; Grey Shadowy Ships behind and to the port, and behind those, Grey banks of buildings. Then the Sun! The sky grew crimson and every rope and spar of the great P&O boat stood out, a black silhouette against the dawn. The grey phantom-like ships around us changed into torpedo boats, heavy troopers and slim cruisers, and then the Sun shone out, Amber and Gold.

Bombay! One moment we were shining at a vista of white shining palaces then suddenly we came to a narrow strip of dirty steps. One moment we were gazing at the white robed Eutopeans, the nextof natives attired in flaming Scarlet or blazing yellow and green with strings of Pearls Embroidered Muslin. A city of strange contrasts.

Pictures of Rosetta

2012-08-28T08:25:00.001-07:00

Now that I have them here are some pictures of Rosetta and her family. They are not great quality, but interesting. Firstly here she is at about a year old. Above are mostly Rosetta, but the boy is John Alexander Rounsiful Sellers, my grandfather, and the older lady is Rosetta's Mother, Mary Ann Pierce.

I haven't forgotten Rosetta!

2012-08-25T01:49:00.002-07:00

I have had a holiday. I have published a book. Rosetta had to take a back seat for a while and as I am currently away, then I am going just to do what I can. Oh I had better tell you what the book is. It is my poetry book, Firedance. Here are the links for that before we get back to Rosetta.

You can buy the book at lulu.com in hardback:

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/jackalyn

You will be able to see a bit of it in preview.

You can also buy an online version from smashwords.com

www.smashwords.com

Just type in Firedance and Jacky Hughes to purchase a download-or hopefully as soon as it is approved you can get the kindle and other ebook versions.

I guess that I share something with Rosetta, you see she too was a writer. We have her diary, and I love her description of sailing into Bombay. However I am not going to share her diary today. I am keeping that so that hopefully you will return to this blog.

So, what shall I say of Rosetta today. I am going to flip forward in time to the very end of her life.

Rosetta ended her life in Brinsworth House. The home in Streatham, UK for retired artistes. The one supported by the Royal Variety show and I can remember going there. I was so scared ot the old lady with whiskers. But I do remember my sister performing summersaults on someoene's zimmer frame and there was a lot of competition among residents as to who had done what and who had done it best/highest/most spectacular and so on.

Here is a link to Brinsworth House

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brinsworth_House

and a video with a bit of history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohsTFTbvT50&feature=player_detailpage

I guess 'way back in 1911 Rosetta would have been interested to sign up to ensure she would be ok at the end of her days.

Rosetta and my Grandfather and Charlie Chaplin

2012-08-05T02:09:00.000-07:00

I will return to the people Rosetta knew in 1908 tomorrow. It is the weekend and I am busy with church, so I will just share some snippets that are interesting about Rosetta and my family.

Rosetta and John's eldest son, John Alexander Rounsiful Sellers was, as I have told you, the only child of theirs to survive. Apparently John and my Grandfather had a mind reading act together in the music halls. Apparently it was all done by signs.

John was on the stage as a young boy- with the as yet unknown Charlie Chaplin. Unfortunately we don't know what act they were both in. We do know they were neighbours. Maybe both of them went to the same dance school? My grandfather never mentioned this but of course I was younger at the time.

This biography says that Charlie Chaplin worked with a children's dance troupe - so perhaps they were in it together?

http://www.biography.com/people/charlie-chaplin-9244327

I guess Rosetta would have known his mother Lily Varley and maybe they were rivals.

Rosetta also, according to my Father, nursed budgerigars who had been injured in magic acts.

More 1909 autographs

2012-08-03T04:39:00.000-07:00

I can find nothing about her, but in 1909 Georgia J. Starry writes this in my Great Grandmother's autograph book.

In your life may the sunshine of happiness chase all the clouds of despair. With true love and good wishes,
Georgia J Starrey

St Petersburg, Russia

Nov 24th 1909.

There is also an autograph that I cannot transcripe in a Russian script written in the same year. When I can, I will scan it in and maybe someone else could translate.

An Eddie Walker played Dick Wittington in 1910 and 11 and at some point wrote:

'May you these wishes posess,
Health, Wealth and Happiness,'

Whilethe most interesting autographs of all are written in 1911.

Some more of Rosetta's autograph book part 1

2012-08-03T04:14:00.000-07:00

Very little seems to survive about the actors/actresses/performers who wrote in Rosetta's autograph book, but it is interesting to see what they wrote. Where I can I will also write a bit about the person.

In 1908 an E Hopley simply wrote:

"That's all."
"Zebra"
of
Asa Zebra and Vorg

The autograph is headed 'Kopenhagen' 27.9.1908 so we can safely assume this is one of the places Rosetta went on her travels. I cannot find any references, but would guess this was either a circus or music hall act.

Anyway, in 1908 we now know Rosetta went both to Vienna and Copenhagen.

In 1909 we have another autograph from Russia.

'St Petersburg Russia
Nov 24th 1909

To dear Rosa,

May your life be as an arithmetic,
Joys added-
Sorrows subtracted,
and
Pleasures multiplied

Yours with love,

Winnie Browne

"The naughty Pig"

But who was Winnie Browne?

Winnie Browne does appear in the Stage Yearbook for 1909. In December she was in a Musical Comedy in two acts called 'The Purple Emperor.' playing a character called 'Miss Daisy Bedford.' The play was by Tristram Crutchley. One could infer that she was a comedy actress although probably most of those in the acting profession, apart from the very famous just took whatever work they could. If I find more about her I will write more.

Rosetta's Dance Troupe - The 3 Clios

2012-08-02T05:19:00.004-07:00

Rosetta is the one in the middle, and again she has a male part. We don't know exactly when the 'Trio Des Clios' began. However, as I already told you, the family version of events is that she was able to either start or join with her friends in creating this group because a Russian Prince fell in love with her, died, and left her money.

The other girls in the troupe were called Ethel and Gussie or Gusse. Ethel appears to have died young but there is an obituary I once found somewhere for Gussie. This implies that the 3 Clios were equals as it says that she had her own act for many years and also tells us that like my Great Grandmother, Gusse was part of Horace Goldin's (The Royal Illusionist.) entourage for many years. Apparently she was Gusse was known as Gusse Demonte in theatrical circles. The obituary is written from the Royal Theatre in Dublin so I would guess Gusse's daughter also followed her onto the stage.

Just for interest here is some information about the Theatre Royal in Dublin. Perhaps the Trio once performed there. http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/Dublin/TheatreRoyalDublin/TheatreRoyalDublin.htm

What Rosetta looked like

2012-08-02T05:04:00.002-07:00

It is time to show you a photo. As time goes on I will add a few more. The photos will be a bit blurry, but they do give you an idea.

Rosetta often took the male lead when she was on the stage. She was actually quite tall and it was quite common for taller females to do this. Male and female impersonators were known in every part of theatrical arts in the late 1800's,

Go to the next blog for a picture of Rosetta in the 3 Clios, her dance troupe.