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Men of Iron, Men of Wax
ADDENDUM: New information has come to light since I wrote MEN OF IRON,
MEN OF WAX.
by Sharon Hollingsworth
It is no wonder that one of the most popular entertainments of the late
nineteenth century happened to be waxworks exhibitions. It was an era
with no television or moving pictures and one where newspapers were only
capable of using woodcut illustrations. There was an insatiable
curiosity, desire and demand by the public to see what celebrities and
outlaws looked like in those days (as now). To that end there were a few
photographic postcards in circulation and there were magic lantern shows
that projected photos and illustrations of popular and current events on
to a screen. One of the more popular magic lantern and postcard subjects
was the Kelly Gang.
Above image of the Sydney Waxworks courtesy Brian McDonald.
However, it was the waxworks which captured the imagination of the
public as they could possibly see life-sized figures "representing
scores of living and deceased notabilities, comprising, amongst others,
murderers, explorers, bushrangers, philanthropists, statesmen,
littdrateurs [litterateurs], regal personages, religious impostors,
freaks of human nature, heroes of the battle-field, and Scriptural
groups."
Of course, the Kelly Gang were well represented amongst the various
exhibitions established in and touring around Australia and New Zealand.
Wax figures were not made entirely of wax, though. Many times the torso
would be either of wood or metal (covered by the clothing), with the
head and limbs being made of wax (though there were some that were fully
wax).
Frequently the faces were taken from death (or life) masks, but in the
case of Joe Byrne, casts were made of his head, arms and legs. These
were taken by one of the major proponents of wax modelling in Australia,
Maximillian Kreitmayer, who was also responsible for taking Ned Kelly's
death mask after his hanging in Melbourne on November 11, 1880.
Kreitmayer, upon hearing of the siege at Glenrowan, started his staff
working to set up a new exhibit featuring the siege, while he headed to
the scene to take castings and gather what he could. In the Benalla
gaol, he allegedly worked for many hours taking castings from Joe
Byrne's lifeless body.
The exhibit was set to open at his waxworks in Bourke Street, which also
featured 300 other figures, some of which one needed to purchase the
exhibition catalogue to identify. The Herald of July 2, 1880 and the
Ovens-Murray Advertiser of July 3 both make mention of the addition of
Joe's "effigy" being added to Kreitmayer's exhibition saying that it
"will no doubt prove a great attraction." There was also a July 8th
article saying that M. --- of the Argus had gotten Ned Kelly's boots and
he had lent them to the proprietor of the waxworks. A November 1880
article said that at Kreitmayer's Melbourne Waxworks Exhibition there
was an exhibit featuring "figures of the Kelly gang, and a scene vividly
descriptive of the murder of Sergeant Kennedy, and others, by them."
Above image June 5 1879 courtesy Greg Young.
In a 1912 catalogue for Kreitmayer's Waxworks, the Kelly Gang is listed
under the heading of The Chamber of Horrors. It lists Ned Kelly's name
and erroneously states he was executed on November 12,
1880. The others are listed as Dan Kelly, Stephen Hart, and Byrne. Below
their names it says "Killed at Glenrowan, June 28, 1880. The notorious
bushrangers of the Puzzle Ranges, in the Ovens District." According to
many reports, the most popular exhibits in all the waxworks were the
criminals in the Chamber of Horrors.
There were no shortage of outlaws or criminals exhibited and no shortage
of exhibitions, either.
In Sydney, Desiderio Cristofani had a very popular waxworks. There is
anecdotal evidence that Cristofani was in Melbourne at the time of Ned
Kelly's hanging and that he assisted Kreitmayer with the death mask or
perhaps took one himself and Kreitmayer may have copied his. There is
more on this line of thinking for those who wish to search it out. In
January of 1881, Messrs. Cristofani and Company arrived in New Zealand
aboard the Wakatipu, from Sydney, to mount a series of waxworks
exhibitions.
The list near the beginning of this article detailing all the different
"scores of living and deceased notabilities" featured, were from a
description of Cristofani's exhibition. (I am assuming that the Messrs.
Cristofani would be Desiderio and sons, or perhaps just his sons or
other relations?)
Newspapers described the exhibition this way: "The figures are
life-sized, appropriately costumed, and neatly arranged. Many of them
bear a striking resemblance to their originals. A special feature is
made of the "Kelly Gang" group, in which are represented the whole of
these renowned outlaws, the constables who fell victims to their
desperation, their sister Kate, and the leading participators in the
tragic and memorable event at Glenrowan."
The articles also stated how well attended the exhibition was.
Another extremely popular waxworks exhibition that toured around New
Zealand was Kohler's Waxworks. Mr. Kohler seemed to be a great showman,
from all reports, and he was something of a musical wonderment as he
played tunes on water glasses and he and his brother played a wide
variety of sometimes odd musical instruments to entertain patrons.
There were other attractions besides the wax figures, there were
demonstrations of the new invented phonograph ("Edison's famous talking
machine") and there was some sort an electric battery set up so people
could shock themselves!
Kohler's waxworks were given high praise stating that "The figures have
not the sickly appearance and smell that sometimes accompanies these
waxwork exhibitions and there is a naturalness about them that is rather
pleasing than otherwise." In the same article they speak of the Kelly
Gang figures being placed in "fighting attitude" and mention is made of
Ned Kelly's armour, which is on exhibit also, as weighing 97 lbs.
Another 1881 article stated that "a figure of the late Judge Barry is
particularly good."
Yet, another travelling waxworks exhibition was that of John Fuller and
Sons' Melbourne Waxworks and Vaudeville Company. As the name suggests,
there was something of everything to entertain the public. In 1899, Mr.
Fuller put on an exhibition at the Alahambra Theatre in New Zealand,
featuring 50 new waxworks, including "about two dozen notorious
criminals. Among the latter are the bushrangers of the Puzzle Ranges, in
the Ovens district, known as the Kelly gang." Then in 1914, there was an
article referring to the Fuller waxworks, in which it said: "The
resurrection of the old waxworks in the cellar of the present King's
Theatre in Dowling street recalls many interesting reminiscences, and
one might write columns of the early history of vaudeville in connection
with Fullers and the rapid rise of that firm without exhausting the
subject. But what I set out to say, after referring to the unearthing of
the waxworks, is that the remains of "Bismarck," "Lord Salisbury,"
"Gladstone," "Deeming," "Ned Kelly," "Chang," and the rest of the
celebrities, after lying in the vault for many years, were sold by
public auction on Friday."
Lastly, I would like to touch on the wax figures of the Kelly Gang
aboard the convict ship Success. They were in an exhibit called "The
Notorious Kelly Gang" which had wax dummies of the four gang members
(along with Kate Kelly) behind bars. There was also a wax dummy of
bushranger Harry Power who was connected to the Kelly gang saga. For
more on the convict hulk Success and her Kelly Gang connections see my
article of the same name at
http://www.nedonthenet.com/success.htm
The Success was once a convict hulk, but after its usefulness in that
capacity was done, it was refitted and filled with exhibits of
implements of torture and wax figures and turned into a floating convict
ship museum. Part of the refitting including wiring to hold 400 electric
lights. Also electric fans were added to ventilate the previously nearly
airless cells.
According to a 1922 edition of The Edison Monthly: "The lights not only
outline the ship as an advertising device but provide an adequate
illumination by which the lower holds can be studied. They reveal the
occupants of the cells, life-like figures in wax, which are said to be
remarkable
reproductions of the unfortunates who
spent so many years
of their lives in
the old vessel. Each cell has its
chained occupant; the
dispensary
shows a group of prisoners and the
ship surgeon; another
group shows a
condemned prisoner, the chaplain and
the guards; still
another reproduces
the murder of Captain Price, who commanded the ship;
while another shows
the members of the Kelly Gang.
Living prisoners are more hardy
than their wax reproductions. Some
prisoners survived thirty or more
years of short rations, foul air, constant darkness and the suffocating
heat of the Antipodes. But not the wax ones. They don't mind the rations
and they are not afraid of the
dark, but they insist on fresh air and
specify that it must be cool. So the
present owners have installed electric
fans for each group and all day long
through the warm weather they provide
a degree of ventilation which
proves a veritable life saver for the
wax prisoners."
Given the conditions that the actual prisoners aboard faced, I guess it
is good that the Exhibition Catalogue said that "The Kelly's were never
aboard. They are shown here as examples of modern Australian outlaws."
I wonder where are all of these old wax figures from exhibitions past
now? Sold off in auction to private owners like at the Fuller's
Waxworks? Or have they all melted like the wax they are in the
"suffocating heat of the Antipodes"?
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ADDENDUM: New information has come to light since I wrote MEN OF IRON,
MEN OF WAX, so I will include it here.
Dr. Brian Stevenson wrote in to this site to remind me of an episode
in Ian Jones's "The Fatal Friendship" in which a young girl who was a
niece of Aaron Sherritt's (being the daughter of Hugh Sherritt..Hugh
was the baby that Ned Kelly held when on a visit to the Sherritt hut)
and who had never heard of Aaron until a schoolfriend went to
Melbourne and came back and told her "I saw your uncle in the
wax-works."
Another interesting bit comes from The Argus Weekend Magazine, March
17, 1945 in an article called "Kreitmayer's Waxworks" in which it said
this:
"Kreitmayer made his most popular hit when he himself modelled the
Kelly Gang. "The Kelly Gang at Glenrowan" was the star turn at the
Waxworks and the main attraction of hero worshipping patrons for
nearly 40 years. But the immortal Ned, rifle in hand, lost some of his
glamour on those hot summer days of the '80's and '90's when the heat
softened the wax and Ned's noble head sagged slowly down on to his
manly shoulders.
Souvenir hunters, larrikins, or "dead beats" several times stole the
boots off Ned Kelly's figure. On one occasion they stole not only the
boots, but the shirt, vest and coat. This stopped only when the
management nailed Kelly's boots to the floor."
In the article I also stated that there was anecdotal evidence
indicating that Cristofani helped with the death mask of Ned
Kelly..well, this bit from an article in "The Maitland Mercury and
Hunter" dated December 10, 1881 helps to substantiate this..
It spoke of Cristofani and Co's waxwork's exhibition in West Maitland
and told of the several Kelly displays including this:
"An object of much interest will be a cast of Ned Kelly's head and
face, taken after the outlaw was executed, and evidently a true copy
of every lineament."
(The above two articles quoted from are courtesy of The National
Library of Australia's Australian Newspaper Digitisation Program.)
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Sources:
Ned Kelly's Last Days: Setting the Record Straight on the Death of an
Outlaw by Alex C. Castles, (2005).
The History of the Convict Ship "Success" And Dramatic Story of Some of
the "Success" Prisoners, (1929).
The Edison Monthly by The New York Edison Company, (1922).
The Herald, July 2, 1880
The Ovens Murray Advertiser, July 3, 1880
The Rochester Express, July 8, 1880
The State Library of Victoria website
The following news articles are courtesy of The National Library of New
Zealand-
West Coast Times, November 23, 1880
Evening Post, January 28, 1881
Evening Post, April 9, 1881
Tuapeka Times, October 1, 1881
North Otago Times, October 19, 1881
Otago Witness, September 7, 1899
Evening Post, October 3, 1914
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