Mr. R Sands and his celebrated dancing horse Mayfly
Datecirca 1845
MediumColored lithograph
ClassificationsPrints
Credit Line?
Object numberSN1546.133.30
Richard Sands (1814 – 1861) was a talented showman, equestrian, and acrobat who was one of the most significant figures in the early history of the American circus. In 1835, as manager of the traveling Zoological Institute, Sands staged the first wheeled parade in the United States. In 1842 he oversaw the first complete American circus company to travel to England, introducing the canvas performance tent in the process.
It was in England that Sands obtained the horse Mayfly and developed a dressage act, demonstrating the animal’s extraordinary intelligence and skill through a choreographed routine that appeared to happen without any direction form the rider. Sands brought Mayfly back to the States in 1846 and continued performing. Along with the equestrian presentations, Richard Sands was famous for performing as a ceiling walker, using large suction pads to adhere to a specially created slab hung above the performance ring.
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