Not on display

Poster advertising the Moxon Trio

Poster
ca.1880 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This poster was used by Edwin Moxon (1857-1845) who was born in Reading and ran away to join the circus aged 17. In the 19th century variety and circus performers needed to have their own posters which could be sent to prospective managers when applying for work and could be overposted with the name of venues and appearance dates.

Edwin Moxon travelled all over the world performing a balancing and foot-juggling act in circuses and variety theatres. He performed in Russia for seven years, spoke several languages fluently and had thirteen children. When they were old enough, the two eldest children were trained to join him in the family act, the Moxon Trio. His thirteenth child Eileen, who used the stage name Levanda, performed the act in circus and cabaret in the 1940s with her daughter Judy, appearing as Levanda and Van. Judy went on to travel the world with the act independently in the 1960s, performing tricks passed down from her grandfather, like the ones that appear on this poster.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitlePoster advertising the Moxon Trio (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Printed paper
Brief description
Poster advertising the foot-juggling act of the Moxon Trio, featuring Edwin Moxon (1857-1947), colour lithograph by Creber, Plymouth, ca.1880
Physical description
Colour lithograph poster illustrated with a selection of balancing and juggling tricks performed by Edwin Moxon and the Moxon Trio, including balancing on a pyramid of chairs, foot-juggling a giant playing card, large balls and a cross.
Dimensions
  • Height: 30.8cm
  • Width: 24.8cm
Credit line
Given by Judy Moxon
Object history
Poster used by the acrobat Edwin Moxon (1857-1947) to advertise his act and kept in the family until it was given to the museum by his grand-daughter Judy Moxon in 2005.
Association
Summary
This poster was used by Edwin Moxon (1857-1845) who was born in Reading and ran away to join the circus aged 17. In the 19th century variety and circus performers needed to have their own posters which could be sent to prospective managers when applying for work and could be overposted with the name of venues and appearance dates.

Edwin Moxon travelled all over the world performing a balancing and foot-juggling act in circuses and variety theatres. He performed in Russia for seven years, spoke several languages fluently and had thirteen children. When they were old enough, the two eldest children were trained to join him in the family act, the Moxon Trio. His thirteenth child Eileen, who used the stage name Levanda, performed the act in circus and cabaret in the 1940s with her daughter Judy, appearing as Levanda and Van. Judy went on to travel the world with the act independently in the 1960s, performing tricks passed down from her grandfather, like the ones that appear on this poster.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
S.544-2014

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdFebruary 21, 2014
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest