Marietta Zanfretta
Videos
Marietta Zanfretta, known as Madame Siegrist, was an Italian tightrope dancer who found success in the United States. One of the greatest female tight-rope dancers in the world, she was known for performing en pointe on the tightrope, a rare feat.
Marietta Zanfretta performing at The Boston Theatre - drawing by Benjamin Champney for Ballou's Pictorial (1858)
Marietta's sister Augustine Zanfretta - Baker Art Gallery c1898
Marietta Zanfretta c 1860's, New York, U.S.A., while performing with the Ravel Family
Hippotheatron
Videos
The Hippotheatron was an entertainment venue in New York built for large-scale circus and equestrian performances although ballets, dramas and pantomimes were also held there. Opened in 1864, it was destroyed by fire in 1872 which resulted in the death of most of the animals in the menagerie.
The Hippotheatron in New York (1872)
Interior of the Hippotheatron (1865)
Playbill for L. B. Lent's New York Circus (1865)
Playbill for L. B. Lent's New York Circus (1865)