Photographer Pete Smith has recreated an image of carnival performer Hanco 100 years after the original was taken by his grandfather. He hopes it will draw out the escape artist's descendants.
The year is 1924, and a carnival barker at the Maitland Show shouts through a megaphone, enticing passers-by to come and see Hanco the escape artist.
On his website, Mr Ray writes that at the time Syd Smith's photo was taken, Hanco had been working as an escapologist and quick-change artist on the Australian and New Zealand entertainment circuit for 20 years."Interestingly, he was not the first to use the name 'Hanco,'" Mr Ray wrote."I don't know if the Hanco of Syd's photograph was one of the Hanco Brothers reported in 1905, but he may well have been," Mr Ray said.
"Houdini visited Australia in 1910, and I think after that, possibly Hanco's career really took off because Houdini had been such a popular drawcard here," Mr Ray said. Before: This image shows Hanco, the escape artist at Maitland Show in 1924.. . After: Image shows Hanco, the escape artist photo recreated in Maitland in 2024.. .SLIDE
It took more than a year to create costumes, a backdrop, props and a set, but it all came together in October, at a Hunter Valley property owned by one of Pete Smith's collaborators.
Vaudeville Houdini Hanco The Escape Artist Maitland Show Pete Smith Greg Ray Photo Time Tunnel Hanco Escape Artists Magicians
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