Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre poster   Save
Eisenbarth Family Papers
Description: Poster advertising the Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre. Ellsworth Eugene Eisenbarth was born October 22, 1864, in Ironton, Ohio. The family later moved to Wetzel County, West Virginia. By 1889, Eisenbarth was traveling the mid-Atlantic states in "The Oregon Indian Medicine Show," which featured such entertainment as real cowboys and “Indians.” He next bought a floating store, which he refitted as a showboat and christened "The Eisenbarth Wild West & Floating Opera." The endeavor lasted from 1891 to 1895. By the late 1890s, Eisenbarth and his wife Julia had founded "The Eisenbarth & Henderson Mammoth and Combined Uncle Tom’s Cabin Company," complete with calliope, band and orchestra, which also traveled throughout the middle states by rail. In February of 1900, E.E. and Julia converted a glass barge named the E.V. Poke No. 2 into "The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre, Temple of Amusement." This showboat and its successor ("The Eisenbarth-Henderson Floating Theatre-The New G View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MSS930AV_B03F6_01_01
Subjects: Cultural Ohio--Popular Culture; Showboats; Ohio River; Traveling shows; Theater--Ohio; Posters; Advertisements;
Places: Ohio River; Marietta (Ohio); Washington County (Ohio)