Agency through Otherness: Portraits of Performers in Circus Route Books, 1875-1925 Main Menu Introduction Introduction to the book and information about ways to navigate the content. The American Experiment: Circus in Context Circus performers and American history timeline Routing the Circus: The Things They Carried Circus Routes Map, 1875-1925 Ethnological Congresses and the Spectacle by Rebecca Fitzsimmons Outsiders in Demand: Chinese and Japanese Immigrant Performers by Angela Yon and Mariah Wahl Shattering Gender Roles: Women in the Circus by Elizabeth Harman Side Show Sounds: Black Bandleaders Respond to Exoticism Annexed Circus Musicians by Elizabeth C. Hartman Native Performance and Identity in The Wild West Show by Mariah Wahl Showmen's Rests: The Final Curtain Circus Cemetery Plots by Elizabeth C. Hartman List of Performers Performers covered in this exhibit Bibliography & Further Readings Bibliography and readings for each chapter Acknowledgements Creative Commons License

Nellie Coupe

38294 Side Show Sounds: Black Bandleaders Respond to Exoticism Annexed Circus Musicians by Elizabeth C. Hartman
A world of its own, the Main Band was a place of great pride in the circus. A field of work dominated by men, one woman stood alone with a cornet in hand. Nellie Coupe was a famous cornetist who performed in many halls and was even praised by the current President of the United States for her skills. Being in such a male dominated field had its challenges, but Nellie used her exceptional skill to become the star of the big band, having her name advertised on its own and in more prominent text than the rest of the band.

Nellie is listed alongside other prominent female brass soloists in the article, "Soft lips on cold metal: female brass soloists of the 19th and early 20th centuries."29 She helped lead the way for other female soloists in the circus such as Maud Hayward, an equestrienne and fellow cornetist with three different circuses.

This page has paths:

  1. Daring Women Angela Yon

This page has tags:

  1. Women Circus Performers Angela Yon
  2. Musicians Angela Yon

This page references: