Hanlon-Lees

The newly expanded troupe made its American debut in 1858 at Niblo's Garden in New York City, and spent the next four decades touring the United States and Europe. As their skills improved, their performances became more elaborate. When Jules Léotard introduced the trapeze in 1859, for instance, the Hanlon-Lees quickly adapted to the new device; their next production, Le Voyage en Suisse (A Trip to Switzerland) contained an aerial juggling sequence that stunned Émile Zola, who expressed utter astonishment at the vast number of airborne objects. There is a spectacular poster by Jules Chéret, the great pioneer of the classic era of French poster design, advertising their appearance at the Folies Bergère in 1878. In addition, the company is referred to in J.K. Huysmans chapter: "The Folies-Bergere in 1879" in his book Parisian Sketches, first published in France in 1880: "these side-splitting, yet funereal, clowns, the Hanlon-Lees.".