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Publications & Projects

Through the touring years years in showbusiness, progress on elective research and writing projects moved like a glacier. But like a glacier, the force behind it is powerful and relentless. Therefore in recent years a few of these research projects have finally made it into print, joining the books on performing arts specialties first published in the 1980s.This page summarizes publications currently available.

Since 1983 Variety Arts Press has been the publisher of books by the journalist/editor, historian, museum professional, and performing artist Reginald W. Bacon. To read descriptions of the books, preview selected pages, and purchase books securely online via PayPal, visit the companion web site at Variety Arts Press.

Books & Publications

• Early Families of Middletown, Conn. - Vol. I: 1650-1654
  By Reginald W. Bacon
  (Newburyport, Mass.: Variety Arts Press, 2012)
  195 large-format pages; indexed
  ISBN: 978-0-9817945-5-6; LOC: 2012949502

  Early Families of Middletown, Connecticut - Vol. I: 1650-1654, presents profiles of the 23 families who established the Connecticut River settlement first known as Mattabeseck, plus timelines, land grant maps, and chapters on locally-focused historical and cultural context. Each profile is a survey of what is known about a given family, drawing together vital records, public records, and excerpts from standard works in the public domain. The Middletown-related 17th-century context chapters include the author's research on topics such as English origins, Puritanism, early burying grounds, domestic architecture, public services, and Native Americans & African-Americans in early Middletown. Family names include Allen (Allyn), Bacon, Blumfield, Cornwell, Hall (four families), Hamlin, Harris (two families), Hubbard, Kirby, Martin, Miller, Savage, Smith, Stocking, Stow, Treat, Webster, Wetmore, and White. With four timelines, 13 maps, and 100 photos & illustrations spread throughout 194 large-format pages, the book aims to be an information-packed resource for both descendants and historians interested in the fascinating dynamics of the "second generation" New England settlement. The author, Reginald W. Bacon, is a historian and museum professional of wide-ranging specialties --- a scholar (and retired performer) of early 20th-century vaudeville and circus, as well as a lecturer/presenter on 17th- and 18th-century architecture and domestic life. Vol. II, currently in the planning stages, will include profiles of early Middletown families in the 1654-1700 period --- and more late 17th-century context.

  $50.00 (US) includes book-rate shipping.

  Payment accepted by PayPal (see full description page at the Variety Arts Press web site), check, or money order.

  To order by postal mail, send order details, your shipping address, and payment to Variety Arts Enterprises, P.O. Box 489, Newburyport, MA 01950.

http://www.varietyartspress.com/ MtownBook.html

• Just a Tot in Tannersville:
  The Recollections of a Railroad Avenue Boy
  on the Busy Summer Life of the 1950s
  (Two books in one, incorporating
  A Micro-History of the Tannersville Four-Corners)
  By Reginald W. Bacon
  (Newburyport, Mass.: Variety Arts Press, 2011)
  106 large-format pages; indexed
  ISBN: 978-0-9817945-2-5; LOC: 2008931627

  Just a Tot in Tannersville: The Recollections of a Railroad Avenue Boy on the Busy Summer Life of the 1950s, incorporating A Micro-History of the Tannersville Four-Corners, is a combination personal memoir and local history of the brief post-WWII Armenian resort boom in a small town in New York's northern Catskill Mountains. The author's New England Yankee grandparents ran a limousine service and small lodging house sandwiched between two well-worn Victorian-era hotels. In the early 1950s, these hotels served an Armenian clientele, and author's copiously-illustrated recollections tell of the summers surrounded by the exotic aromas of Armenian cuisine through the days, and the quavering semi-tones of belly dance music far into the nights. As an adult museum professional, the author revisited the old resort town, and explored its fascinating development and history as a destination for New Yorkers seeking renewal in the mountains. The book includes 254 photos and illustrations, 16 maps, endnotes, bibliography, appendices, and index, ... and a rumination on the foggy, dangerous intersection of rigorous professional history and rosy personal memoir.

  $40.00 (US) includes book-rate shipping.

  Payment accepted by PayPal (see full description page at the Variety Arts Press web site), check, or money order.

  To order by postal mail, send order details, your shipping address, and payment to Variety Arts Enterprises, P.O. Box 489, Newburyport, MA 01950.

• The Juggler's Manual of Manipulative Miscellanea:
  The Classic Skills with Top Hat, Cane, Plates, Nesting Cups,
  and Assorted Objects
  By Reginald W. Bacon a.k.a "Mr. Slim"
  (Newburyport, Mass.: Variety Arts Press, 1984)
  104 pages; illustrated
  ISBN: 978-0-9817945-1-8; LOC: 85-050557

  The Juggler's Manual of Manipulative Miscellanea by R.W. Bacon (a.k.a. "Mr. Slim") is the only book of its kind detailing the author's arcane acrobatic juggling and manipulative specialties. A popular reference consulted by jugglers around the world, it has become a "best seller" among juggling books since its publication in 1984. The book explains and diagrams the classic theatrical vaudeville performance skills with top hats, canes, plates, nesting cups, and assorted objects. Authored by a noted touring professional, the book includes history & background, the applied physics of juggling & manipulation, the wide variety of mixed-object & combination stunts, and valuable presentation tips. "A good lesson in entertainment." --- Juggler's World Magazine.

  $15.00 (US) includes book-rate shipping.

  Payment accepted by PayPal (see full description page at the Variety Arts Press web site), check, or money order.

  To order by postal mail, send order details, your shipping address, and payment to Variety Arts Enterprises, P.O. Box 489, Newburyport, MA 01950.

  This book may also be purchased from the premiere juggling prop and book dealers, including Brian Dube, Inc., 520 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10012; 800-763-0909.

• The Juggler's Manual of
  Cigar Box Manipulation & Balance
  By Reginald W. Bacon a.k.a. "Mr. Slim"
  (Newburyport, Mass.: Variety Arts Press, 1983)
  100 pages; illustrated
  ISBN: 978-0-9817945-0-1; LOC: 83-050036

  Since its initial publication in 1983, when it helped open the floodgates of juggling instructional material, The Juggler's Manual of Cigar Box Manipulation & Balance by R.W. Bacon (a.k.a. "Mr. Slim") has become a "best seller" among juggling books, sought after by professional and amateur jugglers throughout the world. Though modest in size, the book explains and diagrams over 200 challenging and crowd-pleasing moves, stunts, balances, and gags with cigar boxes --- leading to hundreds of further combinations. Authored by a noted touring professional, the book includes the history and background of the venerable props, plus valuable insight on comedy, showmanship, and presentation. "All you need to know to learn and perform with cigar boxes." --- Juggler's World Magazine.

  $15.00 (US) includes book-rate shipping.

  Payment accepted by PayPal (see full description page at the Variety Arts Press web site), check, or money order.

  To order by postal mail, send order details, your shipping address, and payment to Variety Arts Enterprises, P.O. Box 489, Newburyport, MA 01950.

  This book may also be purchased from the premiere juggling prop and book dealers, including Brian Dube, Inc., 520 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10012; 800-763-0909.

Current Projects

Currently most efforts are directed toward the refinement of "A Vaudeville Retrospective" and its companion programs. This includes the compilation of The Curator's Guide to American Vaudeville, a companion book that aims to ease the path for curators of related popular culture exhibitions over the next few decades. Other projects in the works are Vol. II of Early Families of Middletown, Conn. (1654-1700), and The Juggler's Manual of Peripheral Paraphernalia: Acrobatic Juggling & Combination Stunts on the Unicycle, Rola-Bola, & Rolling Globe. Following in priority is a wholesale revision of The Bacon/Weeks Story: People, Places, & Events Through the Generations, a narrative family history first compiled in 2002.

• The Curator's Guide to American Vaudeville
  By Reginald W. Bacon (Newburyport, Mass.: Variety Arts Press, forthcoming)
  This book will be a companion to the illustrated lecture, performance, and exhibition, "A Vaudeville Retrospective." In addition to a concise but context-rich look at the history of vaudeville, this book will present the author's decades of insights in presenting the subject to a contemporary audience. Especially useful to curators charged with presenting exhibitions, displays, or programs on related popular culture topics of the early 20th century, the book will include a comprehensive annotated bibliography, discography, videography, Internet links, and research resources.

• The Bacon/Weeks Story:
  People, Places, & Events Through the Generations
  By Reginald W. Bacon
  (Newburyport, Mass.: Variety Arts Press, 2002,
  revision forthcoming)
  This book is a narrative family history that in 2002 attempted to "break the mold" of dry genealogies packed with nothing but names and dates. Using custom maps, detailed fan charts, old family photos, newspaper accounts, and biographical sketches to augment standard family-group-sheets, the author arrived at what he refers to with mock self-importance as "Bacon's Worthy Template." "It may not be the approved format for a genealogy, according to the experts," says the author, "but at the very least it is worthy!" Following the approach of legendary genealogist Frank Farnsworth Starr in his work for the Goodwin family of Connecticut, the author endeavors to trace all ancestral lines of his parents. Families covered include Bacon, Blanchard, Chapman, Clark, Conger, Ethier, Hurlburt, Kelly, Ketcham, King, Lindsay, Morse, Mudgett, Richardson, Weeks, Westover, and many more. The most discussed locales are in central Connecticut (especially Middletown) and north central Vermont.

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