Probably none of you have heard of fleas and their relation to watchmaking before, but it is a very interesting history. Flea circuses were a popular form of entertainment for many centuries, where fleas were tasked with performing things like playing instruments, pulling small objects with their weight, or even re-enacting historical battles. The fleas, of course, could not play the instruments, but in their attempts to free themselves of whatever object they were attached to or free themselves from whatever miniature display they were trapped in, often entertained crowds in shows from across Europe and North America. Others claim that fleas can be trained, which may seem even harder to believe…
What does this have to do with watches, however? Well, the flea shows were often put on by watchmakers as a display of the micro-sized, intricate mechanisms they could create. One of the very first recorded instances of a flea show or display goes back to 1578, when purported watchmaker Mark Scaliot used a flea to demonstrate the miniscule lock and chain he had made, that he attached to the neck of the flea – altogether weighing a grain and a half. The 43-link gold chain was pulled by the flea and demonstrated Scaliot’s technical ability. After his original exhibition, flea chains reportedly became popular for some time - now considered fashionable.
An ad for Bertolotto’s flea circus
Watchmakers were particularly well-known for this in the following century. One watchmaker, known as ‘Mr. Boverick’ who worked out of the Strand in London, once made a miniature golden chariot that was drawn by a flea for his own show. It might seem ridiculous now but flea shows were actually quite popular, culminating in the first real ‘flea circus’ in the early 19th century. An Italian named Louis Bertolotto hosted Signor Bertolotto’s Industrious Fleas in London in the 1830s, traveling Europe with his show. And believe it or not, one of Bertolotto’s leading attractions was his depiction of Napolean’s loss at Waterloo with 435 fleas! A full-scale battle, complete with golden saddles for chariots and tiny swords for swordfighting!
We spoke to Dr. Tim Cockerill, a zoologist who himself knows how to train fleas, and is a part of the team behind an exhibition that recently took place at the Artwave Festival in the Lewes District. He said that in investigating the original props used for these shows, he noticed that almost all of them incorporated, in some way, parts from pocket watches.
“While some props are from the Victorian Era, most surviving ones are from the period between the 1930s and 1950s,” he explained. “I think what is interesting is that although it is a quirky curiosity, it changed in the early 19th century from a display to a performance of ‘educated fleas’, the exhibition was no different but there was an injection of showmanship by Bertolotto and his contemporaries, who upsold their shows by calling them exhibitions of educated fleas instead of a display of miniature objects.”
He also noted that while fleas were abundant at the time, the most important part of the show was the skill in creating the miniature objects for the fleas - a skill possessed largely by watchmakers.
Flea Circus / Credit: C.A. Halpin
And so, while famous flea circus shows were held until the mid 20th century, with a notable show occurring at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Ultimately, by the late 1950s and early 1960s, the practice had largely fallen by the wayside. No longer a stunt performed by watchmakers and jewellers of old, but still going on in some obscure corners of the world today. Flea circuses just might be the strangest aspect of watchmaking history I’ve ever heard of.
By: Andres Ibarguen
P.S. If you’re a watchmaker interested in helping Dr. Cockerill with his work, or if you have any information or experience with flea shows, get in touch!
Read more:
Billock, Jennifer. “Revive the Charm of an 1800s Show with These Modern-Day Flea Circuses.” Smithsonian Magazine, November 29th, 2017, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/modern-day-flea-circuses-180967355/.
Cowan, Frank. Curious Facts in the History of Insects, Including Spiders and Scorpions. Lippincott & Company, 1865.