Autograph request
Picture postcard sent to Bray by Marceline on 30th October 1903 in response to a request for his autograph. Although this card is postmarked October, the Register No. (2033) indicates that Bray probably mailed his request in June.
Isidro Marcelino Orbés Casanova (May 15, 1873 - November 5, 1927), best known simply as Marceline, was a world-renowned clown during the late 19th and early 20th century.
Marceline was born in Jaca, Spain in 1873, performed in Spain, France and other continental european countries, made his way to England by around 1895. He had success at the London Hippodrome and then enticed by producers Thompson and Dundy to come to the New York Hippodrome, where he arrived with great fanfare in 1905. He was a part of shows at the Hippodrome through 1915, by which time his pantomime routine and falling gags were falling out of favour with the public. He did reappear at the Hippodrome for some later shows, including Good Times in 1920-21 and Better Times in 1922-23.
Marceline was long admired by Charlie Chaplin, who worked with Marceline at the London Hippodrome from December 1900 to April 1901, and is one of just a few performers from this period of his life that Chaplin discusses in his autobiography. Chaplin recounts seeing him years later in the United States with a circus, and though expecting to see him be a featured star, was surprised to see him only amongst other clowns.
