| AURORA & NATALI |
| It is currently being debated if these two were a young Schlitzie and Athelia |
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| On the reverse of this photo was written: "Friend Geo. - These are the Aztecs that Max Klass owns and they are good with (illegible)" |
| The gentleman is believed to be Pete Kortes |
| "Twentieth-century "Ancient Aztecs," Aurora and Natali with their manager, Max Klass. They traveled with the Sells-Floto Circus Sideshow in 1910. Photographer unknown (Ringling Museum of the Circus, Sarasota, Florida.)" Courtesy "Freak Show" by Robert Bogdan. |
| Author's note: The swastika was a symbol used my many different cultures around the world before it became associated with the Nazi political movement. In fact the Mayan peoples (not the Aztecs) used it in connection with religious ceremonies. |
| (News Clipping) 23 Jun 1914 Ft. Wayne, Ind.; Children’s Playground association festival; entertainment provided by Con. T. Kennedy shows; "The side show tents are always full. Many strange and interesting people and curiosities are presented, chief among which are the Aztec women, Aurora and Natalia, these strange little creatures are unfailingly attractive in young and old." |
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| This is believed to be the front for the Max Klass show, ca 1910, with possibly Klass himself as talker/ ticket seller. (Photo courtesy Robert Bogdan Collection) |
| (left to right) Aurora and Natalia; Barney Nelson; the Samar Twins, Lucio and Simplicio Godino; Lala Coolah, half man, half woman; (probably) Max Klass; Ali Budah, the Man-Fish; Piebald boys, probably from the Davis or Williams family I would date this photo 1914. The Samar Twins came to the U.S. in 1910, age 2 and the boys above look more like age five or six. "Man-Fish"??? Al Stencell in his book "Seeing Is Believing" says "Among the working acts in museums, the top attraction was the Tank Act or Man Fish, in which a performer simply swam in a glass tank and did unusual things underwater for long periods of time without surfacing for air." |
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