 |
| CAPT. C.H. URECK & LULU LATASKA |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Captain Ureck was promoted as hailing from Austria or Hungary but chances are he was made in the U.S.A. He stood 7' 11˝" or 8' 4" depending on how many inches were in his "manager's foot". All I know of Capt. Ureck is that he was with the Barnum & Bailey circus in 1890 along with bearded lady Annie Jones, the tattooed Hildebrandts, armless Charles Tripp, Zip the What-Is-It? and a snake enchantress with the stage name Lulu Lataska. Something about the lovely Lulu caught the Captain's eye and the two were wedded. Whether it was a legal marriage or just for publicity is anyone's guess. |
| Judging from what little I know of "Lulu" she had a storied career. This femme fatale of the side show world was said to come from Russia. Her tagline was: "Never To Be Forgotten". One look at her pictures and most men would readily agree. Lulu's stage outfits "left nothing to the imagination" as they used to say. In late 19th century America, her photos were almost akin to pornography. But since she was in the show business she got away with it. |
| Lulu was never one to let grass grow under her feet. She was highly self-promotional and always ready to try something new to stay abreast of the current trends in the Dime Museum business. At one time or another in her career she appeared as a Circassian Beauty, a Snake Enchantress and even became "Lulu La Tosca, The most expert exponent of necromancy". I've got a funny feeling she wedded Ureck for self gain and let him go when he was no longer useful to the advancement of her career. |
| This is the closest photographer Charlie Eisenmann ever came to taking a bawdy picture. It is reminiscient of photos I've seen of Western saloon girls / prostitutes. |
 |
| That's one HUGE snake! But what is she holding? a smaller snake? |
| Another role that Lulu could play was that of the demure wife of a circus giant. |
 |
| Lulu also added "actress" to her résumé |
| Lulu as a snake enchantress (more properly called a snake handler) |
 |
 |