Dates

• Existence: 1837 - 1937

Biography

The Poole family dominated the exhibition of pre-cinema shows including Panoramas, Dioramas and Myrioramas across the UK between 1837 and 1937. By 1900 the family were at the peak of their profession touring seven shows around the UK, Ireland and the Channel Isles.

The Poole family came from Malesbury in Wiltshire, where their base remained over generations.

Brothers Charles (1821-1877) and George Walter Poole (1828-1877) originally were musicians. They first adventured into Panorama shows in 1837 when they met Moses Gompertz (c1812-1893), a showman who owned a travelling Panorama. Pre-moving picture shows presented the audience with large painted narrative scenes on canvas, which often related topical news related to the conquests of the British Empire, famous battles and world travel. The scenes were accompanied by lively narrations, music and a range of variety acts, from humour to music, dancing and ventriloquism to break up the show and maintain the audience’s interest.

Initially, Gompertz employed the brothers to play music to accompany his Panoramas, however overtime Charles and George Poole became Gompertz business partners. It was not long before the brothers were travelling their own shows. Over the hundred years the Poole family operated travelling shows they founded several companies including; Poole & Young, a partnership with another one of Gompertz’s employees, Anthony Young, Wilson & Strange, Messrs Poole & Co, H. & F. Poole Myriorama (run by Henry (Harry) and Fred Poole) and a variety of shows run by Charles William Poole including; Charles W. Poole’s Myriorama, C.W. Poole’s No. 1 Myriorama, Charles W. Poole’s Imperial Myriorama, and Charles W. Poole’s Royal Myriorama. Besides showing their own panoramas, the Pooles performed moving panoramas acquired from a number of sources, such as the Hamiltons, who were the Pooles main rival at the time.

The business was so successful that most of the five sons of Charles and George’s brother John (1817-1889) and his wife Matilda (1824-1899); Joseph (1847-1906), George (1849-1929), Henry (Harry) (1850-1925), Charles William (1858-1918) and Fred (1867-c1907) got involved and eventually took over from their uncles. John and Matilda also had a daughter Ann, who will later become Mrs Bynorth and brought up Charles William's son after the break up of his marriage to Elizabeth Deborah Nott. The new generation of Poole’s took the Myriorama to new heights of popularity introducing sound and visual effects to their shows. Myriorama shows were mostly dramatic presentations of topical events and reflected the socio political spirit of the time. A reflection of this were some of their most successful shows, such as The Bombardment of Alexandria and the Loss of the Titanic.

The first use of the word ‘Myriorama’ by Messrs Poole to mean moving panorama seems to have been in 1883. They presented large painted scenes on canvas, which moved across the stage on rollers. The scenes were painted by the greatest scenic artists of the day at great cost, including Sebastian Estelos and William Telbin. It wasn’t until 1897 that the Poole brothers added actual moving image to their shows with the Cinematographie, a combined film camera, projector and developer.

By 1883 Joseph bought a house where he established a studio for the maintenance of the paraphernalia associated with the shows. In the meantime, successions of generations of the Poole family were taking over the family business and expanding it, purchasing many of the halls and theatres they hired for their shows including in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Gloucester, Stourbridge, Oxford and Ipswich, where they ran the town’s very first cinema in 1905.

The Pooles continued to be a leading company until its folding in 1937 as proven by the presentation of a sound picture show by Charles and George’s grandnephew John R. Poole to Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Kent were in residence at Holyroodhouse in 1935.

Found in 75 Collections and/or Records: