THE GREAT DEVILLE
BITS & PIECES

from The ERA newspaper, 23rd June, 1920

Unexpectedly -VACANT. MONDAY NEXT AND A FEW INTERMEDIATE DATES GREAT DE-VILLE (THE WIZARD OF THE ARMY), presenting a Spectacular, Sensational, Bewildering Performance. The Act that has baffled over 3000 Police, Doctors and Scientists in all pats of the world.
A UNIQUE and STAGGERING PERFORMANCE
ELABORATELY STAGED, INSPIRINGLY PRESENTED.
Anyone wanting a SENSATIONAL DRAWING TOP WIRE OR WRITE 28 Brunswick St., Ardwick Manchester. Salary or Sharing Terms. Next week- BIJOU THEATRE, HULL, with my own Company.
Managers and Agents invited to see this Spectacular, Sensational Top-Liner.

from Stapleford & Sandiacre News, Friday 3rd June, 1921

The Theatre Royal Blyth - Wk Com Monday 26th June 1922
GIGANTIC AND STUPENDOUS ATTRACTION, MONDAY, JUNE 26th
THE SENSATIONAL, THE MASTERPIECE,
THE GREAT DEVILLE (WATER WIZARD OF THE ARMY)
Assisted by MDL. VICTOIRE
ELSIE T. CALLILIS - Comedienne.
MAURICE MASON - Light Comedy & Artistic Dancing
CHRIS KENNY - The Royal Entertainer.
DE MORTUIS - The Greatest Scientific Feat seen in Blyth.
Blyth's Favourite Male Impersonator - Miss POP CARSON.

On Tour in Scotland The poster (right) was for a 1923 show at the Queen's Theartre in Glasgow) A performance at the Reid Hall Cinema, Forfar, Scotland 20th September, 1923 THE GREAT DEVILLE Wizard of the Army, presented a series of sensational illusions that have baffled over 3000 doctors and scientists in all parts of the world and also introduced MDLLE. VICTOIRE. DIVIDING A LADY IN TWO WHILST BEING HELD BY MEMBERS OF THE AUDIENCE Enormous attraction, the 20th century unsolved problem and super miracle. A committee of local gentlemen are invited to come upon the stage and examine a galvanised iron box, after which a young lady is introduced. The committee are requested to tie the lady's wrists and neck with ropes which are afterwards threaded through small holes in the iron box. The ropes are then knotted on the outside of the box thereby making it impossible for the lady to move.    The box is divided into 12 separate partitions by inserting 8 sheets of iron through slots in the top, bottom and sides. The box is then actually divided into two separate portions and placed one on either side of stage, the lady's feet being shown in one portion and the lady's head in the other portion of the box.    The 3 sheets of iron are then withdrawn and the two portions of the box placed together again. The ropes still being held by the committee are cut to release the lady. Upon the box being opened the lady steps out none the worse for the experiment. Is she woman or Nondescript?

Palace Theatre, West Hartlepool July 1924

The STAGE advertisement 14/05/1925

The Stage newspaper, Application notice 10/12/1925

This OUTFIT is EXACTLY THE SAME AS ON THE REVERSE SIDE, but the HANDCUFF-PATTERN LOCKS are FAKED in such a manner that you can immediately MAKE YOUR ESCAPE without using KEY or FEKE.

These are also required for "UNDER-WATER" STUNTS. NO KEYS REQUIRED. NO FEKES REQUIRED. ESCAPE is made INSTANTLY - AS IF IT WAS A "PRESS-BUTTON" AFFAIR.

NICE BRIGHT FINISH.
BEAUTIFULLY MADE.

Sent to you for £5-5-0.
Postage ...... 5-0.

UNUSUAL "ESCAPOLOGY APPARATUS" for SALE:-

SPECIAL "TANGLE-CHAIN" ESCAPE SET, comprising VERY STRONG and IMPOSING STEEL NECK-CHAIN, to which is WELDED - TWO STRONG and IMPOSING LOOKING CHAINS at the BOTTOM of which is INCORPORATED SPECIAL CHAINS TO ENCIRCLE EACH ANKLE, THESE ARE WELDED TOGETHER and CLEVERLY ARRANGED for FASTENING the NECK AND THE ANKLES. NO ESCAPOLOGIST SHOULD BE WITHOUT A GOOD CHAIN SET such as this. THE RATTLING OF THE CHAINS ALONE CREATE A GREAT EFFECT.

Sent to YOU for ONLY £3-0-0. Plus POSTAGE 3/-.

SPECIAL "COMBINATION"
"NECK-COLLAR" AND "ANKLE-CHAIN" Act.
consisting of a STEEL NECK-COLLAR - WITH IMPOSING CHAINS WELDED ON EACH SIDE OF THE STEEL NECK-COLLAR - reaching DOWN TO the ANKLES. At the ends of these CHAINS is INCORPORATED with SPECIAL CHAINS to ENCIRCLE EACH ANKLE. ALL CLEVERLY ARRANGED TO MAKE A THRILLING and SENSATIONAL STUNT. EVERY ESCAPOLOGIST SHOULD HAVE AN OUTFIT OF THIS KIND. The CLANGING OF THE CHAINS CREATE A CREEPING SENSATION. A VERY IMPOSING OUTFIT.

SENT TO YOU FOR £4-0-0. Postage 3/6.

From H. DEVILLE. RETIRED ESCAPOLOGIST.

Recollection by Barton's son, Harry, in March 2003:

I have only a few relics of dad's theatre career: he had a fair library of books on magic but sold most of them when he was on his beam ends, unemployed, in the late thirties and started up a mail-order business selling escapologist gear, magic tricks and routines... He worked at Fairey's aircraft factory during WW2, but in postwar years the family had a struggle to make ends meet because of Barton's problems with cataract and retinal detachment ops (eye surgery was a mite unsophisticated at that time).

Fortunately the other half of our semi came up for auction and we were able to buy it with money left us by Marion's mother, who had just died, leaving a maiden aunt, in her eighties, on her own in West Kilbride. It seemed an ideal solution to move my parents from Manchester and bring the aunt down to Romiley, where we could conveniently keep an eye on their well-being.

Barton died in 1970, virtually blind, and my mother had a grand 'tidy-up', clearing out and burning most of his papers and the few surviving souvenirs of his theatrical career before we realised what she'd done. So I only have a few photos and oddments to support very fleeting early memories.

When we lived in Brunswick Street, a few doors away from my grandmother and numerous aunts, during the twenties, dad was away from home most of the time, touring the halls, while my mother was kept back looking after my invalid sister, who died in 1936. We moved to Victoria Park in 1932, when Barton was still busy touring his shows. Things changed a few years later, when theatres lost out in the popular entertainment battle against cinemas; by the time I left school in 1936, I was promptly expected to start earning my keep and help out with family finances!