A series of postcards provide us with some wonderful images of two itinerant entertainers from the area in the 1900s, “Harry and Carrie”. We actually know very little about them except for witty captions on the cards and conjectural information provided in later local histories. We do not even know if they actually called themselves “Harry and Carrie”, it was quite likely a nickname given to them by post card creators. There was a popular song of that name telling the tale of a courting couple who got cut off by the tide. One story has them as a well to do couple who take up busking for a bit of fun, another describes Carrie has handing out bags of lavender at the end of their act. Looking at the images more closely with a dash of 21st century reality check one cannot help but wonder if Harry was disabled. Open cast mining brought many injuries in the early 20th century and perhaps the couple were eking out a living in the time-honoured way of itinerant entertainment.
One wit has provided a postcard of Carrie in action with the caption “The Cakewalk”. “The Cakewalk” was an American dance competition in which couples mocked the airs and graces of the elite society. The dancers judged as affecting the most exaggerated airs and graces were awarded with a cake. There is a tradition of “mock posh” in Cornish Guize Dancing which is also directed at elite society. Harry and Carrie may have capitalised on this in their entertainment but her working boots and solo dance firmly point towards step dancing. Step dancing was known as “Scoot Dancing” in Cornish dialect after the metal plates worn on the soles and heels of boots to prolong their working lives. They made a satisfying “clack” sound on slate or wood which could be used percussively to accompany singing or music. Carrie is wearing boots, but the wooden soled clogs still worn by clay workers to protect their feet from the heat of the dryers in the 20th century provided similar percussive opportunities.
Notes
Postcard images courtesy of Mac Waters Collection.