Madame Bairewe is billed as the inimitable Tyrolean on her postcard. I found a mention of her in a newspaper from the Charleroi region in Belgium, dated 31st December 1916. Among the war reports there is an advert for a variety show. We are told the performance starts at 7.30 precisely and ends at 10 ‘very precisely’. The audience will have one hour to get to their homes. Artistes include American eccentrics, comic jugglers, dancers, acrobats and Madame Bairewe, described here as the celebrated Tyrolean. Another newspaper advert from around the same time describes her as a comic.

Madame Bairewe
the inimitable Tyrolean

Ivy Kidd

Performers travelled in Europe for work during the First World War. There are two postcards of Ivy Kydd sent in 1915 and 1916. The first is sent to her by her ‘old pal’ Mabel, also a performer, who writes that she is sending the photo as promised. She goes on to say ‘we had fine success best on bill.’ The card has French stamps (postmark too faint to read) and is sent to Ivy in Puteaux, also in France. Ivy herself has written on the card saying, ‘Mr Maurice did this photo, but developed it in Toulouse, so Mabel sent it to me.’

I wonder if she sent this card on to her mother, who lived in London. In December 1916 Ivy sent her a card from Milan of herself in the Buffalo Belles, a Wild West show. She writes, ‘ Mr M says I look like a real Indian.’ Hard to work out which one is Ivy. She asks Mrs Kydd to keep all the postcards she sends and put them in an album ‘when you get it.’

The Buffalo Belles
Wild West Show