Long Tack Sam (1884–1961) was a Chinese-born American magician, acrobat, and
vaudeville performer. Little is known about his early years, although he is known to have joined a group of acrobats around 1900 called the Tian-Kwai, with whom he toured the world. Several years later, amid unrest in China, he brought his troupe of entertainers to the United States, where he performed extensively for several decades. This colour
lithograph poster featuring Long was printed in Hamburg, Germany, in 1919. It illustrates his conscious use of luxurious embroidered costumes and elaborate scenery to enhance his mystique and capitalize on Western notions of "
the mysterious Orient".
Poster credit: Studio of Adolph Friedlander; restored by Adam Cuerden
