Menu:

Words of
introduction ...

Thanks for visiting Variety Arts Press.
If you landed here, you are commended for your tenacity! It is likely that you are searching for one of our special-interest publications, so thanks for your perseverance!

By way of introduction, no, the home of Variety Arts Press is not in the imposing Greek temple pictured in the web header, but rather in the upstairs office of a wood-framed New England home. But the literal reality doesn't preclude indulgence in the figurative ideal: The ideal that information and insight from our specialized books provide readers with a solid foundation of knowledge and a resilient edifice of understanding!

Variety Arts Press issued its first book-length publication in 1983. The principal, R.W. Bacon, enjoyed his first career as a newspaper and magazine journalist, editor, and designer, learning from hard-boiled editors, hard-driving professors, and renowned pioneers in publication design. After 10 years, he took what he thought would be a brief "time-out" to perform for one season as a jazz/blues/ ragtime musician, and acrobatic juggler. This turned into a 30-plus year career in showbusiness, most of those years touring far-and-wide with his wife, the speedy precision club juggler L.J. Newton. At the close of that demanding-but-fulfilling career, and after completing the Harvard graduate program in Museum Studies, the writing, editing, and design resumed, although this time in the research, history, and museum context. The Variety Arts Enterprises web site summarizes the current range of museum services and programs offered, including the illustrated lecture, performance, and exhibition, "A Vaudeville Retrospective."

Today, Variety Arts Press is the outlet for past and current research and publishing projects in several areas of scholarship.

For more scintillating details than you ever wanted to know, enjoy these few links:

A note on our cyber-world: Please note that time constraints preclude participation in Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, SpacedOut, or other networking sites. R.W. Bacon is fully engaged with today's technology, but he neither twitters nor chatters, and there is no separate daily blog site. (Within this sidebar, essays and links to relevant articles may be added from time-to-time.) Please be assured, however, that R.W. Bacon can be easily and readily contacted by e-mail or phone. Thank you for understanding.

Welcome ...

Welcome to the Internet home of Variety Arts Press, since 1983 the publisher of books by the journalist/editor, historian, museum professional, and performing artist Reginald W. Bacon. Through the touring years in showbusiness, progress on elective research and writing projects moved like a glacier. But like a glacier, the force behind it is powerful and relentless. Therefore in recent years a few of these research projects have finally made it into print, joining the books on performing arts specialties first published in the 1980s. This page lists publications currently available. Click on the title below and you'll go to a page with a more detailed description of the book, a preview of selected pages, and a link to purchase and pay via PayPal.

Current Books

Early Families of Middletown, Conn.
- Vol. I: 1650-1654
By Reginald W. Bacon
(Newburyport, Mass.:
Variety Arts Press, 2012)
195 large-format pages; indexed
ISBN: 978-0-9817945-5-6
LOC: 2012949502

$50.00 (US) includes book-rate shipping.

Payment accepted by PayPal (see full description page), check, or money order.

To order by postal mail, send order details, your shipping address, and payment to Variety Arts Enterprises, P.O. Box 489, Newburyport, MA 01950.


Just a Tot in Tannersville:
The Recollections of
a Railroad Avenue Boy
on the Busy Summer Life
of the 1950s
(Two books in one,
incorporating
A Micro-History of the
Tannersville Four-Corners)
By Reginald W. Bacon
(Newburyport, Mass.:
Variety Arts Press, 2011)
106 large-format pages; indexed
ISBN: 978-0-9817945-2-5
LOC: 2008931627

$40.00 (US) includes book-rate shipping.

Payment accepted by PayPal (see full description page), check, or money order.

To order by postal mail, send order details, your shipping address, and payment to Variety Arts Enterprises, P.O. Box 489, Newburyport, MA 01950.


3 1/2 Centuries in Greenland:
The Weeks Brick House Farm
of Greenland, N.H.
By Neill DePaoli, Ph.D.
(Newburyport, Mass.:
Variety Arts Press, 2010)
44 large-format pages
ISBN: 978-0-9817945-4-9

Please note that this publication is available for purchase through the Weeks Brick House & Gardens.

$25.00 (US) includes shipping.

Payment accepted by PayPal (at the Weeks Brick House & Gardens web site), check, or money order.

To order by postal mail, send order details, your shipping address, and payment directly to the Weeks Brick House & Gardens, P.O. Box 93, Greenland, NH 03840.


The Juggler's Manual of
Manipulative Miscellanea:
The Classic Skills with Top Hat,
Cane, Plates, Nesting Cups,
and Assorted Objects
By Reginald W. Bacon a.k.a "Mr. Slim"
(Newburyport, Mass.:
Variety Arts Press, 1984)
104 pages; illustrated
ISBN: 978-0-9817945-1-8
LOC: 85-050557

$15.00 (US) includes book-rate shipping.

Payment accepted by PayPal (see full description page), check, or money order.

To order by postal mail, send order details, your shipping address, and payment to Variety Arts Enterprises, P.O. Box 489, Newburyport, MA 01950.

This book may also be purchased from the premiere juggling prop and book dealers, including Brian Dube, Inc., 520 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10012; 800-763-0909.


The Juggler's Manual of
Cigar Box Manipulation & Balance
By Reginald W. Bacon a.k.a. "Mr. Slim"
(Newburyport, Mass.:
Variety Arts Press, 1983)
100 pages; illustrated
ISBN: 978-0-9817945-0-1
LOC: 83-050036

$15.00 (US) includes book-rate shipping.

Payment accepted by PayPal (see full description page), check, or money order.

To order by postal mail, send order details, your shipping address, and payment to Variety Arts Enterprises, P.O. Box 489, Newburyport, MA 01950.

This book may also be purchased from the premiere juggling prop and book dealers, including Brian Dube, Inc., 520 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10012; 800-763-0909.


Looking for R.W. Bacon, showbusiness version?

To those looking for the veteran acrobatic juggler/unicyclist, jazz tenor banjoist, and comic dancer --- Yes, that's me. I am recently retired from a 35-year career in commercial showbusiness, but still include performance excerpts in the Vaudeville history presentation for museums, "A Vaudeville Retrospective." My wife and partner, the sensational club-juggler L.J. Newton, retired from the stage in 1999. We are still happy, healthy, and injury-free after a well-traveled career. (See the Variety Arts Enterprises web site for additional information, especially the profiles on selected mentors and friends.) Since I was a journalist/editor/designer before showbusiness, and a researcher/author/ historian during, the transition to the museum field was a natural fit. To distant friends, longtime fans, fellow performers, and former juggling/circus arts students, I would be glad to hear of your recent adventures. To new friends and museum colleagues intrigued about the performing arts career, please feel free to explore the various links at the Variety Arts Enterprises web site. Thank you. --- Reg Bacon