In 2016 a set of scrapbooks owned by famous Half-And-Half, Anna-John Budd (William Henry Muldoon, also known as Hal and/or Harold) surfaced.
Sadly, the seller decided to break up the scrapbooks, removing the photos, obliterating the notations and dates under many of the photos, and piecing out the collection over a month or so on eBay.
Fortunately, we were able to secure a large portion of the collection through on-line bidding, and direct sale of the bulk of the photos.
What emerges is a slice of life on the road– a unique behind-the-scenes of a performer’s life in the business.
Anna-John collected her fellow performers pitchcards and pitch books, and took many candid “backyard” photos, pasting them into scrapbooks as she travelled over the United States and abroad to Australia and New Zealand.
Both in her Half-and-Half “costume,” and in street clothes, a portrait of Anna-John’s life from the late-1920s through the mid-1940s comes to life, with many extraordinary photos never before seen or published.
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