Buckley's Serenaders

From 1846 to 1848, James Buckley and his three sons, Bishop, Swayne, and Fred, toured in England.

[4] James Buckley - who was known as "Master Ole Bull" - and his sons returned to the U.S. at the end of 1848.

They appeared regularly in New York and Boston, and in 1852 became the first recognized company to play in California.

[3] By the 1853–4 season, the Buckleys began to burlesque popular operas and boasted of their ability to reproduce such works.

[6] Another popular act involved Bishop Buckley's trained horse, Mazeppa.

They do the most preposterous things, in the way of Violin Solos, Deeply Sentimental Songs, and Lucrezia Borgia music, sung by a majestic female in black velvet and jewels with a blackened face!