Here's a silent, Pathe video from 1925 called, Diabolo Dips!
The man's name has been misspelled, as it should say, Sergeant Brennan. He was a very highly regarded diabolo player in the 1910s and 1920s and aptly styled, “The world's greatest diaboloist.”
In the Keith-Albee Managers' Report Book of 1911 it reads:
“Sergeant Brennan. Diabolo expert. Far and away, the best act of the kind we ever had. A novelty that interested everyone, secured lots of applause and should make enough talk to draw a little money.”
Here's a quote from a British newspaper article written in 1916:
“His most difficult feat is undoubtedly of keeping two diabolos spinning at once.” Unfortunately, we only see him using one diabolo in this video but for footage that's 99 years old, it's in wonderful condition. I may be wrong but it looks to me like he's using a monobolo rather than a diabolo. Enjoy!
