The Montague Brothers

The Montague Brothers was a strongman act of the early twentieth century made up of the three Woollaston brothers, Edwin John Woollaston (1876-1918), Alfred Montague Woollaston (Monte Saldo), and Frank Harold Woollaston (Frank Saldo). In the act the Brothers displayed acts of strength including supporting a heavy motor car complete with passengers and 'The Sculptor's Dream'.

Taking its name from the middle name of the act's founder, Alfred Montague Woollaston (Monte Saldo), 'The Montague Brothers' grew out of the strongman act 'Ronco & Monte' - both of whom had served apprenticeships with famed strongman and bodybuilder Eugen Sandow. On 'Ronco & Monte' breaking up Monte Saldo then teamed up with his younger brother Frank Woollaston, and the new strongman act opened at the Hippodrome in London, followed by a European tour. During the tour the brothers appeared in Amsterdam, Dresden, Hamburg, Saxony, Prague and Paris, at the latter city regularly working out in the gymnasium of Edmond Desbonnet. On their return they appeared for a season at the London Pavilion.

In 1903 Monte Saldo added a new routine to the act which was designed to draw in large audiences, during which he supported a heavy motor car in the "Tomb of Hercules" position. Having prepared and rehearsed carefully, on stage a Darracq full of passengers was driven up a ramp and onto a bridge, where the ramp and supports were removed leaving Saldo supporting the entire weight of the vehicle and its contents on a section of the bridge. Later, the act was refined, with Saldo supporting the car on top of a ten foot high revolving platform. This act was taken on another international tour, for which Saldo received the largest salary ever paid to a one-man strongman act.

In 1906 Monte Saldo refined the act even further, teaming up again with his brother Frank Woollaston (now known as Frank Saldo) and older brother Edwin, the three of them billing themselves as "The Montague Brothers", and performing a new routine called "The Sculptor's Dream".

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