Madame Abomah, billed as a "giantess" is another of the real vaudeville characters in my new book, Ada, coming out next week. In the first years of the 20th Century Madame Abomah (Ella Williams from South Carolina) performed as a singer in Australia. She appeared at Kreitmeyer's Waxworks in Bourke St, Melbourne and in country towns everywhere. She is said to have delayed going home because she was terrified of sea travel and knew she'd have to stay drunk from Sydney to San Francisco. Miss Williams was the first child of her family to be born after slavery was outlawed. She looks very dignified in every surviving photo and there is something deliciously defiant in the effect of wearing an aigret ostrich plume to make her appear even taller. More on Ada - http://bit.ly/2fo2c5K or kazcooke.com.au #madamabomah #abomah #giantess #vaudeville #performer #travellingshow #musichall #australianhistory #adabook #aigret #ostrichfeather #sequins #emancipation
