A small photograph made in the mid 20th century by the Danish photographer Carl Emil Karstrøm, probably in the town Aalborg where he lived and worked. On the image: the '4 Kentons', acrobats from the Netherlands. On the back of the picture two addresses: the one of Karstrøm in Aalborg and of the performing artists at the Marnixstraat 224-1 in Amsterdam. A little research learned that the 4 Kentons were three brothers by the name Korenvaar and a lady of whom I could not find a name. She might be the top person on the picture and if so, she must have been someone special. In the 1930s and 40s, the 4 Kentons performed in- and outside the Netherlands, there are even reports of them performing in the Soviet Union in 1937. On the 16th of April 1940 they were on stage in the famous Amsterdam Circus theatre Carré. Among the other artist that day: Johnny & Jones; Nol van Wesel (Johnny) and Max Kannewasser (Jones), immensely popular Jazz performers at the time. A month later the city was occupied by the Nazi's. During the occupation Jewish Johnny and Jones were deported to concentration camps and killed just before liberation. The 4 Kentons reportedly kept on performing during wartime.
On on the 28th of July 2007, The Danish newspaper Nordjyske Stiftstidende published an obituary on Carl Emil Karstrøm who had died at the age of 84. He was not only a photographer but also a stunt pilot, builder and inventor. The obituary tells a romantic story of a self made man with 'the courage to express strong viewpoints'.