The Circus - Bard Graduate Center

Transcription

Wagon wheel
late 19th century
Painted wood and metal
Somers Historical Society, Somers, New York,
2005.68
Broadway Circus and Olympic
Theatre, Broadway between
Howard and Grand Streets,
New York
Anonymous
American
after 1866
Watercolor and ink
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,
Museum Accession, transferred from the
Library, 1921 (21.36.236)
The Broadway Circus just north of Canal Street
on Broadway became the primary venue for
the circus in the 1820s, as the city expanded
northward, although a variety of other theaters,
pleasure gardens, and repurposed buildings
hosted occasional performances or short seasons.
The building, erected by the British equestrian
James West in 1817, was purchased by the owners
of the Park Theatre, who felt it was hurting their
business. One of the many notable performers
who graced its ring was James Hunter, who
thrilled New Yorkers by performing equestrian
feats “in a rude state of nature” (i.e., bareback)
in 1822. This watercolor shows the Broadway
Circus building (left of the Olympic) in the
late 1830s, after it had been converted into a
stable by Tattersalls when the locus for popular
entertainment in the city shifted to the Bowery.
“The Elephant”
1797
Broadside with woodcut illustration
Printed by William Barrett, Newburyport,
Massachusetts
The New-York Historical Society
On April 14, 1796, Captain Jacob Crowninshield
sailed into New York Harbor with an elephant
from Bengal and promptly sold the “great
curiosity” for the exorbitant sum of $10,000.
One week later, an advertisement in the local
papers informed the public that the “most
amazing” animal was on display in a “convenient
accommodation” at the corner of Beaver Street
and Broadway. It was the first elephant exhibited
in the United States and was profitably toured all
over the country in the years that followed.
Bullhook
early 19th century
Iron and wood
William Bailey Collection, Somers Historical
Society, Somers, New York
The large exotic animals being imported in
the early 19th century required specialized
equipment to manage them. This antiquated
example was a variation of the traditional
elephant ankus used in Asia.
Rhinoceros horn
ca. 1830
Horn
William Bailey Collection, Somers Historical
Society, Somers, New York, 91.12
The first rhinoceros was imported into the
United States in 1829, and these unusual-looking
animals, sometimes sensationally billed as
“unicorns,” were star attractions in early traveling
menageries.
Tusk chain
early 19th century
Iron
Gift of Frank Wells, Somers Historical Society,
Somers, New York, 75.0.33
Trunk lined with a circus broadside
Chester Ellsworth
1828
Wood, metal, leather, horsehide, and paper
New York State Museum, Albany, H-1980.3.1
This trunk was made by Chester Ellsworth, a
“saddle, harness, and trunk maker” who worked
out of a shop on River Street, in Troy, New York,
in the 1820s. The opening of the Erie Canal
made Troy and other towns along the Hudson
River popular venues for touring circuses. The
trunk is lined with a broadside advertising a May
1828 performance that featured the elephant
Columbus and Benjamin Stickney, a talented
rider and wire-walker.
“Magnanimity of the Elephant
Displayed in the Preservation of
his Keeper J. Martin, in the Bowery
Menagerie in New York”
1835
Etching and aquatint
91.19.1
Menagerie displays could be a dangerous
business for both the audience and the keepers,
a point underscored by this sensational print.
“The Association’s Celebrated and
Extensive Menagerie and Aviary
from their Zoological Institute in
the City of New-York”
1835
Poster with woodcut illustrations
Printed by Jared W. Bell, New York
Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont, Gift
of Harry T. Peters Sr. Family, 1959, 1959-67
The Zoological Institute was a joint stock
corporation formed by a group of Westchester
County showmen in January 1835. It was a
conglomeration of circuses and menageries that
were installed in various major cities and toured
the country during the summer months. The
grandest of the affiliated Zoological Institute
menageries was established at a new venue
erected in the Bowery during the winter of
1834–35, and its great attraction was Isaac Van
Amburgh, a young animal trainer who entered
the cages and played violently with lions, tigers,
and other big cats. This poster was made by the
innovative New York printer Jared W. Bell for the
menagerie’s summer tour of New England. It was
printed on a new steam-powered Napier press
on four separate sheets that an agent would
align as he posted it in advance of the show after
filling in the requisite details. Incorporating
more than three-dozen woodcut illustrations
signed by five different artists and a variety of
fancy typefaces, this poster is a remarkable
example of contemporary American printing.
Portrait of Mr Van Amburgh, As
He Appeared with His Animals at
the London Theatres
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (1802–1873)
1846–47
Oil on canvas
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon
Collection, B1977.14.61
Isaac Van Amburgh (1811–1865) was a celebrated
American animal trainer who began his ascent
to transatlantic fame and fortune as the main
attraction of the New York City unit of the
Zoological Institute during the winter of 1834–35.
He would enter a cage containing a group of
lions, tigers, panthers, and leopards and play
roughly with the animals, exciting them to
ferocity. His act captivated the public and was
a dramatic departure from earlier wild-animal
acts, which were much milder presentations.
Van Amburgh traveled to London in 1838 and
became a great favorite of Queen Victoria, so
much so that she commissioned a portrait by
the noted painter Edwin Henry Landseer, which
remains in the royal collection. Arthur Wellesley,
the Duke of Wellingon, was also an admirer and
had Landseer execute a second, larger portrait,
which was prominently displayed at his Apsley
House in a frame inscribed with verses from
Genesis in which God gave man “dominion over
every living thing.”
“Descriptive Sheet of Banigan and
Kelley’s Popular Menagerie for 1847:
Newly Fitted and Direct from
La Fayette Place, City of New York.”
1847
Poster with woodcut illustrations, printed in
three colors
Engraved by T. W. Strong, New York; printed
by Jared W. Bell, New York
New York State Museum, Albany
The printer Jared W. Bell was a pioneer in his
use of color, and his shop produced oversized
multicolor posters in volume for New York–
based circuses and menageries in the 1840s.
The effect was achieved by running the paper
through the press multiple times with different
forms for each color, in this case red, black, and
yellow. The fancy typefaces and borders were
characteristic of the era, as were the images of
menagerie animals. The illustration in the center
depicts the show as it parades into town with
an elephant-drawn bandwagon, followed by the
cage wagons in which the other animals were
kept for transportation and display.
“The Only Living Giraffe in America”
1863
Color lithograph
Sarony, Major & Knapp, New York
of Harry T. Peters Sr. Family, 1959, 1959-67.81
Even after circuses absorbed most of the tour
ing menageries in the 1830s and 1840s, exotic
animals remained popular attractions, and
menageries operated at a variety of locations
in New York City throughout the 19th century.
The Central Park Zoo was chartered in 1864,
and circuses typically toured with large
collections of animals, but it was not until
later in the century that the establishment of
zoological parks brought an end to the urban
menagerie business.
Barnum’s American Museum
ca. 1850–53
Lithograph
Lithograph by Brown and Severin, New York;
printed by G. W. Lewis III, New York
Collection of the Barnum Museum
“Barnum’s American Museum.
Entertainments in the Lecture
Room Every Afternoon and Evening.
Saturday, July 14, 1855.”
1855
Two-sided herald with woodcut illustration
Daily Times Job Office–M. B. Wynkoop, Book
and Job Printer, New York
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art,
Tibbals Collection, ht4000046a
This herald offers a glimpse of the wide variety
of attractions at Barnum’s American Museum,
including a performance by a troupe of blackface
minstrels. Blackface minstrelsy became a
popular form of entertainment in the 1830s and
1840s, one in which white performers “blacked
up” and offered entertaining and supposedly
realistic caricatures of African-American life.
“Barnum’s Collection of Curiosities.”
ca. 1864–69
Poster with woodcut illustrations
Engraved by Waters & Son, New York; printed by
Thos. McIlroy & Co., New York
Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont, Gift of
Harry T. Peters Sr. Family, 1959, 1959-67.114
The primary “live” attractions at Barnum’s
American Museum were a host of human
wonders, sensationalized performers, and exotic
animals that titillated audiences and brought in
the crowds.
“Barnum’s Gallery of Wonders. No. 14.
The Wonderful Albino Family.”
ca. 1860
Hand-colored lithograph
Currier & Ives, New York
Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont,
1959-7.4
“Vantile Mack, the Infant Lambert,
or Giant Baby!!”
ca. 1860
Hand-colored lithograph Currier & Ives, New
York
1959-67.6
Barnum’s success was unquestionably a product
of the flourishing print media that enabled
him to advertise to an unprecedentedly large
audience. Not coincidentally, his museum was
just around the corner from a printmaking firm
established by Nathaniel Currier, which became
Currier & Ives in 1857, when James Merritt Ives
became a partner. The firm specialized in handcolored lithographs of popular subjects and
scenes and had a natural affinity for depictions
of the many attractions at Barnum’s American
Museum.
P. T. Barnum and
General Tom Thumb
Samuel Root (1819–1889) and Marcus Aurelius
Root (1808–1888)
ca. 1850
Half-plate daguerreotype
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian
Institution, NPG.93.154
One of Barnum’s greatest attractions was Charles
Sherwood Stratton, popularly known as General
Tom Thumb. There was a long tradition in
the United States of commercial exhibitions
featuring lusus naturae, or human wonders,
including dwarfs, giants, limbless individuals,
albinos, and obese people who were displayed
in many places of amusement in New York City
before the Civil War. Stratton was a dwarf, who
was “not two feet in height, and weighed less
than sixteen pounds,” and his quick wit and
cheery disposition endeared him to the public
when he debuted at the American Museum in
the winter of 1842–43. Stratton’s remarkable
career and association with Barnum continued
for more than forty years, and he toured with
Barnum’s “Greatest Show on Earth” for a final
season in 1881.
“American Museum / Every Day &
Evening This Week / Commencing
Monday, March 1st, 1847 . . . General
Tom Thumb!”
1847
Herald with woodcut illustration
Applegate’s Steam Presses, New York
The New-York Historical Society, PR-055
“Gen. Tom Thumb In His Different
Characters.”
ca. 1860
Photographs attached to a printed board
Photographs with hand-drawn additions by
E. T. Whitney and Co., Norwalk, Conn.
Collection of the Barnum Museum, EL 1988.84.1
Stratton’s most famous routines were his
impersonations of historical figures and assorted
characters, such as a Scottish Highlander or an
American sailor. He also appeared in a popular
“Grecian statuary” act, in which he posed in a
tight bodysuit aping famous ancient sculptures.
“Genl. Tom Thumb & Wife, Com. Nutt
& Minnie Warren. Four Wondrously
Formed & Strangely Beautiful Ladies
& Gentlemen in Miniatures, Natures
Smallest Editions of Her Choicest
Works. The Greatest Wonders in the
World.”
1863
Hand-colored lithograph
Currier & Ives, New York
of Harry T. Peters Sr. Family, 1959, 1959-67.20
Stratton’s marriage to Lavinia Warren took
place on February 10, 1863, at Grace Episcopal
Church at Tenth Street and Broadway, followed
by a grand reception at the Metropolitan
Hotel. The wedding was the social and media
event of the season, overshadowing for a time
even the ongoing Civil War, and thousands of
people crammed the city’s streets to cheer the
newlyweds.
Ringmaster top hat
mid-19th century
Felted fur
Label: “Stephens”
Gift of Barlow W. Seymour, Somers Historical
Society, Somers, New York, 95.18.3
Ringmaster vest
mid-19th century
Striped silk with milk-glass buttons
Ringmaster pants
mid-19th century
Linen
Whereas earlier riders had used a saddle or pad,
James Hunter shocked and delighted audiences
by doing his equestrian feats bareback when
he debuted at the Broadway Circus in 1822. In
his wake, bareback riding quickly became the
new high standard of equestrian skill, but in
doing away with the saddle and bridle, riders
needed someone in the ring to make certain
that the horse maintained its gait. This marked
the introduction of the riding master, later the
ringmaster, who not only served a practical role
but also offered a dramatic contrast and foil for
the clown. Garbed in bright stripes and spots
and painted with extravagant makeup, the clown
would banter with the audience and generally
play the fool. By the late 1820s, the triumvirate
that became the enduring basis of the circus in
the United States—rider, ringmaster, and clown—
was complete.
“Van Amburgh & Co.s Tuba-Rheda.”
Chas. Parsons
ca. 1865
Color lithograph poster
G. & W. Endicott, New York
Bandwagons were first used to advertise shows
in the 1830s and over the decades that followed
increasingly large and elaborate wagons were
manufactured for circuses. Among the most
famous was the “Tuba Rheda, or Grecian State
Carriage,” which was built by the New York Citybased firm of John Stephenson in 1846. This was
the first American bandwagon to be ornamented
with gilded wooden carvings and it was a
popular feature of a show owned by the noted
wild animal trainer Isaac Van Ambrugh. This
depiction of Van Amburgh’s famous bandwagon
traveling north along the Hudson River heralded
a new era of the American circus, one that was
predicated on mobility and required ever-greater
amounts of capital.
Drum
Attributed to June, Titus, Avengine & Co.
ca. 1835
Painted wood with rope
Gift of Laura Howe Nelson, Somers Historical
This drum was used by a musician affiliated
with one of the circuses or menageries run by
June, Titus, Avengine & Co., prominent Somersbased showmen in the 1830s and 1840s. After
bandwagons were introduced in 1834, it became
increasingly important for shows to have a wellappointed band. The unknown manufacturer
of this drum patriotically decorated it with
the Great Seal of the United States, which was
introduced in 1782 and popularized the new
nation’s motto “E pluribus unum,” meaning
“Out of Many, One,” an abbreviated form of
which appears here.
Detail of “J. R. & W. Howe & Co.’s New York Menagerie,”
1834. Poster with woodcut illustrations. Somers Historical
Society, Somers, New York.
“Mr. Sage, Proprietor of the Great
American Circus from the City
of New York”
1843
three colors
1960-134
“Circus / Bowery Amphitheatre.
Thanksgiving Day. Three
performances!”
1844
Herald with woodcut illustrations
The John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art
Archives, RMA220.163
The “cradle of the American circus” during the
1840s was the Bowery Amphitheatre, which
hosted all of the star performers of the era,
including Levi North, who first performed a back
somersault on a moving horse there in 1842. The
amphitheater was one of many local attractions
that made the neighborhood into a commercial
entertainment center, one that was oriented to a
rowdier and more plebian crowd than the more
refined theaters lining Broadway.
to p
Box ticket for June, Titus, Avengine
& Co. Menagerie and Circus at the
Bowery Amphitheatre
ca. 1840
Signed “Lewis B. Lent” on verso
Ink on paper
Somers Historical Society, Somers, New York
b ot to m
Box pass for the Bowery
Amphitheatre
ca. 1842
Ink on paper
Somers Historical Society, Somers New York,
01.50.12.04
“Exterior View of the Grand Pavilion
of Franconi’s Hippodrome, Covering
an Area of Two Acres, as it Appears
When Erected for Public Exhibition.”
1853
Inscription: “at Utica on Wednesday August 17th,
1853”
Tinted lithograph
Sarony & Major, New York
Courtesy American Antiquarian Society
While Franconi’s Hippodrome was taking the
city by storm, the owners were touring another
company of the same name to cash in on the
national publicity generated by the New York
operation. Although its scale is somewhat
exaggerated, this lithograph aptly demonstrates
how large touring circuses had become by
the 1850s.
“Re-opening of the New York
Hippodrome! Madison Square . . .
Open for a Short Season on Tuesday
Ev’g, July 3, under the Direction of
the Brothers Siegrist!”
1855
Herald with woodcut illustrations
Engraved by E. Purcell; printed by Frank Farwell
& Co., Steam Job Printers, New York
Tibbals Collection, ht4000675
Francois and Auguste Siegrist were among
the most celebrated performers appearing at
Franconi’s Hippodrome. Born in Germany, the
brothers introduced American audiences to the
notable novelties of the trapeze and the percheequipoise. The former was not a flying trapeze
act, which was developed in the decades that
followed, but a single hanging bar on which the
brothers executed various exercises. The latter
was commonly known as a “perch act,” in which
one brother held a thirty-foot pole aloft while the
other shimmied up and performed acrobatics at
the top.
“Dan Rice. ‘The King of American
Clowns.’”
ca. 1860
Lithograph
Rare-C 791.309 Greenwood
Dan Rice
Leonard Welles Volk (1828–1895)
1863
Marble
Hertzberg Circus Collection of the Witte
Museum, San Antonio, Texas, 2003-7 G
This marble bust of Dan Rice was made by the
Chicago-based sculptor Leonard Welles Volk,
who had won acclaim for an earlier bronze bust
of Abraham Lincoln. Rice even incorporated the
bust into his routine:
Ringmaster: “What was that noise, Dan?”
Rice: “I hit the drum too hard and made it bust.”
Ringmaster: “’Burst’ is the proper word. Always
say burst, not bust.”
Rice: “I’m glad you told me, for I want to tell
the folks of Mr. Volk and the wonderful marble
burst he is making of me.”
“The Wonderful Elephant Lalla
Rookh as She Appears in Dan Rices’
Great Show.”
1859
Inscription: “Worcester June 21st 1859, Monday”
three colors
Jno. E. Bacon, Printer and Engraver, New York
The name of the elephant Lalla Rookh, one of
top attractions of Dan Rice’s circus in the 1850s,
was inspired by a well-known poem by Thomas
Moore and is a Persian term of endearment
meaning “tulip cheeked.” Trained by Charles
Noyes to dance, ring bells, and fire pistols, the
elephant was best known for the acrobatic
feats shown here and was the first elephant to
perform a headstand. Her most famous act was
a tightrope walk on a hawser, a thick hemp rope
6 to 8 inches in diameter. Lalla Rookh fell ill and
died after a publicity stunt gone awry in which
she swam across the Ohio River from Covington,
Kentucky, to Cincinnati in September 1860.
“Niblo’s Garden / Nixon & Co’s Great
Troupe . . . Re-Engagement of the
Original Humorist, Dan Rice Who is
on His Farewell Tour Through the
United States.”
1859
Herald with woodcut illustration
Herald Print, New York
“Nixon & Co.s Mammoth Circus /
The Great Australian Rider James
Melville as He Appeared Before the
Press of New York in His Opening
Rehearsal at Niblo’s Garden.”
1859
Inscription: “Providence May 23rd & 24th”
Tinted lithograph
During the 1850s, a gap emerged between
the kinds of performances being offered by
touring circuses and the relatively more refined
presentations that were given in the city’s
theatres. Perhaps the best example of this was
James M. Nixon’s company, which performed
during the winter months at Niblo’s Garden
in the late 1850s and early 1860s. Niblo’s was
an elegant theater on the corner of Broadway
and Prince Streets, and Nixon, a free spender,
brought in the best talent from around the
country, including Dan Rice and the noted
Australian equestrian James Melville.
Globe used by Jacob A. Showles
(1826–1912)
ca. 1860
Graduated wood with painted cloth cover
Circus World Museum, CWi-2652
The versatile performer and showman Jacob
Showles used this globe in his Antipodean
Equestrian act during the 1860s. The first globe
act appeared in American circuses during
the 1850s. Its early form involved a performer
standing on top of a large ball and rolling around
the ring while posing, juggling, or performing
other balancing and acrobatic feats. In 1853 a
Mons. Sylvestre performed a “Terrific Ascension”
on a “revolving orb” up and down a 35-foot-high
ramp at Franconi’s Hippodrome. Showles, an
expert equestrian, added an unusual element to
his globe act by lying on his back on a horse as
he juggled the globe with his feet, launching it
high into the air over wide, stretched banners as
the horse galloped around the ring.
“Joe Pentland’s Circus!” Detail of newspaper advertisement
from the Daily Herald (Newburyport, MA), October 3, 1854.
Circus World Museum.
Lewis B. Lent
Anonymous
ca. 1870
Oil on canvas
Gift of Arthur McElroy, Somers Historical Society,
Somers, New York, 97.40
Lewis B. Lent (1813–1887) was a corpulent, allaround circus man from Somers, New York,
who got his start in the menagerie business
in the 1830s. He was considered to be the best
general agent and router of his day and was
associated with a variety of New York Citybased and touring shows. Lent pioneered the
use of “jaw-breaking” circus titles with his
“Equescurriculum” and “Hippozoonomadom.”
In 1865, he took over management of a grand
new circus arena near Union Square Park that
he dubbed the “Hippotheatron and New York
Cirque,” which became one of the city’s foremost
attractions.
“L. B. Lent’s New York Circus / Mdlle.
Carlotta De Berg, The Celebrated
Equestrienne.”
1866
Engraving
78.0.16.561
Carlotta De Berg, a British equestrienne and
one of the greatest female riders of her day, was
typical of the first-rate talent that Lent engaged.
She made her American debut in New York City
at the Hippotheatron on April 23, 1866.
“New York Circus” token
ca. 1870
Silvered brass
T. N. Hickcox & Co., New York
The American Numismatic Society, ANS
0000.999.41980
Bandwagon arriving at the
Hippotheatron, New York
1870
The New York Circus was renowned for the
quality of its band, which paraded in a fabulous
“Golden Chariot” constructed by the Fielding
Brothers, a wagon manufacturer at Forty-first
Street and Third Avenue. It was 22 feet long, 9½
feet high, and just over 6 feet wide, making it one
of the longest shell-type bandwagons ever built.
“New York Circus / Robert Stickney /
Pittsburg, Monday, Tuesday &
Wednesday, Aug. 30th, 31st &
Sept. 1st.”
1869
Hatch & Co., New York
73.16.476
Robert Stickney, a member of a distinguished
family of American equestrians, was billed
as “The Apollo Belvedere of the Arena” for his
picturesque and graceful positions, such as those
performed in the four-horse Roman riding act
illustrated here.
“Van Amburgh & Co.s Great Golden
Chariot. Passing Union Square,
New York”
1867
Inscription: “Monticello April 26th”
Endicott & Co, New York
75.16.230
“Van Amburgh & Co.s Great Golden
Car of Egypt. Living Lion Loose
in the Street. Passing City Hall,
New York”
1867
Inscription: “Monticello April 26th”
Endicott & Co., New York
73.16.227
With the introduction of the bandwagon in the
1830s and elaborate gilded wagons in the 1840s,
the parade took on an increasingly important
role in the circus business. The rolling spectacle
was essentially a way for a show to advertise
its attractions to potential customers when it
arrived in a new town or city. During the 19th
century, parades for all sorts of civic and festive
occasions enlivened New York. Circus parades
were an irregular but celebrated occasion in the
city, as competition between circuses gave rise
to spectacular innovations.
“Welch, Mann & Delevan’s National
Circus Band Carriage, Passing Up
Broadway New York June 7th, 1845.”
G. T. Sanford
1845
Inscription: “Massillon Wednesday Afternoon
June 17th one Day Only”
Tinted lithograph
G. & W. Endicott, New York
This poster depicts a bandwagon traveling up
Broadway and passing in front of St. Paul’s
Chapel and Astor House, a luxurious hotel
opened in 1836 opposite City Hall Park. The
image includes representations in the crowd of
some popular American icons of the day; Jim
Crow and Jack Tar are shown in the lower lefthand corner. The diversity of the viewers—some
elegantly dressed alongside children, street
vendors, and other members of the working
class—suggests the broad appeal of the circus
at the time.
“I Am Coming”
1875/1879
Framed poster with woodcut illustrations,
printed in two colors
Inset portrait of P. T. Barnum engraved by
Mayes; border by Roylance & Purcell, New York
Museum, San Antonio, Texas
“Barnum’s Roman Hippodrome,
on the Block Bounded by Madison
and Fourth Avenues and Twentysixth and Twenty-seventh Streets,
New York.–Interior View–Opening
Scene.”
From Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, May 9,
1874, pp. 136–37
1874
Print, wood engraving
The Circus
A. Logan
1874
Oil on canvas
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York,
Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler
Garbisch, D.69.147
Painted in what can best be described as a
naïve style and dating to the opening season
of the Great Roman Hippodrome in 1874, this
picture has been credited to an unknown artist,
A. Logan. The circus inspired a wide range of
folk art in a variety of media during the late
19th century, and Logan’s painting, which
compresses the assorted acts of the Great
Roman Hippodrome into a single rich scene,
is a particularly fine example in this tradition.
“Exterior View of Our Great City of
Tents… Literal Scenes Taken from a
Photograph, of the 3 Rings, Racing
Track & Interior View of the 7 United
Monster Shows.”
1882
Strobridge Lithographing Co., Cincinnati &
New York
Hugh Grant Rowell Collection, Somers Historical
“Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on
Earth / P. T. Barnum. / J. A. Bailey.”
1897
New York
Collection of the Barnum Museum, 1990.37
After the failure of his Great Roman Hippodrome
in 1875, Barnum returned to the original model
of opening each season with an extended stay in
New York City before heading out on tour—an
annual tradition that the circus kept for more
than fifty years, excepting its European tour
from 1898 to 1902. In 1881 Barnum amalgamated
his show with that of his most capable rival,
James A. Bailey. Bailey was an efficient and
respected manager who assumed responsibility
for the practical operations of the circus,
whereas Barnum’s main contribution was a
combination of capital and publicity. Bailey
introduced electric lighting, added a third ring,
and made a number of innovative contributions
to the transportation and management of the
railroad circus during the 1880s.
Strobridge Lithographing Co.
billstand on Madison Square
Garden, for “P. T. Barnum & Co.’s
Greatest Show on Earth & the Great
London Circus Combined with
Sanger’s Royal British Menagerie &
Grand International Shows—Adam
Forepaugh’s New and Greatest
All-Feature Show without an Equal
on Earth.”
1887
Eleven albumen-print panorama
Circus World Museum
To advertise its wares for other showmen during
performances by the Barnum and Forepaugh
circus combination in 1887, the Strobidge
Lithographing Company covered Madison
Square Garden’s entire façade, 21 feet high
and 336 feet long, with circus posters.
“Equestriennes”
1891
United States Printing Co., Cincinnati
Printers typically produced stock posters of
circus scenes and applied a tag with the titles,
dates and locations after they were purchased in
bulk by individual shows.
le f t
“The Barnum and Bailey Greatest
Show on Earth” with female
ringmaster, clown, and rider
1897
New York
This three-sheet color lithograph poster is
a remarkable example of the quality and
artistry of late 19th-century show printing.
The unknown artist’s use of perspective also
gives the bill a sense of depth rarely found
on other circus posters, which often appear
two-dimensional and flat. The poster has
a post-impressionist sensibility, reflecting
contemporary French poster art in the style of
Jules Cheret and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
r i g ht
“The Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show
on Earth / The Terror of Forest
and Jungle / The Armored Indian
Rhinoceros”
1910
New York
The New-York Historical Society, PR55-2
‫אלאדין און זיין וואונדערבארעם לאמפ‬
(Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp)
1918
Illustrated poster with Yiddish and English text
Fordinsky’s Print, Brooklyn
The main goal of the circus was to attract the
widest possible audience, and to this end,
Barnum & Bailey produced posters and publicity
such as this aimed at New York City’s large
immigrant communities.
“Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey
Combined Shows” with springing
tiger
Charles Livingston Bull (1874–1932)
ca. 1920
New York
A famous animal painter and expert taxidermist,
Charles Livingston Bull was commissioned in
1914 by the Strobridge Lithographing Company
to produce this ferocious image, which was
used by the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey
Circus for decades.
“First Time in New York / Ringling
Bros’ World’s Greatest Shows”
1909
Donaldson Lithographic Co., Newport, Ken.
Although the Ringling brothers purchased the
Barnum & Bailey Circus after James Bailey died
in 1906, they ran the two circuses separately.
The Ringling Bros. Circus traditionally opened
its season in Chicago, but in 1909 the brothers
decided to swap opening venues with the
Barnum & Bailey show and brought their circus
to New York City for the first time. Despite
receiving positive reviews, the change did not
prove cost effective, and the Ringling name
did not return to the city until the debut of the
combined show in 1919.
“Ringling Bros. World’s Greatest
Shows” pennant
1911
Felt on bamboo cane
Page figure from tableau cage wagon
Attributed to the workshop of Samuel Robb
(1851–1928)
1882–83
Polychrome wood
Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont, 1954:
FC 10
Even utilitarian cage wagons used in parades
were fitted out with rococo scrollwork, mirrors,
and ornamental corner figures called “images.”
This figure of a page was carved in Samuel
Robb’s shop for a tableau cage wagon produced
for the Barnum’s circus in 1882–83. At some
point, this corner figure was removed and
eventually acquired by the Shelburne Museum,
whereas the wagon itself ended up at Circus
World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin, which
replaced the figure when the wagon was restored.
Restored tableau wagon. Photograph. Circus World Museum,
CWi-2642.
Broom from the “Fairy Tales”
tableau wagon
Workshop of Samuel Robb (1851–1928)
1902–3
Wood carving
27, FC-9
Sculpture of Standing Warrior with
Spear, from “Africa” tableau wagon
1902–3
Wood carving
From the Collections of The Henry Ford,
Dearborn, Michigan, 31.815.1.6
Model of the “Africa” tableau wagon
Roy Arnold
ca. 1950
Painted wood
Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont, 56.1.1
This one-inch to one-foot scale replica of
Barnum and Bailey’s “Africa” tableau wagon
was made by Roy Arnold (1892–1976) as part
of his miniature circus parade model which is
housed at the Shelburne Museum. Arnold spent
twenty-five years carving his models from old
photographs and the 525 foot long procession
recreates the pomp and pageantry of a Golden
Age circus parade.
Sculpture of Europa, from “Africa”
tableau wagon
1902–3
Wood carving
From the Collections of The Henry Ford,
Dearborn, Michigan, 31.815.1.3
The “Continental Floats” built for the Barnum
& Bailey Circus in 1902–3 were modeled on
allegorical sculptures of America, Africa, Asia,
and Europe that George Gilbert Scott designed
for the Albert Memorial in London. The “Africa”
tableau was based on a sculpture by William
Theed and the approximately half-scale version
made for the circus was carved by workers
from the shop of Samuel Robb on Canal Street.
The tableau features a crowned woman atop a
kneeling camel flanked by two “pygmy” warriors,
a turbaned scholar, and this figure of a woman
sitting on a sphinx. These carvings were then
gilded and mounted on a wagon by the Sebastian
Wagon Co. of New York and were a popular
feature of the 1903 parade of the Barnum &
Bailey Circus.
Jumbo handkerchief
ca.1882
Printed cotton
Collection of the Barnum Museum, 2005.3.1
News of Barnum’s purchase of Jumbo created an
outcry in Britain, as the elephant was a particular
favorite of young visitors to the London Zoo. The
sale eventually went through despite protests,
and Jumbo was transported to the United States,
but bitterness remained, as evinced by the
serialized story printed on this handkerchief.
Jumbo the elephant
ca. 1885
Wool and linen
Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont, 9-M-5,
1954-604
“Jumbo / The Children’s Giant Pet.”
1882
Hatch Lithographic Company, New York
“Miss Louise and Her Den of
Alligators.”
Siegmund Bock (active early 20th century)
ca. 1915
Painted canvas
What was originally referred to as an “outside
show” that could involve many different
kinds of ancillary attractions developed into
the conventional circus sideshow centered
on “living curiosities” and unusual performers
in the 1860s and 1870s. Circus publicity often
focused on the sensationalism of the sideshow,
which provided opportunities for audiences
to enjoy (or squirm) at the unusual and often
unbelievable attractions. An iconic aspect of the
sideshow was its display of banners—enormous
and colorful canvas paintings of the various
attractions. This fine example is by one of the
great early sideshow banner painters, Siegmund
Bock, who was based in Chicago during the early
20th century.
The standard sideshow usually included some
combination of “born freaks”—albinos, dwarfs,
armless and legless people—and “made freaks,”
those who made themselves unusual, such as
tattooed ladies, as well as novelty or working
acts like snake charmers and sword-swallowers.
A final category that gained in popularity late
in the 19th century were “exotics,” people who
were brought in around the world to thrill
audiences as Fiji Cannibals, Zulu Warriors, and
the like. In addition to their regular salary,
sideshow performers were given the opportunity
to generate additional income by selling
pamphlets, photographs, and other trinkets.
Perhaps the most popular souvenirs were
cartes-de-visite, which, like the slightly largerformat cabinet cards, were small albumen prints
mounted on stiff paper that could be cheaply
and easily reproduced. The foremost sideshow
photographer was Charles Eisenmann, who had
a studio at 229 Bowery and did photography for
hundreds, if not thousands, of sideshow acts
and performers between 1870 and 1890. His
remarkable body of work provides a visual index
of the era’s sideshows and reflects the wide range
of people involved.
Mr. I. W. Sprague, Human Skeleton
Charles Eisenmann (1850–1927?)
1883
Carte-de-visite, albumen print
Ronald G. Becker Collection of Charles Eisenmann
Photographs, Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Library, Syracuse, New York
Laloo, Boy with Parasitic Twin
ca. 1885
Cabinet card, albumen print
Lulu Lataska, Snake Charmer
Charles Eisenmann (1850-1927?)
ca. 1885
Mr. and Mrs. M. V. Bates, Giants, and
Unidentified Man
ca. 1885
Zulu Warriors, Princess & Child
ca. 1885
Mme. Fortune Clofullia, Bearded Lady
ca. 1885
The Australian Children, Pinheads
ca. 1885
Big Foot Ann, Elephantitis Feet
ca. 1885
Felix Wehrle, The Elastic Skin Man
ca. 1885
Anne E. Leak, Armless Wonder
ca. 1885
Jo Jo the Dog Faced Boy
ca. 1885
Millie – Christine, Siamese Twins
ca. 1885
History and Medical Description
of the Two-Headed Girl
1869
Pamphlet with woodcut illustrations
Engraved by Roylance & Purcell, New York;
printed by Warren, Johnson & Co., Buffalo
MS-398 Peters Ephemera B1F6
“The Boy Hero / Young Clarence
Palmer in His Great Acts of
Horsemanship without Saddle
or Bridle. With Spalding & Rogers’
Two Circuses.”
John H. Goater
1854
Lithograph
T. W. Strong, New York
The New-York Historical Society, PR-055
Fun at the Circus
1897
Board game in box
Printed paper, cardboard, wood playing pieces,
and spinner
McLoughlin Bros., New York
Courtesy of The Strong, Rochester, New York,
107.3861
A Peep at the Circus
1887
Picture puzzle
Printed paper and cardboard
107.4230
Fun at the Circus
1897
Board game in box
Printed paper, cardboard, wood playing pieces,
and spinner
107.3861
Ring-a-Ling Circus
1925
Spring-wound mechanical figure
Pressed tin, lithographed
Louis Marx & Company, New York
74.563
Bandwagon from the “Royal Circus”
ca. 1925
Painted sheet metal and cast iron
Hubley Manufacturing Co., Lancaster, Penn.
77.2233
Monkey cage wagon from the
“Royal Circus”
ca. 1925
Painted cast iron with glass
107.3265
Giraffe cage wagon from the
“Royal Circus”
ca. 1927
Painted cast iron, lead, and tin plate
79.515
Friede De Marlo, The Original
Frog Lady
ca. 1910
Hand-colored albumen print photograph
“La Marletta Presenting Her
Wonderful Combination Act A
Symphony in the Air . . . De Marlo
in His Trapeze Offering The
Laughing Mephistopheles”
ca. 1925
Poster
DeMarlo’s trapeze bar
ca. 1920
Metal and rope
Friede DeMarlo iron jaw apparatus
ca. 1925
Metal and leather
Friede DeMarlo performing the “Whirl of Death.” Detail of
silver gelatin print. New York State Museum, Albany.
DeMarlo performing-dog costume
ca. 1925
Rayon knit and sequins
Sword prop for circus spectacle
early 20th century
Metal
Gift of Howard Tibbals, 2007, SN11160.2
Shield prop for circus spectacle
early 20th century
Metal
Horn prop for circus spectacle
early 20th century
Metal and leather
“Grand Procession of the Steam
Calliope Drawn by a Team of Six
Elephants in the City of New York.
Now Attached to Sand’s, Nathan’s &
Co.s American & English Circus.”
1858
Inscription: “Camden Monday Oct. 11th”
The calliope, a massive set of steam-powered
whistles, was first used by an American circus
in 1857 and became a regular feature of touring
shows and circus parades in the late 19th
century. They announced the circus’s presence
by blasting the popular airs at an incredibly loud
volume that could be heard for miles around.
“The New York Circus Brass and
Reed Band in Their Gorgeous
Uniform of the French Imperial
Cent Garde. . . . At Lowell, Monday,
May 16th, 1870.”
Henry Louis Stephens (1824–1882)
1870
Duval Steam Lithographic Co., Philadelphia
Collection of Fred D. Pfening III
Music was always an essential aspect of the
circus, either as part of the street parade,
providing accompaniment for performers and
entertainment between acts, or in concerts given
by bands before or after the performance. Lent’s
New York Circus was particularly renowned
for the quality of its band. Press agent Charles
H. Day recalled: “As an advertising card, the big
band was a large winner for several seasons. As
the people used to say, ‘The Band alone was
worth the price.’”
Sideshow band
Frederick Whitman Glasier (1866–1950)
ca. 1905, printed 2009
Print from a glass plate negative
Glasier Glass Plate Negative Collection, 0701
Racism and segregation limited opportunities
for African-Americans in the circus industry,
but during the late nineteenth century black
sideshow and minstrel bands became popular
attractions with circuses. Some of the most
talented African-American musicians and
performers of that era worked in sideshow
bands and the circus gave a wide audience an
opportunity to enjoy music of black Americans.
“The Great Hagenbeck-Wallace
Circus / Seals That Exhibit
Intelligence Scarcely Less Than
Human in Marvelously Skillful
Performances.”
1920
Color lithograph
Erie Lithograph & Printing Company, Erie, Penn.
27.4- 515
The aural component of the circus was further
supplemented by some rather unusual sources
like musical animal acts. Despite claims to the
contrary, the Hagenbeck-Wallace seal band
was described by one visitor as making an
“unbearable racket” in the ring.
Circus” with leopard head
Studio of Norman Bel Geddes
1956
New York
In the 1940s, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum
& Bailey Circus modernized many aspects of
the show, including its posters. Unlike earlier
posters, which often included views of the ring,
audience members, or even a jungle landscape
where appropriate, the new poster style
eliminated contextual information in favor of
singular images and washes of a single bold color.
It was a striking graphic device that reached its
most extreme form in this poster designed by
the Norman Bel Geddes Studio.
Sleeping at the circus, Madison
Square Garden, New York
Weegee (1899–1968)
June 28, 1943
Gelatin silver print
International Center of Photography, New York,
Bequest of Wilma Wilcox, 1993 (2367.1993)
“Resourceful girl manages to watch
a man on flying trapeze and feed hot
dog to escort at same time.”
Weegee (1899–1968)
April 18, 1943
“‘Spangles,’ the new Ringling
Brothers Continental Circus, has
the dazzling aerial acts of the old
show, as these upturned faces in the
audience testify.”
Weegee (1899–1968)
June 18, 1943
Circus audience, New York
Weegee (1899–1968)
ca. 1943
Weegee (1899–1968)
ca. 1943
Weegee (1899–1968)
ca. 1943
Weegee (1899–1968)
ca. 1943
Weegee (1899–1968)
ca. 1943
Spectators, New York
Weegee (1899–1968)
ca. 1943
Arthur Fellig (1899–1968), better known by his
pseudonym Weegee, was a photographer and
photojournalist famous for his stark pictures
of New York City during the 1930s and 1940s.
Though perhaps best known for his photographs
of crime scenes, Weegee was fascinated by the
circus and invariably visited the Ringling Bros.
and Barnum & Bailey Circus during its annual
stand at Madison Square Garden. He took
hundreds of photographs of the show and its
staff backstage, but the images in this exhibition
come from a series he made showing circus
audiences. The photographs portray New York
in all its diversity—children, businessmen, men
and women in uniform, an African-American
couple—and show the range of responses, from
laughter to wonder to apprehension, that the
circus inspired.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey
Circus Parade
William Day
1945
Digital copy of 16mm color film
2 minutes
Collection of Robert F. Sabia
After the disastrous Hartford circus fire killed
more than 160 people in 1944, the Ringling Bros.
and Barnum & Bailey Circus needed some good
publicity to start the 1945 season. To this end,
and as part of an ongoing effort to support the
war effort, the show mounted the first circus
parade in Manhattan in over twenty years.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus elephants
parading through Times Square, 1945. Photograph.
Circus World Museum, CWi 2289.
The Lancer
Walt Kuhn (1880–1949)
1939
Oil on canvas
Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, New
Hampshire. Museum Purchase: Currier Funds,
1958.7
Perhaps most famous for organizing the 1913
Armory Show, Walt Kuhn was also a prolific
painter who, beginning in the mid-1920s, painted
portraits of hundreds of circus and vaudeville
performers in his Manhattan studio. Among
his subjects was an anonymous equestrienne
costumed for the 1939 spec “Nepal,” which
featured a squad of Bengal Lancers performing
intricate drills and maneuvers. By the 1940s,
Kuhn was troubled by mental illness, but he
attended the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey
Circus night after night when it was in town.
Although he was eventually institutionalized,
his expressive portraits of clowns and other
circus performers are memorable works of
contemporary American art.
Three Ring Circus
Milton Avery (1885–1965)
ca. 1939
Oil on canvas
Collection of AXA Equitable, New York
There was a strong tradition of circus-themed
art in Europe, but it was not until the 1910s
and 1920s that the circus emerged as a popular
subject among American artists. Most famously,
Alexander Calder turned to circus themes after
sketching the performances of the Ringling Bros.
and Barnum & Bailey Circus at Madison Square
Garden in 1925 for the National Police Gazette.
The circus was also a draw for later abstract
painters, including John Marin and Milton Avery,
whose Three Ring Circus focused on form and
color relations.
“Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey /
‘First and Only Genuine Sacred White
Elephant Ever Permitted to Leave
His Native Land’”
1927
New York
This three-sheet color lithograph poster, which
depicts the arrival of the “Sacred White Elephant”
Pawah in New York, was one of the last new
posters that Strobridge produced for the Ringling
Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. A true albino,
with very light gray skin tinged with pink, white
ears, and light blue eyes, Pawah had been
discovered in Burma, where white elephants
were regarded as symbols of power and good
fortune. John Ringling leased the animal for the
1927 season and displayed it with six Burmese
attendants and exotic props, but it did not prove
to be a popular attraction.
Circus clowns outside Madison
Square Garden
Edward J. Kelty (1888–1967)
1924
Edward J. Kelty (1888–1967) has been described
as the “Cecil B. DeMille of circus photography”
for the large-format images he produced of
traveling shows during the 1920s and 1930s.
He opened his first studio, Century Flashlight
Photographers, in early 1922 and specialized
in photographing weddings and organization
gatherings with a large custom-built banquet
camera that produced negatives up to 12 by 20
inches. A prolific photographer of circuses in
New York City, Kelty covered both the Ringling
Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s annual visits to
Madison Square Garden and their subsequent
dates in Brooklyn. Although the Great
Depression ultimately doomed Kelty’s business,
his photographs document the spectacular size
and pageantry of the circus in New York City
during this period.
Circus sideshow performers in
Madison Square Garden
1928
Circus interior view of cast and
audience at Madison Square Garden
1932
Although the Big Show opened annually at
Madison Square Garden, its first performance
in a tent was traditionally reserved for Brooklyn,
after which the show headed out on the road for
the season.
Circus interior view of cast and
audience under canvas in Brooklyn
1931
“Cheerful Gardner and His Bulls /
Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus—
Yankee Stadium in Background. /
June 22nd 1933”
1933
“Cole Bros.—Clyde Beatty Circus /
New York Hippodrome—1937”
1937
The Cole Bros. Circus challenged the supremacy
of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey
Circus in the city by booking performances in
the spring of 1937 at the New York Hippodrome,
an enormous theater located on Sixth Avenue
between Forty-third and Forty-fourth Streets.
Despite an impressive publicity blitz and
some top acts, notably Clyde Beatty and the
clown Emmett Kelly, the Cole show fizzled
and Manhattan remained the almost exclusive
province of the Big Show.
WPA Circus personnel, in Brooklyn
ca. 1936
Prints & Photographs Division, Library of
Congress, Washington, D.C.
Children at WPA Festival in Sheep
Meadow, Central Park, May 2, 1936
Dick Rose
1936
Prints & Photographs Division, Library of
Congress, Washington, D.C.
“The World’s Greatest Circus /
Under the Big Tent . . . Schley Ave.
at E. 177th St., Bronx . . . ”
1936
Silkscreen poster
Poster Division, Federal Theatre, New York City
Music Division, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C.
“The Worlds Greatest Circus . . .
202 St. & Hollis Ave. Hollis L.I. . . . ”
1937
Silkscreen poster
Washington, D.C.
“Children’s Circus Rebate Tickets /
Free / Ask for Them Inside”
ca. 1935
Silkscreen poster
Washington, D.C.
W.P.A. Circus
William Hicks (b. 1895)
ca. 1937
Etching and aquatint
Spencer Museum of Art, The University
of Kansas, Gift of the W.P.A Arts Project,
0000.0365
Costume design for Mrs. Franklin
Robert Byrne
ca. 1936
Ink, watercolor, and pastel on paper
Washington, D.C. <CI-245>
Costume designs for Marie Genaro
and Albert Arden
Robert Byrne
ca. 1936
Costume design for the Flying
Russells
Robert Byrne
ca. 1936
Costume design for Michael Alvin
Robert Byrne
ca. 1936
Ink, watercolor, and pastel, on paper
Costume designs for Minnie and Bill
Robert Byrne
ca. 1936
Horse stand
mid-20th century
Painted wood
Liberty horse act, ca. 1937. Photograph. Library of Congress,
Federal Theatre Project Collection.
Presents Old King Cole and Mother
Goose”
George Howe (1886–1955), Studio of Norman
Bel Geddes
1941
McCandlish Lithograph Corp., Philadelphia
As part of his makeover effort for the 1941 season,
Norman Bel Geddes created a “spectacular
fantasy” inspired by the English nursery rhyme
“Old King Cole.” With costumes by Bel Geddes
and collaborator Miles White and choreography
by Albertina Rasch, a procession of fairytalethemed floats, animals, and dancers transformed
Madison Square Garden into what a reviewer for
the New York Times called “a childhood paradise
[where] harassed adults, depressed by war and
violence, were really kids again.”
Circus / The Greatest Show on Earth”
with Kitty Clark and elephant
George Howe (1886–1955), Studio of Norman
Bel Geddes
ca. 1945
Collection of Matthew Wittmann
Although Norman Bel Geddes undoubtedly
oversaw and approved them, many of the new
posters produced for the Ringling Bros. and
Barnum & Bailey Circus in the 1940s were
designed by a partner in his firm, the noted
architect George Howe. Based on a photograph,
this Kitty Clark poster was a modern take on
a traditional circus subject of an animal and
a showgirl. Clark was a renowned beauty and
appeared with the show’s other “ballet girls,”
as they were called, in production numbers
featuring coordinated aerial, equestrian, and
dance routines.
“Ringling Bros / Barnum & Bailey”
with monkey band
Lawson Wood (1878–1957)
1943
Gift of Harry T. Peters Sr. Family, 1959, 27.4-415
Lawson Wood was an English artist and a
noted illustrator of children’s books whom
John Ringling North commissioned to produce
several posters for the 1943 season.
Ringling Bros—Barnum & Bailey
Circus Magazine 1942 / Featuring
Peter Arno’s Original Circus
Drawings
1942
Ink on paper
Circus Publishing Co.
One of the most remarkable circus acts of the
era was a collaboration between choreographer
George Balanchine, composer Igor Stravinsky,
and elephant boss Walter McClain. “The Ballet
of the Elephants” production was an attempt
by John Ringling North to bring high culture
into the circus and featured fifty elephants in
pink tutus accompanied by female dancers. The
rhythm changes in Stravinsky’s Circus Polka
proved difficult for the elephants to grasp, and it
was only performed intermittently after its debut
with the Big Show at Madison Square Garden in
early April 1942.
Allen Lester. “Ballet of the Elephants” at Madison Square
Garden, 1942. Photograph. Circus World Museum,
CWi-2301.
“Mama’s in the Park” costume design
Miles White (1914–2000)
1955
Paint and pencil on paper
“Mama’s in the Park” bodice
and skirt costume
Designed by Miles White (1914–2000), from
the studio of Max Weldy
1955
Velvet and sequins
Gift of Max Weldy and Ringling Bros. and
Barnum & Bailey Circus, SN1562.706.66a-b
Sverre O. Braathen. Pat Lombardo and unknown girl
in “Mama’s in the Park” spec wardrobe, July 8, 1955.
Kodachrome photograph. Special Collections, Milner Library,
Illinois State University.
“Rainbow ’Round the World” clown
costume design
1955
Paint and ink on paper
“Rainbow ’Round the World”
clown costume
Designed by Miles White (1914–2000), from the
studio of Max Weldy
1955
Felt and sequins
Gift of Max Weldy and Ringling Bros. and
Barnum & Bailey Circus, SN1562.705.2a-b
Sverre O. Braathen. Ernie Burch, a clown, and Pirkko Ussim
in Rainbow ‘Round the World finale wardrobe, July 15,
1955. Kodachrome photograph. Special Collections, Milner
Library, Illinois State University.
“Rainbow ’Round the World”
mermaid costume design
1955
Paint and ink on paper
Miles White was a talented and award-winning
costume designer who transformed the look
of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey
Circus in the 1940s and 1950s with his inventive
designs. At the time, the circus usually staged
three or four new production numbers or specs
a season, and each required new costumes.
The 1955 “Mama’s in the Park” spec featured
adult elephants pushing baby elephants in
bonnets around the track in oversized carriages,
accompanied by dozens of cancan dancers,
clowns dressed as Keystone Kops, and Emmett
Kelly in the role of a park bum. White’s design for
the dancers was an elaborate Victorian–inspired
costume complete with feathered headdress and
a small parasol. The closing spectacle that year
was “Rainbow ‘Round the World,” with music of
the same title written by John Ringling North
and Irving Caesar and a collection of brightly
colored sequined costumes designed by White.
For the finale, three large rainbow-colored balls
were raised above the rings with girls performing
iron jaw routines dangling from each.
May Wirth
Harry Atwell (1879–1957)
ca. 1920
Inscription: “Best wishes from May Wirth”
May Wirth (1894–1978), née Zinga, was the
adopted daughter of an Australian family of
circus equestrians who came to the United
States in 1911. Wirth proved such a remarkable
talent that she opened with the Barnum &
Bailey Circus at Madison Square Garden the
following year. Her most famous feat was the
“back across,” a backward somersault from a lead
horse to another horse following behind. In a
case where publicity matched the performer, she
was indeed the greatest female bareback rider
of all time, and the New York Times opined in
1920 that “when P. T. Barnum, or Mark S. Orelius
or whoever it was said: ‘There is nothing new
under the sun,’ Miss Wirth had not been born.
Otherwise he would not have said it.”
May Wirth’s “back across,” 1913. Photograph. The John
and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida,
Tibbals Collection, ht0004442.
Combined Shows / May Wirth The
Greatest Bareback Rider of All Time”
ca. 1920
New York
“Ringling Bros-Barnum & Bailey /
Europe’s Latest Sensation The
Wallendas”
ca. 1928
The Wallendas, New York
Lisette Model (1901–1983)
1945
Gelatin silver print on board
International Center of Photography, Gift of
Lisette Model Foundation in memory of
Joseph G. Blum, 1993 (106.1993)
Karl Wallenda pants, shirt, and vest
ca. 1955
Satin, cotton gabardine, and sequins
Wallenda family
Gift of circus fans from Showfolks Tent #122,
SN1186.a-c
The Flying Wallendas, as they came to be known,
were a troupe of high-wire performers led by
Karl Wallenda (1905–1978), who was raised in
a German circus family. In 1928 the Wallendas
made a sensational debut at Madison Square
Garden with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum &
Bailey Circus when they performed their act
without a net. In later years, they incorporated
bicycles into their high-wire routine. The
highlight was a feat during which Karl balanced
on a bar between bicycles with one of the female
members of the troupe perched on his shoulders.
The Austrian–born photographer Lisette Model
captured this daring act at Madison Square
Garden, a scene made all the more dramatic by
the small square of canvas held by roustabouts
for protection some sixty feet below. The
audience’s fear for the Wallendas’ safety was
sadly justified as the troupe suffered a number
of serious accidents over the years. Karl himself
continued doing stunts until the age of 73, when
he fell to his death while walking across a wire
stretched between the towers of the Condado
Plaza Hotel in Puerto Rico. Members of the
family still perform today.
“Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey /
The Human Projectile Hugo
Zacchini… The Sensation of the
Century!”
1929
Illinois Lithograph Co.
of Harry T. Peters Sr. Family, 1959, 1959–67.303
“Hugo Zacchini— Human Projectile /
Ringling Brothers and Barnum &
Bailey Combined Circus / Brooklyn,
N.Y. May 19th 1933”
1933
Hugo Zacchini (1898–1975), “the human
projectile,” was an Italian-born daredevil who
specialized in being shot out of a truck-mounted
compressed-air cannon. Zacchini soared 75 feet
into the air and over 150 feet across the rings
before landing in a safety net. In 1929 he made
his debut with the Big Show in New York and
subsequently trained a whole host of human
cannonballs, many of whom still perform under
the Zacchini name today.
Clyde Beatty pith helmet
ca. 1940
Pith
Label: “Genuine Pith Helmet made in India
expressly for Bailey of California”
Clyde Beatty shirt
ca. 1940
Cotton drilling
Clyde Beatty whip
ca. 1940
Leather
Clyde Beatty chair
ca. 1940
Wood
Merle Evans band uniform
ca. 1955
Wool, gold embroidery, and metal buttons
Label: “A. Dubois of New York City”
New York State Museum, Albany, H-1988.59.1 a-d
“New Madison Square Garden—
Season 1926—Ringling Brothers and
Barnum & Bailey Concert Band.—
Merle Evans, Band Master.”
1926
Al Langdon jacket
ca. 1920
Wool, gold braid, and metal buttons
Label: “DeMoulin Bros. & Co., Grenville, IL”
Al Langdon was a noted elephant trainer who
worked with a variety of different shows in the
1910s and 1920s before going to work at a zoo
in Atlanta, Georgia.
Al Langdon, ca. 1920. Photograph. Circus World Museum,
CWi-2640.
Elephant tub
mid-20th century
Painted metal
Elephant act, ca. 1965. Photograph. The John and Mable
Ringling Museum of Art, Tibbals Collection, ht0004479.
Circus / The Greatest Show on Earth”
with Felix Adler
George Howe (1886–1955)
1943
Felix Adler birdcage hat
ca. 1950
Mixed media
Felix Adler clown shoes
ca. 1950
Leather
The Circus is Back!
1951
Black and white newsreel
Warner Pathe News
The Internet Archive
“Clown About Town”
Daniel J. Kuchar
2000
Set design model
Mixed media
Big Apple Circus
Barry Lubin “Grandma” clown
costume—wig, pearl necklace, dress,
bloomers, socks, shows, purse
Roberta Lubin
2012
Mixed media
Big Apple Circus
One of the Big Apple Circus’s most popular
performers was Barry Lubin, who joined the
show in 1981 as a clown. Best known for his
character “Grandma,” Lubin continues to
perform, but retired from the Big Apple
Circus in 2012.
Barry Lubin as “Grandma,” 2007. Photograph.
Courtesy of the Big Apple Circus.
P. T. Barnum top hat
ca. 1830
Felted fur (rabbit)
Label: “Ezra S. Hamilton, Hat, Cap, and Fur Store,
200 Main Street, Hartford, Conn.”
P. T. Barnum’s American
Museum medal
ca. 1855–60
White metal
Allen and Moore, Philadelphia
The New-York Historical Society, Gift of Bella C.
Landauer, 2002.1.4430
P. T. Barnum
ca. 1885
Albumen print
London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company
General Tom Thumb
(Charles S. Stratton) suit
1840s
Silk velvet with modern silk lining
Collection of the Barnum Museum,
T2008.5.AB
General Tom Thumb
(Charles S. Stratton)
pair of boots
1840s–50s
Leather
EL 1988.117.1AB
General Tom Thumb
(Charles S. Stratton)
violin and bow
1845
Wood (pine or spruce) and various materials
“Ricketts’s Circus” token
ca. 1795
Silver
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
The American Numismatic Society,
ANS 1903.27.1
This is one of the rarest early American coins and
was minted either as a token of admission or as a
souvenir for circus visitors. Tickets to Ricketts’s
circus cost one dollar for box seats and fifty cents
for the pit, and they were in such demand that
counterfeiting was a problem, something that
the use of tokens may have obviated. The obverse
features a shield with two swords and three fivepetal roses, flanked by a wreath with an arm
wielding a scimitar as the crest, which was the
coat of arms of the Ricketts family.
“New-York Circus, Corner of
Broadway and White-st. . . .
June 27, 1812.”
1812
Broadside
Pelsue and Gould, Printers, New York
Cayetano Mariotini was a versatile performer
who established a circus on the corner of
Broadway and White Street in the summer of
1812. This broadside reflects the typical mix
of acts that audiences could expect at an early
American circus, and it was the first show to
use the city’s name in its title.
to p le f t
“Giving Jumbo a Friendly Push Up
Broadway, N.Y., U.S.A. Compliments of
Beatty.”
1882
Color lithograph trade card
J. H. Bufford’s Sons, Boston
Somers Historical Society, Somers, New York, 94.1.27
b ot to m le f t
“Jumbo Objects to Being Put in Irons.
McWhirter & Wilson, Dry Goods,
No. 165 Market St., Newark, N.J.”
1882
Somers Historical Society, Somers, New York, 94.1.27
c e nte r
Lidded bowl in “Jumbo” pattern
1882
Glass
Canton Glass Company, Ohio
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. William Greig
Walker by subscription, 40.225 a-b
Jumbo inspired a wave of consumer advertising
and goods, of which this bowl is a particularly
fine example. Trade cards were a colorful
innovation in advertising during the late 19th
century and enabled companies to advertise
to a national market. The small cards were
distributed in bulk and frequently featured
popular images or characters, making Jumbo
an obvious choice.
to p r i g ht
“Jumbo Reaching for Candy.
McWhirter & Wilson, Dry Goods,
No. 165 Market St., Newark, N.J.”
ca. 1882
94.1.27
b ot to m r i g ht
“Jumbo Must Go, Because Drawn
by Willimantic Thread!”
ca. 1882
Forbes Co., Boston
94.1.27
Dan Rice’s striped pants
ca. 1860
Silk satin with velvet trim
Rosewood sword cane
J. E. Glover, New Orleans
1848
Inscribed on top of handle: “DR”; inscribed on
sides of handle: “Presented to Dan Rice / By
R. E. Hammet / of New Orleans / Dec. 20th
1848.”
Rosewood, steel, and gold
Albany Institute of History & Art, Gift of Phoebe
Powell Bender, 2003.30
Although born in New York City, Rice made his
reputation as a clown touring with a variety
circuses along the Mississippi River in the
1840s. This finely made cane was typical of gifts
often given to standout entertainers by local
communities.
P. T. Barnum & Co’s. Greatest
Show on Earth and the Great,
London Circus United with Adam
Forepaugh’s New and Greatest All
Feature Show
1887
Color lithograph courier
Courier Co., Buffalo
Collection of Fred D. Pfening III
“P. T. Barnum & Co’s Great Shows
and Adam Forepaugh’s Colossal
Aggregation Combined…”
Ticket
Ink on paper
Private collection
In 1886 Adam Forepaugh (1831–1890), who
was Barnum’s principal and at times bitter
rival, leased Madison Square Garden for the
entire winter to prevent the Barnum show from
opening its annual season in New York. With a
head-to-head clash looming, a compromise was
reached in which the shows joined forces for a
six-week stand at the Garden—undoubtedly one
of the grandest entertainment combinations
ever seen in the city.
P. T. Barnum went into semi-retirement after his American
Museum burned to the ground in 1865. In the fall of 1870
he was approached by W. C. Coup and Dan Castello about
the possibility of a joint circus venture and, intrigued
by the possibilities, wrote to his long-time friend Moses
Kimball: “I thought I had finished the show business
(and all other), but just for a flyer I go it once more.” The
“flyer” was the first edition of Barnum’s long-running
circus, grandly titled P. T. Barnum’s Great Traveling
Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and Hippodrome, which
in April 1871 gave its first performance under canvas in
Brooklyn. The massive show took the nation by storm with
an unprecedented combination of entertainment for a
single fifty-cent ticket. The next season, Barnum’s circus,
newly dubbed the “Greatest Show on Earth,” abandoned
overland wagon travel for the railroad, a move that would
transform the industry and usher in the golden age of the
circus in the United States.
Letter from P. T. Barnum
to Moses Kimball
February 18, 1871
Engraved letterhead with ink on paper
Shelburne Museum, Shelburne,
Vermont, MS 398 Peters Collection
“P. T. Barnum’s Museum and
Menagerie” ticket
1871
Ink on paper
EL1988.22.1
P. T. Barnum’s Advance Courier
1871
Illustrated newspaper
Engraved by Roylance & Purcell, New
York; printed by Wynkoop & Hallenbeck,
Steam Book and Job Printers, New York
Somers Historical Society, Somers, New
York 73.16.246
One of the innovations introduced by
Barnum was the courier, an advertisement
in newspaper format that was distributed
in advance of the show. The 1871
version was sixteen pages long and gave
sensational descriptions of the coming
show and featured fine illustrations of the
varied attractions.
Panorama of Barnum’s
Roman Hippodrome
and Grand Procession of
the Congress of Nations
Zoological Institute Caravan
and Museum
1874
Pamphlet
Torrey Brothers, Printers, New York
Gift of Barlow W. Seymour, Somers
Historical Society, Somers, New York,
94.1.33
Billstand for L. B. Lent’s New York
Circus, Bangor, Maine
1868
Stereographic photograph
A stereoview, or stereographic photograph,
was a pair of side by side two-dimensional
images that, when viewed with a special device
known as a stereoscope, created the illusion of
a three-dimensional image. Anthony & Co. of
New York City was one of the largest American
manufacturers of stereoviews and produced
images of domestic and foreign scenes by the
thousands, including a number that document
the history of the circus and the city.
Interior view of Barnum’s
Roman Hippodrome
ca. 1874
E. & H. T. Anthony & Co., New York
“Barnums Parade, N.Y.”
ca. 1880
E. & H. T. Anthony & Co., New York
“Ringling Bros Magnificent 1200
Character Spectacle / Joan of Arc”
1913
New York
27.4-512
Cast of Ringling Bros. Circus
spectacle “Joan of Arc”
G. E. Palfrey
1912
Panoramic photograph
Circus World Museum
One feature of the circus that flowered and
then faded during this period was the staging
of grand spectacles, or “specs” in circus parlance,
which exploited the readily available resources
of the circus in an exotic or historic setting The
roots of this tradition can be traced back to the
entry pageants and pantomimes that began
with John Bill Ricketts in 1793, but spectacles
became notably more ambitious after Barnum
& Bailey debuted a lavish new production,
“Nero, or the Destruction of Rome,” in 1890.
The Barnum & Bailey Circus followed up by
introducing a new production each season,
ranging from “Columbus & The Discovery of
America” to the “Durbar of Delhi,” and other
shows quickly followed suit. The Ringling Bros.
and Barnum & Bailey shows featured specs
in the first decades of the 20th century that
embraced a variety of patriotic, exotic, classical,
and medieval themes. Debuted in the Ringling
Bros.’s 1913 touring season, “Joan of Arc” was
a particularly popular production, complete
with an elaborate staging of the folk heroine’s
story, including period accessories and thrilling
mock battles. Specs in the years that followed
became notably less ambitious because of the
costs and logistical difficulties associated with
these extravagant productions, and by the 1920s
shows reverted to what was more or less simple
processional displays.
Frederick Whitman Glasier. “The Durbar” at Madison Square
Garden, 1904. Print from a glass plate negative. The John
and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida,
Glasier Glass Plate Negative Collection, 0097.
Souvenir cross-section of
Jumbo’s tusk
1885
Ivory with ink
Jumbo was killed in a train accident after a
performance in St. Thomas, Ontario. Barnum
immediately dispatched Henry Augustus Ward
(1834–1906), a noted taxidermist and a professor
at the University of Rochester, to preserve the
elephant. In February 1886, Jumbo’s remains
were reintroduced to the public at a rather
unusual banquet held at the Powers Hotel
in Rochester. Distinguished guests received
an “appropriate and handsome souvenir” to
mark the occasion: a slice of Jumbo’s damaged
left tusk adorned with a coat of arms and an
epitaph. The ivory powder accumulated during
the cutting process was given to the hotel’s
cooks, who prepared a special jelly served at the
dinner. Barnum displayed Jumbo’s skeleton
and hide at the circus for several seasons. The
hide was eventually donated to Tufts University,
where it was destroyed by a fire in 1975, and
the skeleton went to the American Museum of
Natural History in New York City, where it is still
exhibited on occasion.
“P.T. Barnum & Co’s Greatest Show on Earth and The
Great London Circus combined with Sanger’s Royal
British Menagerie . . . Great Jumbo’s Skeleton.” Strobridge
Lithographing Company, Cincinnati & New York. Prints &
Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.
Performer’s jacket
ca. 1830
Cotton and silk
Benjamin F. Brown Collection, William L.
Clements Library, University of Michigan;
M-4067, Textile Storage Box
This small jacket dating from the 1830s was
likely used by a performer in a circus run by
Benjamin F. Brown, a showman from Somers,
New York. Although its wearer is unknown,
young children or apprentices were often
featured in early circuses. They were favorites
of managers, as they were essentially unpaid
labor and provided a cost-effective way of
filling up a program. However, the length of the
jacket sleeves suggests an intriguing possibility.
A popular feature of early menageries and
circuses in the United States was the riding
monkey, which came to be known as a “Dandy
Jack.” Brown’s circus employed two monkeys in
their version of this act, including one billed as
Captain Dick. The monkeys raced around the
ring on two separate ponies and, as depicted
in a 1831 broadside, rode together doing a flag
act in male and female costumes. The special
wardrobe Captain Dick required for such
anthropomorphic displays could certainly
have included this jacket.
Detail of “Kapitein Dick op Zijne Shetland Pony,” 1830.
Broadside, printed by C. J. Fuchs, Paramaribo. Benjamin F.
Brown Collection, William L. Clements Library, University
of Michigan.
John Bill Ricketts
Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828)
1795–99
Oil on canvas
National Gallery of Art, Gift of Mrs. Robert Noyes
in memory of Elisha Riggs, 1942.14.1
This unfinished portrait by Gilbert Stuart was
painted in his Philadelphia studio between
1795 and 1799, when John Bill Ricketts was
performing in that city. Legend has it that the
artist became angry at his sitter for giving him
“a good deal of trouble by his want of
promptitude.” Stuart apparently intended to
include the head of Ricketts’s famous horse
Cornplanter, whose outline can be seen at the
left. Stuart later playfully drew another figure
of a horse out of the aureole surrounding
Ricketts’s head, which he used to model the
highlights and shadows of the sitter’s face
against the darker background.
“The celebrated Cornplanter taking a flying leap over Silva
a Horse of his own height,” ca. 1796. Engraving by John
Scoles, New York. Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton
Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
“The New York Circus, L. B. Lent,
Director.”
ca. 1870
Albumen print on board with hand-drawn
additions and color
Lewis B. Lent was a corpulent, all-around circus
man from Somers, New York, who in 1865
took over the Hippotheatron, an enormous
building of corrugated iron on the southeast
corner of Fourteenth Street and Fourth Avenue
near Union Square. Originally erected in 1863,
the main part of the structure was 110 feet in
diameter and supported a 75-foot dome topped
with a cupola. Lent spared no expense and
employed the finest available talent, ensuring
that the New York Circus was one of the city’s
foremost attractions during the 1860s. The circus
was open annually from October to March and
went on the road during the summer months. By
offering regular matinee performances catering
to women and children, Lent helped drive the
ongoing redefinition of the circus as “family
entertainment” during the post-Civil War era.
In many ways, his operation represented the
culmination of four decades of development for
the American circus.
Interior of Lent’s New York Circus, ca. 1866. Unsigned
engraving. Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library,
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
“The Wonderfull & Beautifully
Trained Horse Excelsior as He
Actually Appears in Dan Rice’s
Great Show.”
1867
Inscription: “Presented to Jackson Shackelford /
By his Friend, Dan Rice”
Dan Rice, born Daniel McClaren in Manhattan’s
rough Five Points neighborhood in 1823, made
his 1845 New York debut with the Bowery Circus
as a blackface minstrel and clown. Rice was a
versatile performer but became famous as a
“talking clown” who was particularly renowned
for his quick wit, Shakespearean burlesques,
and political humor. Billed as the “King of
American Clowns” by the 1850s, Rice spent many
years touring out West, periodically revisiting
the city of his birth to make a star turn with a
touring show or resident company. His rough
humor did not always play well with his New
York audiences—in 1858 the New York Tribune
complained he was “a grammatical assassin,
and the King’s English nightly dies a hundred
deaths under his tender mercies.” Still, Rice was
one of the most popular performers of the 19th
century and, with his patriotic striped trousers
and distinctive goatee, may have been one of the
inspirations for the American icon “Uncle Sam.”
Thomas M.
Easterly. Dan
Rice, ca. 1848.
Daguerreotype.
Missouri History
Museum, St.
Louis, Missouri,
PHO: 17301.
This poster, signed by Dan Rice to his friend
Jackson Shackelford, depicts one of his most
famous attractions, the trained horse Excelsior.
The animal entered the ring as depicted here,
posed on a platform carried by ten men,
answered questions by shaking his head yes or
no, jumped rope, and, for the finale, walked up
and down a set of stairs.
Design for the “Africa” tableau
wagon
Attributed to Harry Ogden (1857–1936)
1902–3
Albumen print of original drawing
Design for the “Fairy Tales”
tableau wagon
Attributed to Harry Ogden (1857–1936)
1902–3
Albumen print of original drawing
The scope and spectacle of circus parades
vastly expanded in the late 19th century with
the introduction of tableau wagons. These
themed wagons featured enormous wood
carvings and intricate rococo scrollwork created
by specialists such as Samuel Robb, a talented
carver known for his show figures who worked
out of a shop at 195 Canal Street. The zenith of
circus wagon-building came in 1902–3, when
James A. Bailey commissioned the Sebastian
Wagon Company of New York to make more
than a dozen wagons, including the iconic “Two
Hemispheres” bandwagon, two nursery-story–
themed wagons, and four “Continental Floats.”
They were designed by Harry Ogden, an artist
for the Strobridge Lithographing Company, and
all of the woodwork was handled by Samuel
Robb’s shop. The elaborate wooden figures were
mounted on ornately paneled wagons for the
1903 Barnum & Bailey parade, which featured
the finest lineup in American circus history.
Despite the enormous financial investment in
the wagons, the increasing expense and logistical
difficulties of parades led most circuses to drop
them by the 1920s.
“Fairy Tales” circus wagon, ca. 1903. Photograph. Circus
World Museum.
Tiny Kline “slide for life” stunt,
Times Square
1932
Film clip from Gizmo! (1977); directed by Howard
Smith
High Wire Production
2 min.
Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design
History, Material Culture; New York
Tiny Kline was a feature rider and aerialist with
the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Her specialty was the “slide for life,” essentially a
modified iron-jaw act in which she would break
what appeared to be the only rope holding her
aloft and zip down a cable dangling by her teeth.
Kline made a name for herself doing daredevil
stunts, and in October 1932 she made headlines
by sliding more than 1,000 feet across Times
Square from a sign atop the Edison Hotel to
the roof of the Palace Theater, where she was
starring in a circus-themed production on the
RKO vaudeville circuit.
Frederick Whitman Glasier. Mamie “Tiny” Kline, Equestrian,
ca. 1918. Print from a glass plate negative. The John and
Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida, Glasier
Glass Plate Negative Collection, 1075.
“New York School for Circus Arts
Presents the Big Apple Circus”
Louisa Chase
1977
Cut paper
Big Apple Circus
Reinvigorating the circus in the 1970s and 1980s
was the rise of nouveau cirque, or “new circus,” a
broad-based movement in the arts and theater
that sought to reimagine its performance and
aesthetics. Although the most visible face of
the varied and international movement was the
Cirque du Soleil, the Big Apple Circus perhaps
best captured its spirit in New York. Founded
by Paul Binder and Michael Christensen, Big
Apple adopted a classic one-ring format but also
experimented with new kinds of performers
and presentations. The show first performed in
a big top in Battery Park City on landfill created
by excavation for the World Trade Center and
other construction projects. Finding success
with the loose one-ring format, the Big Apple
Circus moved to Lincoln Center in 1981 and
began to feature top acts from around the world.
Although no longer exclusive to the city, the
Big Apple Circus continues to perform here for
several months each season, having carved out
a position in New York City’s cultural landscape
with an innovative show that imbues traditional
circus arts with contemporary flair.
Michael Christensen and Paul Binder, 1983. Photograph.
Courtesy of the Big Apple Circus.
Merle Evans band uniform
ca. 1955
Wool, gold embroidery, and metal buttons
Label: “A. Dubois of New York City”
New York State Museum, Albany, H-1988.59.1 a-d
For longevity and verve, no performer matched
the career of the musician and bandmaster Merle
Evans (1894–1987), who joined the combined
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for
its debut season in 1919. He engaged thirty-one
musicians for the band only a week before the
show’s debut at Madison Square Garden. Except
for a few brief absences, Evans led the Ringling
Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus band for the
next fifty years and retired after the close of the
1969 season. During a typical performance, the
band played more than 200 different pieces
drawn from a wide variety of sources—popular
tunes of the day, classical selections, and an
assortment of waltzes, marches, and gallops.
Although Evans led the band, he also remained
dedicated to playing the cornet and could often
be seen conducting with his left hand while
playing the instrument with his right. From his
perch in the Madison Square Garden bandstand,
Evans saw the rise and decline of the circus
in New York City over the course of the 20th
century and provided the soundtrack to a halfcentury of circus spectacle.
Merle Evans conducts the Ringling Bros. and Barnum &
Bailey band, 1946. Photograph, Circus World Museum,
CWi-2287.
Felix Adler clown costume—
birdcage hat, bowtie, suit and shoes
ca. 1950
Mixed media
Circus World Museum, CWi-2674, CWi-2628,
CWi-2645, CWi-2653
Felix Adler (1895–1960) performed as a clown
in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey
Circus for almost fifty years. His look was very
distinctive: grotesque whiteface with a giant red
nose, an even larger rear end, and a tiny hat or
umbrella. Adler had a very clear philosophy of
clowning: “The clown’s humor is based on two
things. The first is doing something that looks
serious, but turns out to be funny. . . . There is
a very narrow dividing line between comedy
and tragedy, and the clown finds it. The second
essential for him is surprise; the unexpected
makes the people laugh.” Perhaps his bestknown acts involved trained piglets, which
walked on their hind legs, went down a slide in
exchange for a bottle of milk, and chased Adler,
who pretended to be the Big Bad Wolf, around
the ring.
Felix Adler with piglet, ca. 1940. Photograph. Circus World
Museum, CWi-2295.
“Hagenbeck-Wallace Trained Wild
Animal Circus / Clyde Beatty the
Jungle King in a Single-Handed
Battle with 40 of the Most Ferocious
Brutes that Breathe!”
ca. 1934
Clyde Beatty at Madison Square
Garden
1934
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
Archive, CM20015
One of the most sensational circus stars of the
20th century was Clyde Beatty (1903–1965), a
handsome and charismatic wild-animal trainer
who took the country by storm in the 1930s.
Echoing Isaac Van Amburgh of a century earlier,
Beatty was known for his “all-American fighting
act” during which he violently toyed with the big
cats. He appeared in the cage wearing a safari
uniform, complete with pith helmet, and carrying
a whip and a chair with a pistol strapped to his
waist. By 1930 Beatty’s star was on the rise as
he worked with thirty-two lions and tigers in a
single large cage, an impressive and dangerous
feat. The following year he opened with the
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in
New York and Boston. He subsequently starred
in several Hollywood films, and for a number of
years he operated a circus under his own name.
Beatty performed in New York City on only a few
occasions, but his popularity ensured that wildanimal acts remained a prominent part of the
American circus.
“The New York Circus, L. B. Lent,
Director.”
ca. 1870
Albumen print on board with hand-drawn
additions and color
“L. B. Lent’s New York Circus from
its Palatial Iron Edifice, New York
City . . . Will Exhibit at Elgin, Ill.
Tuesday, May 23”
1876
Herald with woodcut illustrations, printed in
three colors
Engraved by Morse
The Hippotheatron, an enormous building
of corrugated iron on the southeast corner of
Fourteenth Street and Fourth Avenue, was
erected during the winter of 1863-64. The main
part of the structure was 110 feet in diameter and
supported a 75-foot dome topped with a cupola.
Lent spared no expense and employed the finest
available talent, ensuring that his New York
Circus was one of the city’s foremost attractions
during the 1860s and 1870s. The circus was
open annually from October to March and went
on tour during the summer months. In 1866,
Lent’s New York Circus became the first show to
tour exclusively by rail, which quickly became
the new standard for the leading circuses. In
offering regular matinee performances catering
to women and children, Lent also helped drive
the ongoing redefinition of the circus as “family
entertainment” during the post-Civil War era.
In many ways, his operation represented the
culmination of four decades of development
for the American circus and gave New York
audiences the opportunity to enjoy the best of
the circus world.
Interior of Lent’s New York Circus, ca. 1866. Unsigned
engraving. Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library,
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Harry DeMarlo Mephistopheles
costume
ca. 1920
Wool knit, silk trim, and sequins
Friede DeMarlo frog costume
ca. 1910
Mixed media
New York State Museum, Albany, 7-18-3,
H-1987.62.430, 7-18-3, H-1987.61.1
DeMarlo performing-dog costume
ca. 1925
Rayon knit and sequins
Harry DeMarlo, born James Dwight Morrow
(1882–1971), and Friede DeMarlo, nee Gobsch
(1890–1980), were a husband-and-wife team
that performed in both circuses and vaudeville
during the early decades of the 20th century.
Harry was an aerial contortionist and developed
an act with Friede called “Frog’s Paradise,” in
which they both performed contortions in frog
costumes, culminating with Friede’s morphing
into a nymph and dancing. The DeMarlos
developed new routines to tour with the Barnum
& Bailey Circus. Harry performed a “Devil on the
Trapeze” act, doing his usual contortions high
over the ring. Friede adopted the “nom-de-arena”
La Marletta and also initially performed an aerial
contortion routine, but in 1924 she introduced
an exciting new iron-jaw performance called the
“Whirl of Death,” which became a feature act with
the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
from 1925 through 1927. She was lifted more
than fifty feet in the air holding onto a leather
strap with her teeth while a motor rapidly spun
her around for two full minutes as she engaged
in various poses. Friede gave up performing
the “Whirl of Death” after a terrible fall, but the
couple continued to appear in circuses and on
the vaudeville circuit until they retired to a farm
in Walton, New York, where they trained dogs for
animal acts.
“Franconi Schottisch / Composed
for the Piano Forte and respectfully
dedicated to the Visitors of the
Hippodrome”
Franklin L. Harris, composer
1853
Tinted lithograph
Lithograph by Sarony & Major, New York;
published by T. S. Berry, New York
94.1.9
“Exterior View of Franconi’s Colossal
Hippodrome / Sketch of the Interior
of Franconi’s Hippodrome”
1853
Lithograph courier
Strong Lith., New York
95.19.87
The most innovative circus in these years was
Franconi’s Hippodrome, which was built in 1853
at Broadway and Twenty-third Street adjacent to
Madison Square. Henri Franconi, a member of a
distinguished European equestrian dynasty that
managed the famed Cirque Olympique in Paris,
was recruited by a consortium of American
showmen to give the new circus venture an air of
sophistication. The show attempted to evoke the
grandeur of ancient Rome and accommodated
more than 6,000 patrons around a large oval
track that was used for a variety of races by
horses, chariots, and even ostriches. The show
featured an unusually large cast of 150 riders
and centered on the “Grand Tournament,” an
elaborate pantomime and procession, which
was a model for the circus spectacles that
became popular later in the 19th century.
Newspapers reported that the debut
performance on May 2, 1853, attracted the
largest audience ever assembled at a place of
amusement in the United States.
“Henri Franconi and His Horse Bayard—Opening Night,
N. Y. Hippodrome.” from Illustrated News, May 14, 1853.
Engraving. Somers Historical Society, Somers, New York,
73.24.20.

The Circus - Bard Graduate Center

Transcription

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