Circuses and Wild West Shows
Circuses and Wild West Shows collection. – 1902-1957. – 41
posters. – Posters have been numbered by the archivist. First and
second accruals.
First accrual
CIR1 “Clyde Beatty and Cole Bros. World’s Largest Circus”.
Red lettering on a white background. Illustrated with three clowns,
with one riding a pig. Information on the show in New Bedford, June
30 is on a pasted-on strip. [1952].
CIR2 “Col. Tim McCoy’s Real Wild West And Rough Riders of
The World. The Winning of the West”. Red and black lettering on
a blue background. Illustrated with cowboys on a stage coach fighting
Indians on horses. Information on the show in Wilmington, May 7 is
on a pasted-on strip. [1938]
CIR3 “Cole Bros. Circus Presents the Great Florenzo”. Red,
black and blue lettering on a yellow background. Illustrated with a
race car driving down a slide, flipping and landing. [1940?]
CIR4 “Cole Bros. Circus. Clyde Beatty: Greatest Wild Animal Trainer
of All Time – In a Single-Handed Combat With 40 Man-Eating Lions
And Royal Bengal Tigers”. Red and black lettering on yellow background.
Illustrated with Clyde Beatty holding a chair surrounded by lions and
tigers in the circus ring. Information on the show and street parade
in Guelph, June 27 is on a pasted-on strip. [1935]
CIR5 “Cole Bros. Circus. America’s Favorite Show”. Yellow
lettering on a blue background. Illustrated with a clown standing over
circus tents. [1946]
CIR6 Cole Bros. Circus Presents Quarter-Million Pound Act of Performing
Elephants / The Most Colossal Trained Animals Display Ever Presented”.
Red and yellow lettering on yellow and black background. Illustrated
with many elephants performing circus tricks. Erie Litho & Ptg Co.,
Erie, PA. No. 12561. [1949]
CIR7 Cole Bros Circus. Betty Lou Former Star of Tarzan Pictures Now
With Cole Bros. Circus”. Red lettering on a yellow background.
Ilustrated with a large gorilla. No. 41-10184-5. [1941]
CIR8 “Cole Bros. Circus. Harietta: Europe’s Favorite Equestrienne,
First Time In America”. Red and yellow lettering. Illustrated with
Harietta standing on a horse facing a clown under the big top. [1935]
CIR9 “Cole Bros. Circus. Miss Ruth Nelson: America’s Most
Fearless And Daring Horsewoman”. Red lettering across the top,
yellow lettering on a black background on bottom. Illustrated with Nelson
doing various tricks on horses. [1948]
CIR10 “Cole Bros Circus. Only African Elephant Exhibited With Any
American Circus: Jumbo the 2nd with Clyde Beatty”. Red
lettering on a yellow background, and yellow lettering on a blue background.
Illustrated with Jumbo in chains. Information on the show in Guelph
is on pasted-on strip. [1935]
CIR11 “Cole Bros. Circus. Big Free Street Parade: Is The Most Magnificent,
Largest, Greatest Processional Spectacle Ever Seen. Given Absolutely
Free at 11 O’clock A.M. Preceding The Initial Exhibition Of The
World’s Greatest Show with Clyde Beatty”. Illustrated with
a circus parade, featuring elephant sand horses. Information on the
show playing in Guelph is on a pasted-on strip. [1935]
CIR12 “Cristiani Bros. 3 Ring-Wild Animals Circus”. White
lettering on a red background. Illustrated with a large lion roaring.
Information on the show playing in Tarboro on Tue. Oct. 8 is on pasted-on
strip. [1957]
CIR13 “Forepaugh & Sells Brothers. Enormous Shows United. Spotted
and Saddle Back Tapirs: Most Perfect Specimens in Captivity”. White
and black lettering. Illustrated with two tapirs grazing in the wild.
Copyright, 1902 by the Strobridge Lith Co. Cin’ti & New York.
1902
CIR14 “Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. First Time In America Blacaman
Hindu Animal Hypnotist”. Red, black and blue lettering on a yellow
background. Illustrated with a man hypnotizing ravenous lions. Erie
Litho & Ptg Co., Erie, PA. [1938]
CIR14a [Jones Bros.]. “Buffalo Ranch Real Wild West. Illustrated
by cowboys and Indians – “The Red Indian War Dance”,
“Equestrian Football”, “A Lesson in the History of Pioneer
Days”, “Games of the Real Red Men, Camel Races”. Milwaukee,
Riverside Print Co., Chicago 33/9. [ca. 1910]
CIR15 “King Bros. and Christiani Combined Circus. World’s
Largest Circus Parade. Gorgeous Free Street Parade 11am”. Red lettering
on a yellow background. Illustrated a large parade of elephants, camels,
horses and performers. [1953]
CIR16 “King Bros. Circus. An All New All Different Show”.
White and yellow lettering on a blue background. Illustrataed with a
clown over the big top. Information on the street parade and show in
Guelph is on a pasted-on strip. [1955]
CIR17 “King Bros. & Christiani Combined Circus”. Red lettering
on a white background. Illustrated with three clowns, one of which
is riding a pig. Information on the show in Bradford, July 30 is on
a pasted-on strip. [1952]
CIR18 “Master Beery Exhibitions. Prof. Jesse Berry. Fairgrounds
August 12-16 1913. Illustrated with Prof. Berry, contests and cowboy.
Contests include saddle horse and cowboy events; also wild African zebras
CIR19 “Ken Maynard’s Wild West, North Platte, Friday July
26. Pasted-on strip for a poster not extant in this collection.
CIR20 “Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey. Tribe of Genuine
Ubangi Savages: With Mouths And Lips As Large As Those Of Full-Grown
Crocodiles”. Red, white and brown lettering on yellow, green and
black backgrounds. Illustrated with Africans with extended lips and
traditional African headdress and accessories. Illinois Litho Co., Chicago,
U.S.A. [1932]
CIR21 “Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Combined Circus. Durbar
of Delhi”. Red lettering on a yellow background. Illustrated with
a large group of elephants in traditional Indian decoration with Indian
man. [1933]
CIR22 “Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey. The Greatest Show
on Earth.” Yellow letters on a blue background. Illustrated by
Bill Bailey with a large elephant carrying a clown on its trunk. Chicago
Show Printing Co. 1945
CIR23 “Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Introducing
Mr. and Mrs. Gargantua The Great”. Purple lettering on a yellow
background and white lettering on a red background. Illustrated with
two large gorillas. [1942]
CIR24 “Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Combined Circus. Presenting
a Stupendous New Congress Of Amazing World-Wide Features Including Giraffe-Neck
Women From Burma. The Greatest Educational Attraction The World Has
Ever Known”. Red, black and yellow lettering and a yellow background.
Illustrated with Burmese men and women with decorated necks. Central
Ptg and Illinois Litho Co., Chicago, U.S.A. [1933]
CIR25 “Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows. Red
letters on a white background. Illustrated with a pouncing tiger. Illinois
Litho Co. Chicago[1933]
CIR26 “Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Combined Circus. The
Biggest and Most Magnificent Dressage Display Ever Presented, Including
85 Pure Bred American Horses Schooled in The European Manner of The
World-Famed Imperial Spanish Riding Academy in Vienna”. Red lettering
on a beige background. Illustrated with horses performing dressage in
three rings. Information on the show playing in Dayton, June 15 is on
a pasted-on strip. [1938]
CIR27 “Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Combined Circus. 100
Double Length Steel Railroad Cars Crammed and Jammed With Wonders From
All Corners Of The Earth”. Yellow lettering on a blue background.
Illustrated with numerous railcars unloading the many animal attractions.
Includes information on the show in Abilene September 4. [1938]
CIR28 “Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Combined Circus. The
World-Famous Magyars Europe’s Greatest Acrobatic Troupe Presented
for The First Time In America”. Red lettering on a yellow background.
Illustrated with a group of acrobats posing in traditional Magyar dress.
Information on the show in Syracuse, July 2 is on a pasted on strip.
[1937]
CIR29 “Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Combined Circus. Presenting
The Colossal New Spectacle India, Most Sublime Pageant In History”.
Red and blue lettering on a light blue background. Illustrated with
three British soldiers leading a procession of elephants on horses.
Information on the show in Syracuse, July 2 is on a pasted-on strip.
[1937]
CIR30 “Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Combined Circus. The
Largest Gorilla Ever Exhibited – Gargantua The Great: The World’s
Most Terrifying Living Creature”. Red and blue lettering on a white
and yellow background. Illustrted with a large, angry gorilla grasping
an African in traditional dress. Information on the show in Concordia,
September 3 is on a pasted-on strip. [1938]
CIR31 “Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Combined Circus. The
Royal Bokara Troupe in Great New International Congress Of Acrobatic
Marvels From Every Land”. Red and blue lettering on a yellow background.
Illustrated with acrobats performing on carts drawn by camels in a Middle
Eastern setting. Information on the show in Trenton, June 3 with pasted-on
strip. [1936]
CIR32 “Russell Bros. Circus. 3 Ring Circus”. Red lettering
on a yellow background. Illustrated with acrobats, elephants, horses,
clowns, etc. Information on the show in Coatsville, July 31 is on a
pasted on strip. [1939]
CIR33 “Walter L. Main 3 Ring Trained Wild Animal Shows. National
Show Co. Inc., Operators”. Red lettering on a yellow background.
Illustrated with a leopard, polar bear and lion on a see-saw. Riverside
Print Co., Milwaukee, Chicago. [1937]
CIR34 Unknown. Illustration of a clown giving a thumbs up. Writteon
on the verso is “Gelbert [?] Circus 1943 with Tenell [?] Jack.
[1943]
CIR35 Unknown. Illustration of three clowns playing with a fire cracker.
Extreme oversize.
Second accrual
CIR36 "Cole Bros. Circus. Blood Sweating Hippopotaumus
from the River Nile. World's Largest Travelling Zoo." Illustrated
with a hippopotanus in a circus wagon. [1948]
CIR37 "Conklin Shows World's Finest. Red Chevron
club Bazaar-Carnival, May 6 to 11, Guelph". Illustrated with a
female circus performer and a view of the midway. Enterprise Show Print,
Rouleau, Sask.[1940]
CIR38 "Al G. Kelly and Miller Br". The remainder
of the heading which is pasted on top of the poster has been torn off.
The poster depicts the head of a lion. Milwuakee, Riverside Print Co.,
Chicago 2763.
CIR39 "Garden Bros. Circus". Illustrated
with a clown and female acrobats. King Show print, Estevan, Sask.
CIR40 "Circus Aramant". Text of the poster
is in German, red lettering on beige background. Illustrated with a
lion, elephant, and a clown.
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