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Visual Materials

N-Ric (New York Circus - George W. Richard)


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    G-L (Grand Circus Royal - J.H. LaPearl)

    Visual Materials

    This folder contains show bills produced for the following circuses: Grand Circus Royal & English Menagerie & Astley; Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus; William P. Hall; Richard Havemann; Holland & MacMahon; Howe; Ireland Bros.; Jones Brothers; King & Franklin; and J. H. La Pearl.

    priJLC_ENT_Circus

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    New York Circus

    Visual Materials

    This collection contains more than 650 printed items that relate to circuses in the United States from the 1850s to the 1990s. The collection consists of advertising and promotional materials, business records, and illustrations produced for or pertaining to circuses, their tours and shows, staff and performers, acts and exhibits, and animals. Materials are arranged in three series: small-size prints and ephemera (11 x 14 inches or less); large-size prints and ephemera (more than 11 x 14 inches); and broadsides and handbills. The collection has 206 large-size items comprised mainly of lithographic posters containing brightly colored images of featured circus acts, performers, and animals that were typically posted outdoors in advance of the circus coming to town. Small-size items in the collection number more than 320 and are comprised mainly of advertising and promotion ephemera and business documents such as trade cards, programs and souvenir books, route cards, envelopes, tickets, songsters, and printed billheads and letterheads. The 130 broadsides, handbills, and related advertisements consist primarily of long, narrow broadsides printed on newspaper paper in black ink using letterpress type that advertised upcoming circus shows and were intended to be distributed by hand, left in stacks in public places, or posted on walls, fences, or in windows in advance of the circus's arrival in a town. This collection provides a resource for studying the history of the American circus and its impact on popular entertainment and advertising in the 19th and 20th centuries. As graphic materials, the items offer evidence of the development of printmaking techniques and trends, and of the artists, engraves, lithographers, printers, and publishers involved in the creation of these prints.

    priJLC_ENT_Circus

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    Series III. Circus Broadsides and Handbills

    Visual Materials

    This series contains more than 120 printed 19th and early 20th century circus broadsides, handbills, and related advertisements. These bills publicize shows for approximately 60 different American circuses between the 1820s and 1930s, with the bulk of the items dating from 1860 to 1920. The printed text typically includes the name of the circus, featured attractions, acts, and performers, admission prices, and the date and location of shows. The materials range in size from approximately 10 x 6 inches to 42 x 7 inches and consist primarily of single-sheet advertisements for circus shows that were intended to be distributed by hand, left in stacks in public places, or posted on walls, fences, or in windows in advance of the circus's arrival in a town. Among the names given to these advertisements, according to their size and mode of distribution, are broadsides, dodgers, handbills, hangers, heralds, posters, playbills, and show bills. The notices in this series are primarily long, narrow broadsides printed on newsprint paper in black ink using letterpress type of varying fonts and sizes, though some have colored ink, colored paper, or woodcut illustrations. The series also includes one 1881 circus courier (a four-page bill) and four newspaper issues with articles or advertisements about circuses. Among the most commonly credited printers in this series are Clarry & Reilley (New York, New York); the Courier Company (Buffalo, New York); Erie Litho & Printing Co. (Erie, Pennsylvania); and the Russell & Morgan Printing Company (Cincinnati, Ohio). The bills that include show location information promote shows in the following states: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.

    priJLC_ENT_Circus

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    Barr-C (S. H. Barrett & Co. - W.C. Coup)

    Visual Materials

    This folder contains show bills produced for the following circuses: S. H. Barrett & Co.; Batcheller & Doris; Big Circus (?); Burk; Christy Bros.; Circus Bowery; W. W. Cole; Cole & Cooper; Cole Bros.; and W. C. Coup.

    priJLC_ENT_Circus

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    New York Circus

    Visual Materials

    Show location: New Bedford, Massachusetts

    priJLC_ENT_Circus

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    New York Circus

    Visual Materials

    Show location: New Bedford, Massachusetts

    priJLC_ENT_Circus