This volume contextualizes the circus as a cultural force in North America during the long nineteenth century. Individually, resources provide insight into the business, people, acts, and audience experience in a period that witnessed explosive growth of population, print media, technology, and amusement.
This volume contextualizes the circus as a cultural force in North America during the long nineteenth century. Individually, resources provide insight into the business, people, acts, and audience experience in a period that witnessed explosive growth of population, print media, technology, and amusement. The selections are intended to foster comfort with working through the combination of firsthand accounts, manuscripts, and marketing jargon that comprise research into the historical record of the circus. These varied sources also point to the intersection of entertainment and culture, situating the traveling circus as a mirror showing something of the character of the society it entertained.
Volume II: Circus in North America
Acknowledgments
General Introduction
Volume II Introduction
Part
1. Origins & Impresarios
1. Letter, George Washington to Samuel and Elizabeth Willing Powel, 24 April
1793.
2. New-York, May 15, Federal Gazette (Philadelphia), 17 May 1793, p.
2.
3. Excerpts from the papers of Benjamin Franklin Brown (1830s), The John and
Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Circus Museum.
4. The Traveling Circus, excerpt from The Life of P.T. Barnum (New York:
Redfield, 1855), pp. 177-178.
5. A New Circus, The New York Herald, 31 May 1846, p.
3.
6. Circus for Sale, The New York Herald, 27 August 1846, p.
3.
7. Spalding & Rogers Circus Fleet, Gallipolis Journal, 17 June 1852, p.
3.
8. P.T. Barnums Grand Colossal Museum and Menagerie, The Evening Post
(Cleveland), August 6, 1852, p.
3.
9. The Great Exhibitions of Van Amburgh, Den Stone, and Tyler, Three Distinct
Features in One Entertainment (1855). The John and Mable Ringling Museum of
Art, Tibbals Circus Collection Booklet Inventory, Box 10, Folder
19.
10. Spalding & Rogers New Railroad Circus, Springfield Daily Republican, 7
May 1856, p.
4.
11. The Great National Circus under the direction of Mrs. Chas Warner
formerly Mrs. Dan Rice (1864), The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art,
Tibbals Circus Collection Booklet Inventory, Box 26, Folder
11. Excerpt
12. Castellos Circus, Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), 30 June 1869,
p.
3.
13. Forepaugh As He Was, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 26 January 1890, p.
7.
14. A Caesar Among Showmen, The New York Times, 19 April 1891, p.
20.
15. W. C. Coup, How Barnum Circus was Started, New York Clipper, 16 May
1891, p.
169.
16. The Circus Trust, The Indianapolis Journal, 16 July, 1899, p.
3.
17. Story of the Ringling Brothers: Starting as Boys with a Penny Circus and
Creating the Largest Show in the World, in The Circus Annual Season 1903 A
Route Book of Ringling Brothers' World's Greatest Shows (1903), The John and
Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Circus Museum.
18. Four Generations of a Family, The Billboard, 7 December 1901, p.
16.
Part 2: The Circus as Business
2.1 Business & Logistics
19. Tony Parker (J.B. Agler, clown), On the Road with a Wagon Show:
Fifty-Three Years (1910), p.14. The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art,
Sarasota, Florida, Stuart Thayer Collection.
20. Letter, H.W. Franklin to John Center, August 11, 1857, in Albert Dressler
(ed.), Californias Pioneer Circus (San Francisco: H.S. Crocker), 1926, p.
69.
21. S.P. Stickney & Sons Worlds Circus, The Montreal Star, Thursday, 14
May 1874, p.
3.
22. Montague vs. Forepaugh, etc., New York Clipper, 17 February 1883, p.
782.
23. Sheriffs Sale, Garnett Journal-Plaindealer (Kansas),12 October 12,
1883, p.
5.
24. The Circus Sale, Garnett Journal-Plaindealer (Kansas), 21 December
1883, p.
1.
25. Circus Privileges, Morning Journal and Courier (Connecticut), 6 March
1884, p.
1.
26. Charles Ringling journal, 1884, excerpt, The John and Mable Ringling
Museum of Art, Circus Museum.
27. Incendiary, The Boston Globe, 22 November 1887, p.
1.
28. Short Notes, Appleton Post (Wisconsin), 8 August 1889, p. 3, and
29. Eph Williams Famous Troubadours, The Freeman, 12 February 1910, p.
6.
30. How a Circus is Run, New York Tribune, 22 March 1891, p.
16.
31. A City Built in Two Hours, Philadelphia Inquirer, 21 April 1895, p.
25.
32. With a Circus in Mexico: A Kansas City Man Tells of the Amusement
Enterprise in the Republic, The Kansas City Star, 1 March 1900, p.
8.
33. Lighting a Circus, Electrical World and Engineer, 23 May 1903, p.
904.
2.2 Corporate Circus
34. Articles of Agreement, Spalding, Rogers, & Barnum, reprinted in New York
Daily Herald, 24 March 1856, p.
1.
35. Letter, P.T. Barnum to W.C. Coup, 8 October
1870.
36. Greatest Show on Earth Correspondence, Nathans, Bailey, & P.T. Barnum,
1870s.
37. Barnum, Bailey, & Hutchinson Partnership Agreement, 26 August
1880.
38. The Forepaugh Show Sold: Now There Will Be an Aggregation of Circus-Ring
Talent, The New York Times, 14 January 1892, p.
1.
39. What! No Peanuts? Can It Be Circus?, Chicago Inter-Ocean, 23 March
1906, p.
12.
40. Otto Ringling letter in support of purchase of Barnum & Bailey show,
1907, Illinois State University Special Collections, Milner Library.
41. James L. Hoff, Status of the Barnum & Bailey Show The Billboard, 26
October 1907, p.
5.
42. Circus Men May Form an Anti-Trust League, Nebraska City News Press, 20
June 1907, p.
4.
2.3 Labor
43. Little Ones on Bicycles: The Exhibition at Barnum's Circus Not
Interrupted, The New York Times, 31 March 1883, p.
2.
44. Season of 1894, Casualties: Health, Official Route Book of the Adam
Forepaugh Shows: Presenting a Complete Chronicle of Interesting Events and
Happenings and Valuable Data, for the Season of 1894, Circus World Museum
(Baraboo, Wisconsin).
45. Too Much Prosperity Hurt the Big Circus, Washington Times Herald, 8
November 1903, p.
21.
46. Circus Musicians Go on Strike for Wages, The Plain Speaker (PA), 26
June 1905, p.
1.
47. Telegram from Francis B. Loomis to Theodore Roosevelt, 27 August 1905,
Theodore Roosevelt Papers, Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
48. Letter from William F. Cody to Joseph T. McCaddon, 25 May 1907, Buffalo
Bill Center of the West (Cody, Wyoming).
49. Cole Brothers Sign Circus Agreement, Show World, 16 January 1909, p.
16.
2.4 Brand & Marketing
50. Broadside, $1,500,000 in Challenges - P.T. Barnum to the Public, 7
April 1873, Barnum Museum 2016.036.001 (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
51. The Advance Department, in Route Book of Cooper, Bailey & Company's
Great London Circus, Sanger's British Menagerie, International Allied Shows,
for the Season of 1879, p.4, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Circus
Museum, Route Books.
52. Their Scheme, Life, 26 June 1884, p.
364.
53. Freaks are not Freaks, Chicago Tribune, 11 February 1899, p.
10.
54. Injunction Served on a Show Manager, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle,
25 August 1900, p.
9.
55. Bleistein v. Donaldson Lithographing Co., 188 U.S. 239 (1903), pp.
239-253.
56. Paul Latzke, Fortunes and Freaks in Advertising: When the Circus Comes
to Town, Saturday Evening Post, 22 August 1903, pp. 4-5.
57. Men in Barking Business are Paid Large Salaries, The Elyria Reporter,
18 December 1905, p.
4.
58. Circus Billers are Victorious in Sport, Show World, June 19, 1909, p. 13
59. Louis E. Cooke and R.M. Harvey, Handling the Advance, The Billboard,
April 15, 1911, pp. 7,
72.
Part
3. Circus Acts
60. Ricketts Equestrian Circus, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 7 October 1794,
p. 3
61. Lailsons Circus, Porcupines Gazette (Philadelphia), 18 July
1797.
62. New Pavilion Arena, Daily National Intelligencer and Washington
Express, 20 April 1846, p.
4.
63. An Exciting Scene: M. Blondins Feat at Niagara Falls, The New York
Times, 4 July 1859, p.
3.
64. A Phenomenon on Horseback, New York Tribune, 27 January 1860, p.
5.
65. Zampillarrostation, New York Daily Tribune, 5 December 1861, p.
7.
66. Amusements: Theatrical: Academy of Music - Leotard, The New York Times,
30 October 1868, p.
7.
67. Tony Denier, How to Join the Circus and Gymnasium (New York: Happy Hours
Co., 1877), excerpt.
68. Letter, P.T. Barnum to George Starr regarding Zazel,
1889.
69. A Famous Equestrienne, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 27 August 1880, p.
7.
70. Walking on the Ceiling Head Down, Scientific American, 5 July 1890, p.
8.
71. Peeps Under the Big Tent. Glimpses at Some of the Barnum and Bailey
Performers, Brooklyn Daily Times, April 30,
1896.
72. Brilliant Spectacle to be Seen in Boston after a Five Years Tour of
Europe, The Boston Globe, 6 June 1903, p.
5.
73. Circo Orrin, El Mundo Ilustrado, 4 February 1906 (year 13, vol. 1,
no. 6), np
74. LAuto Bolide, Seattle Sunday Times magazine section, 13 August 1905,
p.3.
75. Wonderful Strong Woman a Model of Grace and Beauty, La Grande Observer
(Oregon), 20 August 1912, p.
6.
Part
4. Allied Arts & Spectacle
4.1 Variable Bodies & Sideshow
76. The Siamese Twins, The North Star (Vermont), 4 May 1835, p.
1.
77. The Bearded Lady from Switzerland, Barnums American Museum playbill, 9
July
1853.
78. Hybrid Indian!, the misnomered bear woman, Julia Pastrana (Concord, NH:
Steam Job Press of McFarland & Jenks, 1855)
79. Sketch of the Life, Personal Appearance, Character and Manners of Charles
S. Stratton (New York: Press of Wynkoop & Hallenbeck, 1863), excerpt.
80. Barnums New York Museum Collection of Living Wonders, Titusville
Herald (Pennsylvania), 29 April 1868, p.
3.
81. A wonderful book. The lives of three very remarkable persons; Mr. John
Battersby, skeleton, Mrs. Hannah Battersby, mammoth lady, Zanobia, the
renowned African fan cannibal child (Philadelphia: np, 1871).
82. The Wild Men of Borneo, The Crescent (S. Carolina), 19 April 1877, p.
1.
83. Wild Men of Borneo, Brooklyn Times-Union, 19 April 1877, p.
3.
84. Biography of Myrtle Corbin, the four-legged girl (New York: New York
Popular Publishing Co., 1881).
85. Freak in Side Show Tells of Circus Life, Saint Paul Globe, 21 August
1904, p.
20.
4.2 Spectacle
86. Perilous Descent in a Balloon, York Gazette (Pennsylvania), 28 August
1838, p.
1.
87. Welch, Delavan & Nathans National Circus, Wheeling Times and
Advertiser, 25 April 1848, p.
3.
88. Circular Letter, P.T. Barnum, 9 August
1882.
89. The Beautiful Oriental Pageant of Lalla Rookh, The North Missouri
Register, 1 September 1882, p.
3.
90. Real Black Tent of Startling Mysteries, in Courier: The Barnum and
Bailey 15 New United Shows for Monday, 22 April 1889, p.
8. [ IMAGE]
91. The Barnum and Bailey Greatest Show on Earth, With Imre Kiralfys Nero,
or; The Destruction of Rome, The Sun (New York), 6 April 1890, p.
26.
92. The Circus Napoleon, Evening Standard (Kansas), 30 April 1891, p. 3
93. 1776 - The American Revolution!, The Cincinnati Post, 1 May 1893, p.
2.
(excerpt from ad, THE ADAM FOREPAUGH SHOWS: Circus, Menagerie, Hippodrome,
Grand Horse Fair!)
94. Our Electric Light, poster for Great London Circus, Sangers Royal
British Menagerie Consolidation with Cooper, Bailey & Co.s Great
International Allied Shows (1879). [ IMAGE]
95. A Genuine Novelty, The Minneapolis Daily Times, 25 February 1894, p.
9.
96. There Can Be Only One Like This, Rough Rider Annual,
1902.
97. Chauncey Yellow Robe, The Indian and the Wild West Show, Society of
American Indians Quarterly Journal, January-March 1914, pp. 39-40.
4.3 Menageries & Performing Animals
98. The Elephant, Philadelphia Daily Advertiser, 25 January 1797, p.
1.
99. Exhibition of Living Animals, Charleston Daily Courier, 5 March 1808,
p.
1.
100. Now or Never, The Richmond Enquirer, 3 May 1808, p.
1.
101. A Brief Biographical Sketch of I. A. Van Amburgh, and an Illustrated and
Descriptive History of the Animals Contained in the Menagerie, by O.J.
Ferguson (date unknown), excerpt .
102. Thrilling Incident at the Menagerie, St. Joseph Gazette (Missouri), 17
November 1848, p.
2.
103. Mr. Barnum Does It, Morning Journal-Courier (Connecticut), 21 April
1880, p.
1.
104. The Elephants Cross the Bridge, The New York Times, 18 May 1884, p.
2.
105. Playing With Snakes, South-Western Presbyterian, 14 June 1883, p.
6.
106. Forepaugh & Sells Bros. Circuses, The Portland Daily Press, 3 June
1899, p.
3.
107. Captain Woodwards Trained Sea Lions, in Forepaugh-Sells courier, 30
October
1901.
108. Adgie in a Den of Playful Lions, The Omaha Daily News (Nebraska) 22
April 1901, p.
5.
109. A Notable Enterprise, The Billboard, 23 March 1901, v.13, i.12, p.
22.
110. City News, Franklins Paper The Statesman, 6 July 1906, np.
Part
5. Audience Experience & Material Culture
111. A Law for Suppressing of Mountebanks (1773), Acts and Laws of the State
of Connecticut, in America (New London: Timothy Green, 1784), p.
161.
112. The Circus (Philadelphia: American Sunday-School Union, 1857).
113. Grand Forest City Circus, Catoctin Clarion (Maryland), 3 August 1872,
p.
3.
114. Lincoln Attends a Circus, in T.G. Onstot, Pioneers of Menard & Mason
Counties (Forest City, Illinois: T.G. Onstot, 1902),
Chapter III, pp. 46-50.
115. Amusements: Great Crowd at John Robinsons Circus, Birmingham
Post-Herald, 6 November 1886, P.
4.
116. Making War on Tights, The Atlanta Journal, 16 March 1897, p.
9.
117. Yesterdays Big Circus, The New Haven Journal-Courier, 4 May 1900, p.
8.
118. Circus Women a Credit to Their Calling and an Honor to Their Sex,
Marion Daily Chronicle, 13 August 1902, p.
7.
119. The Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth: The Mathews Sisters, Female
Jesters Together with Miss Dunbar the Lady Ring-Master, Strobridge
Lithographing Company,
1896. [ IMAGE]
120. The Passing of the Girl in Tights, San Francisco Call, 3 September
1905, p.
3.
121. A Circus Minus Gauze and Spangles, Buffalo Evening News, 27 March
1907, p.
9.
122. Perry Great and His Show Good, The Eureka Herald (Kansas), 14 January
1909, p.1.
123. Lowerys Minstrels, the Best Under Canvas, Indianapolis Freeman, 31
May 1913, p.
6.
124. George Conklin, The Ways of the Circus: Being the Memories and
Adventures of George Conklin, Tamer of Lions, (New York: Harper, 1921), pp.
228-232.
125. C.G. Sturtevant, Circus Band Music, The Billboard, 19 March 1927, p.
94.
126. Young America Will Be Out in Force Today, The Arizona New Republican,
21 September 1914, p.
10.
Bibliography
Index
Betsy Golden Kellem is a scholar of the unusual. She is the author of Jumping Through Hoops: Performing Gender in the Nineteenth Century Circus (Feminist Press, 2025). Her writing on circus and entertainment history has appeared in outlets including The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, The Washington Post, The Public Domain Review, Atavist Magazine, Smithsonian, Atlas Obscura, and Slate. Betsy is a two-time regional Emmy winner and has served on the boards of the Barnum Museum and the Circus Historical Society.
Jenny Leigh Du Puis is an Assistant Professor in the School of Fashion at Columbia College Chicago. In her scholarly career as a PhD candidate with Cornell University, she explores the past, present, and future of circus costume through presentations, publications, and the curation of digital and physical clothing exhibitions. Her professional career in circus costume includes working with such companies and organizations as Cirque Us, Circus Smirkus, Circus Couture, Circus Culture, Circus Juventas, Sunset Circus, and Cirque du Soleil's KÀ.
Jennifer Lemmer Posey is Tibbals Curator of Circus and Head of the Circus Archives at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida, a campus of Florida State University. She has been working with circus collections and the diverse circus community for over twenty years.
