One Monstor Concern! Three Circuses!

[JPK Huson 1863]

I remember ' The Circus ' coming to town. In those days large, foreign animal and wild beast attractions were beginning to go out of vogue. There were no traditional ' Side Shows ', places within tents one paid to see unfortunate humanity with a variety of disease and abnormalaties. Thank goodness. Somewhere it dawned on society this was plain, old mean. Some few were still there unless one had the kind of mother who forbade viewing society's less fortunate especially as entertainment, MOST especially for cash. Am 100% certain I'd have folded like a rheumatic knee, understanding these people do not belong in a cage or on stage for no other purpose than looking odder than any one else,

Still- the circus! Victorian showmen did not fool around, gee whiz, these acts are incredible! Ads from LoC newspapers, 1857-1870, dates through the War- wished to see if our American, traveling spectacle slowed down. Not noticeably.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Having a terrible time loading pics today- must reboot

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

 

[LoyaltyOfDogs]

These ads are stupendous, JPK! It looks like every circus had its equestrians, aerialists and clowns, but I
would have stood in line to see the "Comic trick mules Humpty-Dumpty and Shoo Fly" and Prof. George P. Hutchinson's Wonderful and Sagacious Acting Dogs."

 

[jackt62]

I don't know where you get these wonderful old ads and photos from, but definitely keep them coming!

 

[John Hartwell]

George F. Bailey, whose "Old fashioned Caravan" is advertised in post #4, later teamed with showman Henry Barnum (P.T's cousin), and eventually their Barnum & Bailey Circus merged the Ringling Brothers' show from Wisconsin, thus creating the legendary and still active Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.

The Circus Historical Society has a huge amount of information on shows of this era -- many of the names in the ads are identified.

 

[Allie]

What are those gentlemen doing carrying around what appears to be a statue of a horse? The same thing appears in two different drawings.

 

[John Hartwell]

What are those gentlemen doing carrying around what appears to be a statue of a horse? The same thing appears in two different drawings.

Looks like the much later (c.1900) Mascot, the Talking Horse. An animal trained to push a lever to answer questions was a common enough showman's gimmick. Perhaps this manifestation made a "Grand Entrance" actually being carried out by a dozen or so burly men. It was surely a much greater feat to teach a horse to do that than to push a lever.

 

[diane]

Love this thread! John Lennon was inspired by an old circus ad to write a famous song:

 

[Aussie Billy Sherman]

What, no lions? Haha. Very good thread this. I've never seen any of these

 

[John Winn]

Another great collection Ms. H !!

I do remember seeing a circus that had those side shows with afflicted humans but that was probably about 1958. A few years before I saw the Ringling Brothers show in New York City and it was grand. It was the first show of any sort I'd ever seen and the first time I'd ever had any cotton candy. Wow ... that was a flashback !

I can just imagine how these shows were received by those nineteenth-century folks who lived out in the country, rarely got any time off, didn't have access to entertainment generally, and wouldn't have known what a hippo was. It must have really been a thrill.

 

[Allie]

Looks like the much later (c.1900) Mascot, the Talking Horse. An animal trained to push a lever to answer questions was a common enough showman's gimmick. Perhaps this manifestation made a "Grand Entrance" actually being carried out by a dozen or so burly men. It was surely a much greater feat to teach a horse to do that than to push a lever.

I sure wouldn't want to persuade a horse to stand still while being carried like that!

BTW for some reason I can't "like" your post, the button doesn't work. It worked on other posts on this same thread so now I'm confused.

 

[Private Watkins]

I believe Grant was a very accomplished horseman, and I thought I read somewhere that as a kid he rode horses standing up on one leg at a full gallop, etc., something kind of like this...

Does that ring a bell with anyone else, or am I just dreaming that...? If so I suppose he might have had an alternate career in the circus if West Point had not worked out for him...

 

[LoyaltyOfDogs]

I believe Grant was a very accomplished horseman, and I thought I read somewhere that as a kid he rode horses standing up on one leg at a full gallop, etc., something kind of like this...

Does that ring a bell with anyone else, or am I just dreaming that...? If so I suppose he might have had an alternate career in the circus if West Point had not worked out for him...

That sounded familiar, Private Watkins, so I checked and found this reference in The New York Times Books pages:

"Ulysses seemed to understand horses. He was only five years old when he learned how to stand on the back of a trotting horse, using the reins to keep his balance."

Source: Ulysses S. Grant Triumph Over Adversity, 1822-1865, by Brooks D. Simpson
​

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Some of the acts the general public would have encountered; in those days it was a life for people born with certain medical conditions. They found a family. Society made no provisions for them, at least signing with a circus gave them others with their disorder to become familiar with, an income where there may have been none in some small town and maybe a measure of respectability in fame.

Tumblers

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

These folks were all employees, and a community amongst themselves. Very unfortunate, parts of sideshows- others were endlessly fascinating- contortionists, for instance, could just, plain perform gymnastic feats beyond anyone's imagination. Now we know they had some variety of connective tissue disorder. Crazy!

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

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LoC has highlighted for me how important this was- the Circus. There are so many of these- the escape from a society split in two and dead sons and husbands who might never come home and explaining to children who the man living, smiling forever in that dark cased photograph was. At The Circus- nothing else existed.

If a circus was still like this, we'd all still follow the parade through town and right to the striped tent.


Or like this.

Clothing here is post war. Same circus. No good information on whether yappy dog was part of the act. Notice man on ground in front of elephant- dog smarter and not on ground in front of elephant. Man runs planet, dog is considered dumb animal.

If you hate snakes, don't look please. They don't get to me but I know really bug some. This would just give those folks hives. My mother's friend once nearly signed divorce papers over her husband leaving a rubber snake in the shower. True story.

Best, best, best