2018-10-31 Guide to the Circus, Sideshow, Exhibition Collection, 1800s-2013 SPEC.TRI.CIR Finding aid prepared by Rachael Riggs Leyva; Courtney Bishop; David Mezick and Sierra McGee Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections
1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210
2018 October; 2022 January; 2025 July This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2025-07-14T13:27-0400 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard Circus, Sideshow, Exhibition Collection SPEC.TRI.CIR Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 4.212 Cubic feet 1800s-2013 Circus, sideshows, and exhibitions are forms of entertainment show comprised of live performances that include spectacles, human feats, music, dancing, animal performers, and other events or displays. The Circus, Sideshow, Exhibition Collection contains broadsides, cabinet cards, programs, photographs, prints, and carte de visite, relating to circus, sideshow, and traveling exhibition performances and performers. Materials date from 1800s-2013. (11) oversize folders; (9) flat boxes; (1) 5" letter document box; (1) 2.5" letter document box; (1) 2.5" legal document box; (1) oversize flat box English, German Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute Arrangement of Materials

The Circus, Sideshow, Exhibition Collection is arranged in chronological order. Items with the same date are further arranged in alphabetical order based on the description or title of the item.

 Acquisitions Information

Accession No. TRI.2014.0010: Purchased, 2014 March; Accession No. TRI.2014.0011: Purchased, 2014, March; Accession No. TRI.2014.0012: Purchased, 2014 March; Accession No. TRI.2014.0031: Purchased, 2014 April; Accession No. TRI.2014.0034: Purchased, 2014 April; Accession No. TRI.2014.0059: Source unknown, 2014 May; Accession No. TRI.2014.0081: Purchased, 2014 September; Accession No. TRI.2014.0101: Purchased, 2014 October; Accession No. TRI.2014.0119: Purchased, 2014 December; Accession No. TRI.2015.0007: Purchased, 2015 January; Accession No. TRI.2015.0045: Purchased, 2014 May; Accession No. TRI.2015.0060: Source unknown, 2015 September; Accession No. TRI.2016.0080: Purchased, 2016 August; Accession No. TRI.2016.0112: Ralph MacPhail, Jr., 2016 November; Accession No. TRI.2016.0132: Purchased, 2016 October; Accession No. TRI.2017.0038: Purchased, 2017 April; Accession No. TRI.2017.0099: Purchased, 2017 May; Accession No. TRI.2018.0055: Ralph MacPhail Jr., 2018 April; Accession No. TRI.2018.0073: Purchased, 2018 July; Accession No. TRI.2018.0076: Purchased, 2018 July; Accession No. TRI.2018.0077: Purchased, 2018 July; Accession No. TRI.2018.0081: Purchased, 2014 February; Accession No. TRI.2018.0082: Purchased, 2018 October; Accession No. TRI.2025.0008: Purchased, 2021 February; Accession No. TRI.2025.0009: Purchased, 2024 August; Accession No. TRI.2025.0010: Purchased, 2024 July; Accession No. TRI.2025.0011: Purchased, 2024 August; Method of acquisition for some contents unknown.

 Preferred Citation

[identification of item], Circus, Sideshow, Exhibition Collection, SPEC.TRI.CIR, Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute, Ohio State University

 Access to Materials

Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room only.

 Use of Materials

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.

 Processing Information

Processed by: Courtney Bishop, 2022 January; David Mezick and Sierra McGee, 2025 July. Finding aid written by: Rachael Riggs Leyva, 2018 October; Courtney Bishop, 2022 January; David Mezick and Sierra McGee, 2025 July

 Historical Note

Circus, sideshows, and exhibitions are forms of popular entertainment in the United States starting around the mid-19th-century through the early 20th-century, there has been a decline in this type of entertainment, but there are still some performances in the 21st century. These mostly traveling shows are comprised of live performances that include spectacles, human feats, music, dancing, animal performers, and other stunt acts. Until the 1970s, the circus format had a ringmaster who introduced the various acts, which were usually choreographed to music. A sideshow is an extra show put on along with a larger attraction, for example with a circus, carnival, or fair. An exhibition is the presentation of selected materials. Exhibitions usually take place in cultural or educational settings such as museums, parks, libraries, or World's Fairs.

 Scope and Contents

The Circus, Sideshow, Exhibition Collection contains programs, broadsides, prints, and carte de viste. Also included are cabinet cards, postcards, photographs, handbills, and other printed ephemera relating to circus acts, sideshows, and exhibition performances and performers. Materials are dated 1800s-2013.

 Related Materials Curtiss Show Print Collection Scenery and draperies Separated Materials Fairs, circuses and music halls / M. Willson Disher Watty Morgan's song book : Don't keep the working man down Barnum and Bailey Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Combined Shows Broadsides (notices) Cabinet photographs Cartes-de-visite (card photographs) Circus performers--19th century Circus performers--20th century Circus--19th century Circus--20th century Circus--21st century Entertainers--19th century Entertainers--20th century Entertainers--21st century Entertainment events--19th century Entertainment events--20th century Entertainment events--21st century Photographs Prints (visual works) Programs (documents) Sideshows--19th century Sideshows--20th century Traveling exhibitions--19th century Traveling exhibitions--20th century Traveling exhibitions--21st century "Madame Taussaud's Exhibition" program 1 1 1800s "Whitneys Guest Pass" tickets 3 1 1841 March Stratton (Charles S.) as General Tom Thumb medallion 11 1 circa 1844 "Phrenotypics or, The Cultivation of the Memory" broadside Shared TRI Box 3 1 1847 April 21 Battalia (Francesco) "The Stone Eater" print 1 2 1850s Barnum's Gallary of Wonders "General Tom Thumb" print 1 circa 1850 Stratton (Charles S.) as General Tom Thumb, in his character of Napoleon souvenir print 1 3 circa 1850 Barnum's Museum featuring "Pauvrette" by Dion Boucicault broadside 11 1862 October 13-18 "Gen. Tom Thumb, wife and child" cabinet card 1 4 circa 1863 Thumb (Tom) and Lavinia Thumb carte de visite 1 5 circa 1863 Thumb (Tom) wedding group carte de visite 1 6 circa 1863 "Pike's Opera House! Farewell benefit of the popular young actress, Miss Maggie Mitchell!" broadside 2 1864 February 12 Hill (Amelia) large lady sideshow carte de visite 1 7 circa 1867 "Great Combination of the Barnum & Van Amburgh Museum & Menagerie Co. and Dan Castello's Great Show" broadside 3 1867 May 1 John Robin's Circus broadside 4 1868 July 6 Unidentified woman carte de visite 1 8 1870s Edwards (Milly) carte de visite 1 9 1870s-1880s Circus advertisement in The Daily Times Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 5 1873 July "Eli Bowen, wife and child" carte de visite 1 10 1873-1875 Waino and Plutano carte de visite 1 11 circa 1875 "W. W. Cole's Grand Zoological March" sheet music 6 1877 "Automation Musical Band plays in Barnum's Travelling Museum" trading card 1 12 circa 1878 Bates (Martin Van Buren) and Anna Haining Bates flyer 1 13 1878 "W. C. Coup's $50,000 Challenge" broadside 7 1878 September 16 "General Tom Thumb, Commodore Knott, and Professor Millar" handbill 1 14 circa 1879 "Azenetti" circassian beauty carte de viste 1 15 1880s Foster (Dudley) and parents carte de visite 1 16 1880s Huzza (Robert) "Major Littlefinger" and wife cabinet card 1 17 1880s Scope and Contents

Wife is possibly Mollie McDougal Shade or Ida Hosmer.

 Unidentified boys carte de visite 1 18 1880s Scope and Contents

Possibly Willie and Freddie O'Brien.

 Unidentified man carte de visite 1 19 1880s Flynn (Francis Joseph) "General Mite" carte de visite 1 20-21 circa 1881 Zarate (Lucia) carte de visite 1 22 circa 1883 Flynn (Francis Joseph) "General Mite" and Millie Edwards carte de visite 1 23 circa 1884 "General Mite & Miss Millie Edwards" marriage ceremony silk program 1 24 1884 May 28 P. T. Barnum's Greatest Show on Earth, Sanger's Royal British Menagerie, The Great London Circus, and Grand International Allied Shows program 8 1884 October 17 Grand Comic Concert and Monster Museum and the Famous Jack Long program 9 1890s "Great Forepaugh Show" broadside 10 1890s Hall (Jacob) rope dancer print 1 25 1890s "Louise Gunning" postcard 1 26 1890s "What We Know About Waino and Plutano, Wild Men of Borneo" booklet 1 27 circa 1893 "Loie Fuller" cigarette card 1 28 circa 1900 Culver circus photographs 1 29 1903-1928 Scope and Contents

Contains photographs of crowds watching sword swallowing, tight-rope walking, and children sneaking under a tent.

 Barnum & Bailey route book 1 30 1907 Bribowski (Stephan) "L'Homme Lion" postcard 1 31 circa 1909 Clown in racing automobile postcard 1 32 circa 1910 "Gruss von dem rumanischen Orchester 'Senescu'" postcard 1 33 1910 "The Two Hoyts" correspondence 3 2 1912 January 9 Sells-Floto circus program and storybook 1 34 1916 Dancer performing on elevated steel beams photographs 1 35 1920s "Mitchell Bros. Banjo Players" photograph 1 36 1920s "Madame Tussaud's Exhibition" catalog 3 3 1922 March 28 Northwestern University circus program 1 37 1926 "Some Day" sheet music featured by Siamese twins Daisy and Violet Hilton 3 4 1926 "Biographical Sketches of Count and Countess Philippe Nicol" program 1 38 1930s "Bob Taber's Famous Show" handbill 1 39 1930s "John Ringling Towers" informational handout 1 40 1930-1957 "7 Star Revue" program 1 41 1933-1934 "Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus Magazine and Daily Review" 1 42 1937 The Great James M. Cole Circus truck photograph 1 43 1940s "Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Magazine and Daily Review" 3 5 1941 "Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus" magazine 1 44 1943 "Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus" magazine 1 45 1944 Wallenda (Beppo and Mary) circus photograph album 12 1 1944-1956 "Medrano" program 1 46 1950 July 15-27 German circus photographs 1 47 1950-1963 "Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Magazine & Program" 1 48 1954 "Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Magazine & Program" 1 49 1955 Wallenda (Beppo and Mary) circus photograph album 13 1 1955-1960 Benson Bros., Beers-Barnes, & Mills Bros. travelling circus scrapbook 4 1 circa 1956 Wallenda (Beppo and Mary) circus photograph album 11 2 1960-1973 The Polack Brothers Circus program 1 50 1963 "Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Magazine & Program" 1 51 1965 "The Royal Performance of Bertram Mills Circus in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen" program 1 52 1965 December 21 "Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Magazine & Program" 1 53 1966 "Edwardos Unicyclists" photograph 1 54 1970s "Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Souvenir Program & Magazine" Shared TRI Box 3 2 1972 "Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Souvenir Program & Magazine" Shared TRI Box 3 3 1977 Gunther Gebel-Williams Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus poster 1 55 circa 1981 The Chinese Magic Circus of Taiwan program 1 56 1983-1984 Cirque du Soleil official tour program 3 6 1988 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey official tour schedule 1 57 1988 Pickle Family Circus program 1 58 circa 1989 "Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Souvenir Program & Magazine" Shared TRI Box 3 4 1989 "Nouvelle Experience" Cirque du Soleil official program and flyer 1 59 1990 Gentry Brothers Circus Society membership correspondence and order form 2 1 1991 May 3 Big Apple Circus program 2 2 1992 "Saltimbanco" Cirque du Soleil official program and handout 2 3 1992 Big Apple Circus program 2 4 1993 "Mystère" Cirque du Soleil souvenir program 3 7 1993-2000s Big Apple Circus programs 2 5 1994-1995 Cirque du Soleil souvenir program 3 8 circa 1998 Cirque Ingenieux playbill 2 6 1998 March Cincinnati Art Museum's Strobridge Lithographing Company Circus Posters volume 1 photographs 5 6 1999 Cincinnati Art Museum's Strobridge Lithographing Company Circus Posters volume 2 photographs 7 8 1999 Cincinnati Art Museum's Strobridge Lithographing Company Circus Posters volume 3 photographs 9 10 1999 "Dralion" Cirque du Soleil official program 2 7 1999-2000s Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy program 2 8 2007 September 27 "Rex Theatre for Colored People" image from the 1930s trading card 2 9 circa 2013 Cirque de Legume handout 2 10 2013 March