Bandwagon, November - December 1973

Bandwagon, Vol. 17, No. 6 (Nov-Dec), 1973. Note: Only some articles are included in this online edition. Many illustrations are not included. The Circus Historical Society does not guarantee the accuracy of information contained in the information in these online articles. Information should always be checked with additional sources.

Circus Bill Posting and Advance Advertising Cars, Part One

In the golden days of the circus large amounts of money were spent on the advance advertising. The shows used large newspaper ads, heralds, courier booklets and small picture cards, but the bulk of the expense went for colorful posters of all sizes and the cost of putting them up.

The "big three," Barnum & Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth, Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows and The Adam Forepaugh & Sells Bros. Enormous Shows United, were consistently the largest users of circus printed advertising of all kinds. Each of these circuses used at least three advance cars for many years. John Robinson's Ten Big Shows, The Great Wallace Shows and the Walter L. Main Circus also used more than two cars during many seasons.

This drawing of the Adam Forepaugh Circus advance car appeared on a letterhead used by the advance during the 1884 season. It is typical of the design of the advance cars of that period. Woodcock Collection.

The crews of the advance cars were made up of a number of different jobs. The car manager was in full charge and was totally responsible for the operation of the car to the show's management. The boss bill poster was in charge of the outdoor posting of "wall work," and served as the number two man on the car. The lithographer placed the "window work" (mostly half and one sheet posters, but sometimes up to three sheet) in store windows. A programmer handled the distribution of heralds and courier booklets. Also included were a paste maker, perhaps a porter, and a bannerman who tacked cloth banners to the sides of buildings. The remainder of the crew were bill posters.

William Cameron Coup, of Delavan, Wisconsin, a man of rare talent, introduced many innovations to the circus. The advance of the circus did not go untouched by Coup.

In 1873, while associated with P. T. Barnum he ordered the first three and twelve sheet posters. In the late 1870s while touring his own W. C. Coup's United Monster Shows, he equipped his three advertising cars with noisemakers, as well as billposters. His first car carried a huge mechanical organ which was hauled through the streets by an elephant. The second advance car had another huge organ, without an elephant. The third car boasted a "Devil's Whistle", powered by steam. The three cars traveled about a week apart, each car had a crew of fifteen to twenty-five men.

Between the first two cars a colored brass band arrived at each stand with another group of billposters. At intervals before the Coup show actually arrived, a uniformed squad of trumpeters rode through the back country loudly trumpeting, a band of colored jubilee singers marched through village or city streets carrying glad tidings of a coming circus day.

The advance of the Cooper, Bailey & Company, Great London Circus, Sanger's British Menagerie and International Allied Shows, in 1879 was under the direction of James A. Bailey. The London show carried two advance cars that season, plus a brigade.

By 1881 the Barnum and London shows were combined and the show used three cars plus an excursion brigade, an opposition brigade, and a skirmishing brigade. Each of the advance cars was equipped with a steam calliope.

During the 1882 season the Barnum & London show used a total of five advance cars with crews totaling 60 men. The show dropped the fifth car in 1884, continuing for many years with four cars.

Adam Forepaugh a formidable and aggressive competitor of the Barnum show died on January 22, 1890. James A. Bailey and James E. Cooper bought the circus and enlarged it and in 1891 took the show on a transcontinental tour as far west as New Mexico.

During the 1891 season the Forepaugh show used four advertising cars. The No. 1 car the "Husler" carried 24 men, the No. 2 car, the "Rattler" carried 21 men, the No. 3 car the "Cannon Ball" had a crew of 23 men and the No. 4 car the "Settler" had an 18 man crew.

In 1895 The Great Wallace Shows used four cars. Each car carried a manager, a boss bill poster, a lithographer, a programmer, plus 12 bill posters on Car No. 1; 10 bill posters on Car No. 2; 7 bill posters on Car No. 3; and 6 bill posters on Car No. 4.

During the season of 1897 the Barnum & Bailey circus used four cars. The Barnum show carried a larger staff on their cars. The No. 1 car, in addition to the manager, carried a "stenographer," a boss bill poster, a programmer and a car porter, plus three lithographers and fifteen bill posters. The No. 2 car carried a manager, a boss bill poster, an assistant bill poster, two who handled "lithograph boards," a checker-up, a porter and twelve "excursion men." The No. 4 car carried the manager, a boss bill poster, a route rider (inspector), a ticket agent, an assistant ticket agent, a porter, a banner man, a programmer and ten bill posters. The No. 3 Barnum & Bailey car in 1897 was the Opposition Car. This car may or may not have followed the route of the show as the others did. It was often sent way ahead hop-scotching on the route to post opposition paper ahead of another circus that was scheduled in a town along the contracted route. It was used during "billing wars" with other shows in some cities where one show was covering the other show's paper. The Opposition Car carrier a manager, a boss bill poster, an assistant boss bill poster, seven bill posters, two bannermen (who tacked cloth banners on the sides of buildings too high to reach with brushes and paste), two lithographers, a programmer and a car porter.

In 1897 the Ringling Bros. Circus used three cars. Sixteen bill posters were on the No. 1 Car; 16 bill posters were on Car No. 2 and thirteen excursion bill posters (who took local trains to nearby cities along the rail line) were on Car No. 3.

In 1899 the John Robinson Circus used three cars, but they were smaller carrying only 8, 7 and 5 bill posters respectfully.

In 1900 the Forepaugh-Sells Circus used three cars with 21 men on the first car, 15 on the second car and 11 on the third. One of the men on each of these cars was a paste maker.

It was the job of the advance advertising car to tell one and all that the circus was coming. Three different types of pictorial advertising were used. During the period from 1895 to 1900 the main thrust was the use of multi-sheet designs that were larger than one sheet (30 x 40" and later 28 x 42"). Ranging from 3 to 64 sheet sizes a display was arranged in combination with date sheets making a "daub," by the bill poster using brushes and paste. A daub might consist of a single 48 sheet menagerie design with a title streamer above and a six sheet date at each end. Or it might consist of a grouping of 12 and 16 sheet designs with dates. The larger multi-sheets were called "wall work." These daubs were posted on barns, fences and the sides of buildings. Large temporary billboards were sometimes erected by the circus to receive a large stand of multi-sheets.

The half, one, and two sheets were called "window work" and were hung in store windows by a lithographer using long sticks, called quills, and gummed stickers. A heavier use of small paper came a bit later when locations for the really large paper became more difficult to find.

Cloth banners were tacked to the sides of buildings, usually on buildings three stories or higher. A banner man would hang on a ladder from the roof of a building or work on a ladder from the ground. Banners as opposed to window and wall work had to be removed, and the show would contract with a local man to pull the banners and remove the tacks after show day. In later years the show would send its own men back to pull the banners, to be used again in another city.

The lithographed circus poster owes its beginning to the experiments of one Aloys Senefelder, a native of Prague, who discovered a method of printing from a flat lithographic stone about the year 1796. Senefelder made use of hearth stones by etching them so as to raise the printing surfaces of the stone in relief, but in his experiments, he discovered the real principle in lithography - in short: a daub of grease on a clean polished stone would receive printing ink and refuse water, while the other parts of the stone not affected by the grease, would retain moisture and refuse to take the ink. Thus the natural principle of mutual repulsion of grease and water was brought into play.

Senefelder attempted to interest the German government in financing his development of the art of lithography but to no avail. He went to France and succeeded in getting a governmental appropriation of $6,000, with which to promote his enterprise.

As lithography gained in popularity as a method of printing, lithography in colors was introduced in London in 1840. Since then, there have been great numbers of improvements in the art, and today multicolored presses of great size turn out poster works of art. From the basic principle of lithography came off-set printing, the method used to print the Bandwagon.

The earliest circus poster known to exist today is a full color bill used by the Raymond and Waring Circus in 1847. The rare poster is a part of the collection in the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

Another very early color poster is part of the Harry Hertzberg Collection, located in the San Antonio, Texas library. This display is 58 x 115" in side and advertises the "Hippoferean Arena." It is dated April 19, 1849. The two old posters are reproduced here.

The circus has made greater use of illustrated posters for advertising purposes than any other type of amusement or business enterprise, and this fact has prompted the frequent use of the descriptive phrase "billed like a circus" in referring to the extensive use of poster advertising.

During the golden days of the circus from 1880 to about 1910 a number of printing firms thrived in filling the insatiable needs of the big outdoor amusement enterprises.

But prior to that time the Spaulding & Rogers show purchased lithos from Sarony & Major, of New York City and the Gibson Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, during the period from 1849 to 1865. The posters in our collection from these two firms are in two colors. Sarony & Co. supplied Sands & Nathans with lithos in 1856. John Reilley & Company of New York City furnished pictorial paper to Hyatt Frost in 1874 and to the Great North American Circus in 1878. The Chicago Evening Journal printed paper for D. W. Stone in 1878. The Calhoun Printing Company, of Hartford, Conn., furnished lithographs for Buffalo Bill in 1886. Merrihew & Sons, of Philadelphia, provided posters for the Great London Circus as well as Adam Forepaugh in 1880.

The Russell-Morgan Company of Cincinnati, printed posters for John Robinson 10 Big Shows in 1878, Barnum & London in 1882 and Sells Bros, in 1885. Early Russell-Morgan work is truly outstanding.

The John E. Jeffery Printing Company of Chicago designed and lithographed a number of beautiful posters for Adam Forepaugh as early as 1884 and for the King & Franklin Wild West in 1888. The Empire Show Printing Company of Chicago furnished paper to Adam Forepaugh in 1889.

The Donaldson Lithographing Company of Newport, Kentucky, provided paper for the J. A. LaPearl Circus in the 1890s and Forepaugh-Sells in 1907. Donaldson continued supplying circus paper through the 1930s.

This one sheet poster in color was printed by woodcuts and was used by the W. W. Cole New York and New Orleans Circus about 1871. Circus World Museum Collection.

In the early days two firms began to emerge as the giants of the circus advertising field. One of these was the Courier Company of Buffalo, New York, who listed itself as the "world's largest show printer." The exact date this firm was established is not known, however Courier supplied posters to W. W. Cole in 1871, and by 1878 the firm was supplying P. T. Barnum. In 1882 the Sells Bros, purchased paper for their Welsh & Sands show and continued in succeeding years. The Courier Company continued to provide posters to Barnum & London as well as Barnum & Bailey.

By 1890 when the Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Show had become a major circus they went to Courier. Some of the finest designs of Ringling paper of the 1890s came from Courier. The Courier firm supplied paper to the Ringlings as late as 1906. The company suffered a fire around that time which may have curtailed their poster printing, but Courier continued to print the programs for both the Barnum and Ringling shows through the 1915 season.

One lithographing company stands out above all others in the circus field, both in quality and in longevity. The name Strobridge is synonymous with circus posters.

The origin of the firm began with the establishment of an engraving shop by Elijah C. Middleton in Cincinnati, Ohio, around 1847, in the Odd Fellows Building at the northwest corner of Third and Walnut streets. Originally the business embraced the sale of books and stationery and engraved work on copper and steel. The business prospered and the owner saw the "new" lithographic process as a cheaper and more flexible method of reproduction. Middleton joined forces with W. R. Wallace, a lithographic engraver who had moved to Cincinnati in 1849. A partnership was formed and the firm of Middleton & Wallace, in 1849, began the history of over a hundred years of continuous lithographic production. The firm was a success from the start as business was booming at the time, however it was soon clear that they could not carry on without additional capital. In 1854 the 31 year old Hines Strobridge entered the firm and it became Middleton, Wallace & Company. Wallace soon withdrew from the firm and Middleton left in 1861. In 1857 the name was changed to Middleton, Strobridge & Company, and in 1865 to Strobridge and Gerlach, or Strobridge, Gerlach & Wagner, and by 1867 it was Strobridge & Company. The name was finally changed to the Strobridge Lithographing Company in 1880 and continued as such throughout its long history.

It is not definitely known when the first pictorial work was made in the circus field. However, Nelson Strobridge, who succeeded his father as President of the firm, recalled an early black and tint lithograph of Dan Rice, and suggested the date as around 1868. In 1874 the firm produced a lithograph in four colors of a parade for the John Robinson Circus, another Cincinnati product.

The old order books of the company record a number of sales in the early 1870s, one in 1872 listed 5,000 circus posters in eight colors sold to A. A. Stewart, which were probably for the Cooper & Bailey show.

The Strobridge company did keep some examples of its early circus work that are bound in a number of large books. These several hundred half and one sheets from the late seventies and early eighties include such famous circus names as: Barnum, Bailey & Hutchison; Howe's Great London; Sells Brothers; W. W. Cole; W. C. Coup; S. H. Barrett; and Nathan & Company. Four of these books are now in the circus poster collection of the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Over the years the company designed and produced hundreds of designs for the Barnum & Bailey show, and when that show went to Europe at the end of the 19th century Strobridge supplied paper with German, French and other languages in the descriptive copy.

The Ringlings used much Strobridge paper and many of the Strobridge Barnum & Bailey designs were retitled to read Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Combined Shows in 1919. A few of the lithos with the RB & BB title list a Barnum copyright date prior to 1919. In the 1920s when the American Circus Corporation gained stature it went to Strobridge for Sells-Floto, Hagenbeck-Wallace and John Robinson lithographs.

In the late 1920s the Ringling-Barnum circus left Strobridge and went to other firms with whom it had also been doing business. Erie, Illinois, and Central supplied paper for all of the Ringling owned shows in the 1930s. This was the period when the ownership of the circus was out of the hands of the Ringling family.

When John Ringling North gained control of the circus in 1938 he went back to Strobridge for a series of new lithographs. These were: two designs of Gargantua, two designs of Frank Buck, one of the spec with Frank Buck, one of Terrell Jacobs with a mixed wild animal act and one of Jacobs with a leopard act, the Pilades, leaping act and one of a dressage horse display. To the best of our knowledge the Strobridge company printed no circus paper after the 1938 Ringling Barnum order.

Our reference to the Strobridee Company would not be complete without including some of the artists that actually created the wonderful original poster designs.

Matt Morgan, a leading lithographic artist of the period joined the firm in 1878, after spending five years with Leslie's Weekly as a cartoonist. Morgan's arrival brought the creation of the first Strobridge multiple-sheet poster, in the form of a 16 sheet. The subject was "Eliza Crossing the "ice." The idea of the large poster caught on fast with the circus customers. With the introduction of the large multiple-sheet poster in the late 1870s the circus had found a natural medium of advertising; barns and fences were readily available to receive such large pieces. W. C. Coup used the first three sheets in 1873.

In 1881 Harry A. Ogden joined the Strobridge organization. In sheer volume Ogden contributed more original circus poster designs than any other individual. He had great dexterity as an artist, a real flair for detail, and a photographic memory that allowed him to make quick sketches in proper perspective during a circus performance which he would then later expand into full detail in his studio, located in the firm's New York office.

Some samples of Ogden's detailed sketches are shown here. The originals were ink and wash in black and white tones with the colors indicated for the Cincinnati artists to complete.

In a letter written by Harry A. Ogden to P. M. McClintock, dated August 29, 1932, the artist outlined some of his technics. We quote here from the letter, which is now in our collection:

"I am not surprised at Mr. Strobridge's reference to my work for the Strobridge Co. (and exclusively for them) for over fifty years. Many thousands of designs being for the circus . . . The wall work or large posters grew in size from 3 or 6 sheets, going to in one case a 100 sheet. The window bills, one and half sheets, were drawn the size to be printed. The wall bills were drawn (by me) to 1/16 scale and enlarked at the home office. In such a lapse of time there were many varieties of subject. Simple and with few subjects or animals at first, later being crowded. . . . I have been gratified at times to be designated as the best in the 'show' business in this line of work. But the fine treatment received from the company I confined my work to, called forth the best I was capable of."

The famous leaping tiger poster used by Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows was drawn by the famous animal artist Charles Livingston Bull. This poster was a Ringling trade mark and was used in railroad and fast traffic showings as it presented an oversized figure in a small space. Roland Butler copied the tiger drawing for a Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus poster around 1960 which is still being used by the Beatty-Cole show today.

Another Cincinnati firm was to have its start around 1888. The Enquirer Job Printing Co. of the River City supplied some of the finest lithographs to the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. Early examples of this company can be found in the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin. This firm now around 95 years old, remains in 1973 as the single largest, and perhaps only supplier of circus pictorial posters.

At this point an explanation of the sizes of circus posters is in order. In the December 1961, issue of The Bandwagon an interesting article appeared titled "Hods, Daubs and 24 Sheets," by the late Frank A. Norton. This issue was sold out long ago, so we shall use Mr. Norton's information regarding the various sizes of circus lithographs.

A "one sheet" is a poster or lithograph 28" x 42" in size and is the base from which all "bills" are measured. There are half sheets, one, two, three, four, six, eight, nine, twelve, sixteen, twenty-four, thirty-two and forty-eight sheets.

The 1/2 sheet, 1 and 2 sheet bills may be uprights or flats. An upright is vertical and a flat is horizontal. A half sheet is 28" x 21" and a two sheet is 42" x 56". A three or four sheet is always an upright. A six sheet is simply a bill printed in 2 three sheet sections. A sixteen sheet bill is printed in 4 four sheet sections, and the 24 sheet (billboard size) is made the same way.

A panel may be a 1/2 sheet or a one sheet and is always an upright. There is also a "streamer" bill and it may be from two to six or nine sheets in size. These are long horizontal posters, usually a title.

Lithograph designs were of various types. Stock paper was printed in large quantities by the printing house and carried no title. They may have been clowns, lady riders, elephants, horses or other general circus subjects. A show owner would select the designs he liked and the printing firm would imprint the show's title, or "cross line" it with the title being pasted on. Special paper carries the name of a performer or special features appearing on only that show. Date sheets are special paper, as is a "letter" bill which carries only the show's title and no illustration.

Louis E. Cooke, in his "Reminiscences of a Showman" tells of his purchase of lithographs. Cooke served as general agent of Barnum & Bailey as well as the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. In the installment on advance advertising he commented as follows.

"I believe that I am credited with having designed and used the largest lithograph ever printed or posted - a 100 sheet bill [for the W. W. Cole's New Colossal Shows]. As the original cost of the first 1,000 copies exceeded $10,000, it was aptly designated a 'ten-thousand-dollar-bill.' Its dimensions were simply great, being twelve feet high and one hundred feet in length, consisting of one hundred mammoth sheets of paper, lithographed in six colors from solid stone impressions and presenting an artistic appearance equal to the most choice chromo. The production of this monster panorama absorbed the entire time of fifteen artists, designers, engravers and pressmen for a period of three months. Six cylinder presses were kept running night and day and electric light was used exclusively to make the colors harmonize in this master piece of lithography, which was produced by the Strobridge Lithograph Company, Cincinnati, Ohio." Cook continues,

"Speaking from a practical standpoint, I would say that in a single season, as general agent of two of the biggest amusement enterprises [Barnum & Bailey and Buffalo Bill] in the world, I have operated as many as six advertising cars and employed over 150 men, covering fully 200 towns in one day and using from 15,000 to 25,000 sheets of paper as an average. To this we may add from 25,000 to 50,000 pieces of distribution matter, such as small publications, programs, booklets, etc. All of this work had to be laid out in advance, as it would be too late to take up details one day with another."

During the period when the large circuses toured three and four bill cars, a show would select a printing house and contract for paper in a quantity that would fill their needs for the complete season. As previously mentioned, the leading lithograph houses at the end of the 19th century were the Strobridge Lithograph Co. and the Courier Lithographing Co. Both of these firms provided a full staff of artists who designed special new paper each season, for those circuses under contract. Both companies also printed letterheads, couriers, heralds and various contract forms. The special art would be incorporated in the different types of advertising in addition to the lithos.

All dealings between the circus and the litho house were extremely business like. The printing firm used shipping lists that detailed the number of each size and design of posters to be used each day. A shipment would frequently be made to include three days supply of wall work and ten days of window work.

The oldest such list that we have in our collection is one from Strobridge to Howe's London Circus for the 1877 season. One hundred each of the following were shipped: seven designs 30 x 40" and nine designs 26 x 34".

Another Strobridge list covered paper shipped to the No. 3 car of Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth during the 1889 season. Sixty-five different designs are listed. The No. 3 advance car was the opposition car whose job it was to cope with the billing of other shows, thus there are no one sheets listed, and only 12 styles of two sheets. Twelve styles of six sheets are listed, one eight sheet streamer design, twenty-one different nine sheet designs and fourteen twelve sheet bills. The original season order contracted for 1000 copies of most of the bills. Eight thousand of the eight sheet streamers were ordered, four thousand of the six sheet Barnum portrait bills, four thousand (train) excursion bills, four thousand two sheet "Arabs" and two thousand of each of the remaining two sheet posters were listed.

Another shipping list covered the Strobridge shipment to the Sells Bros. Enormous United Shows for the 1893 season. The following amounts were called out for use each day. The largest was a 64 sheet design of the circus and hippodrome, seven of these were used daily. Seven each of two different 48 sheet designs, three different 12 sheets and 3, 6 and 7 of each of these was called out. Three copies of a nine sheet bill were used.

In addition to the above the window work consisted of twenty-nine different one sheet bills and 13 of each of these were to be used each day.

The smaller circuses used a wide variety of paper also. A shipping list in the Hall papers at the Circus World Museum from the Riverside Printing Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to the William P. Hall Shows for the 1905 season lists sixty-seven different designs and sizes of lithographs. The largest posters used by the Hall circus were 24, 20, 18 and 16 sheets. Three styles of 12 sheets, ten 9 sheet bills, two 8 sheets, nine 6 sheets and three 3 sheet designs. Twenty-eight different one sheet posters were used by Hall.

The management of the bill crew was a specialized art, and a car manager was expected to not only direct the men but also to outsmart the opposition cars and contract for especially good bill posting locations owned by local bill posting (Snipe plants) companies.

It was the usual practice to pay a building or barn owner with passes to the big show, but other locations were purchased. These purchased locations were termed "cash daubs."

The purchased billing stand locations and boards were paid by the use of an "outside bill poster check" to be presented at the ticket wagon at 5 p.m. on the day of exhibition. (All bills payable in silver coin). One such check in our collection was used by the Ringling Bros. Circus for the Saginaw, Michigan, show date of July 5, 1915. A. D. Hood was paid $70.56 for the exclusive use of 504 sheets of billboard and other advertising space for the period from June 14 to July 5. No tickets were added to this contract, but 2 tickets were also usually included in the deal.

Each bill poster or lithographer kept a daily record of the work he did that day. The report included the address, the type of occupant, the owners name, the number of sheets posted and the number of passes given, plus the number of the pass. These individual reports were totaled by the car manager and then totaled again at the end of the week.

A route inspector (route rider or checker) would then later go over the route verifying that the number of sheets of paper recorded was actually in each location. One Ringling Bros, route inspector's report for the August 31, 1908 stand at Mason City, Iowa, covered the billing route posted by one Joe Ludwig. Ludwig reported he posted 539 sheets of paper and issued 22 tickets (passes) to the owners of 13 locations. Six of the daubs were posted without having to issue any passes. The report verified this.

The back of this report carries a form with such interesting questions as: Does the total amount of paper posted, the quality of work done and the class of boards and daubs secured, indicate that the bill poster did a faithful day's work? At what place did he post too much paper? At what place did he not post enough paper? What undesirable spaces did he use? What desirable spaces did he leave open? At what places did he unnecessarily recover our paper? Another note on the back states, "In case any of our paper being covered by another show, the route rider must send a report of same to each car manager, giving name of show, stating where and how many sheets were covered. In case No. 2 or No. 3 man partly recovers daub put up by No. 1 or No. 2 man and counts more than he actually puts up, report to car manager." It is clear that the bill posters and lithographers did not work on the honor system.

The bill posters would cover country routes and towns as far as 50 miles from the exhibition city. Local trains would be taken to the outlying towns and local horse teams would be contracted for the closer routes. One check for country teams shows that Ringling on September 6, 1913, paid Gill V. Trotter $29.00 for the use of four teams at $5.00 each for billing country routes and two teams at $4.00 each for city billing, plus $1.00 for baggage transportation. By 1920 autos were hired for this use.

The bill posters day would begin with a 4:30 a.m. wake up call by the car porter, followed by a hearty breakfast. The teams would report at 5 a.m. and the day's work would begin. The 1900 route book of the Forepaugh-Sells Circus contains a short article entitled “A Day on An Advance Car." We quote:

"While the daily routine of circus life with the show is familiar to all, none but those who have traveled on an advance advertising car, have a well formed idea of a day's doings there.

Here is activity from dawn to dusk and for several hours later. One may wonder 'when do they sleep,' for as early as 5 o'clock in the morning the advance couriers are up and doing, and long after sun down they come straggling back from all roads leading to the town, besmirched with paste and dust, face and hands fairly scorched by the sweltering sun, but having to their credit anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 sheets of pictorial paper, staring in the faces of citizen, villager and farmer alike. And even then the day's work is not done. By lamp-light the paper must be laid out for the following day; lithographs must be dated, paste must be made, and a full score of minor details attended to before the weary bill poster can open his bunk and lay down for a few hours' sleep. By 5 a.m. he is up again, gets breakfast, and is off, either to the country or to the city boards; and so on each day from the season's beginning to its close."

Further insight into the operation of an advance advertising car in the 1890s can be gained from an article written by Harvey L. Watkins and published in the 1893 route book of the Barnum & Bailey Circus. Titled "The Advance Brigade, A brief outline of its important work." The article tells of the activities of the four cars, No. 1, No. 2, No. 4 and No. 6 used by the show in 1893. We quote:

"The work of the advance advertising cars of such a colossal amusement enterprise as the Barnum & Bailey 'Greatest Show On Earth' has kept pace with the growth of the show itself, and whereas only a few years ago the bill posters on an advertising car would have thought 2,500 sheets of paper a good day's work, now 5,000 is only an ordinary amount. This will be news to many of those in the business today who years ago traveled with wagon shows, and who may imagine that no more labor is necessary in the year '93, to properly advertise, than was deemed sufficient when they had charge of 'a show.’ "

The following may be taken as a fair example of a day's work this season, in the way of posting bills, that is pictorial printing on billboards, exclusive of window lithographs, and is taken from the books on Car No. 2, Henry C. Heges, manager, wherein an account of all work done is systematically kept.

Sheets posted in Buffalo, N.Y. - 6,400
Sheets posted in Rochester, N.Y. - 5,478

It is easy to see from this that the average per day is nearly, if not quite, 5,000 sheets in all places for every working day, and includes the city and country work, for this car alone. Probably the largest country route ever billed was one out of Rochester, N.Y., on August 11, 1893, when bill posters Joseph Plant and Chas. Diggens of Car No. 2 drove a distance of 32 miles into the country and put up the enormous number of 1,310 sheets in one day, as follows:

In East Brighton - 77 sheets
In Penfield - 194 sheets
In East Webster - 225 sheets
In West Webster - 205 sheets
In Sea Breeze - 353 sheets
In Forest House - 108 sheets
Road Daubs - 148 sheets
Total - 1,310 sheets

During the season of 1891 Joseph Plant and Joe Williamson made this same route and posted 1,100 sheets, which was considered big work even at that recent date.

Probably few have ever calculated what an advertising car accomplishes when it does a good day's work in a town. From the following a fair idea may be had. Generally there are from five to six country routes, two men on a route. Each team will average a thirty-five miles drive a day, which for the six teams makes 210 miles; the town team will cover six miles; twelve men in the country and six in town make eighteen men; fourteen horses and eighteen men. The other advertising cars will do the work over again, and as there are three of them the foregoing totals would have to be multiplied by four with this result. To properly bill a town, the miles traveled in the country would be 600. The town wagons would travel 24 miles, the sheets posted would be nearly 15,000, the number of sheets posted would be nearly 15,000, the number of horses used would be 56, the number of men employed in the work about 60, all of which exclusive of window lithographers, general distribution of small advertising (heralds and couriers), and special billing in railroad towns. Verily, advertising the Barnum & Bailey Show has come to be an art, and only experts are capable of taking part in the labor.

Two weeks after Car No. 2 has done its share of the advance billing, Car No. 4 makes its appearance with Al Reil, manager. Car No. 4 last season was two weeks in advance of the show and expended most of its force in doing 'excursion work' alternating with Car No. 6 in charge of G. P. Campbell, and which later performed the same character of advertising work as its alternate No. 4, each car making three towns a week and remaining two days in every town to be exhibited. This season the time as well as character of the work has been changed. Car No. 4, while still two weeks ahead of the show, sends its men into the country to bill, and puts out the one sheet lithograph boards, at the same time renews the paper in town should the latter require it. Car No. 6, now in charge of W. H. Dumont the successor of G. P. Campbell, (a change in managers having been deemed necessary) comes along a week after Car No. 4, and, therefore, one week ahead of the show, and while both of these cars do 'excursion work', some town work, also secure advantageous places to bill not contracted for, besides distributing (programming) quantities of small advertising material. From this brief description those with the show unfamiliar with the advertising methods may get a good idea of the immense amount of labor necessary and the character of the work accomplished by some of the advertising cars.

Car No. 1, Michael Coyle, manager, starts out so early in the spring, going over the route so rapidly, making contracts (for billing locations) as it goes, that it is seldom talked of, except by those against whom all its efforts are directed (opposition shows). It is the 'far advance' car, being sometimes five months ahead of the show, always in the van, and going where its services are most needed. The work performed is similar to that of all the other cars, for it bills the town and country, puts lithographs and one sheet lithograph boards, makes all kinds of contracts and deserves more space than can be afforded here. Suffice it, all are laborers in a common field, but the harmony and good-will pervading the entire advance brigade, is such as to make labor and work a pleasure to all. Never in the history of shows has such a well organized 'advance' been seen as that for the past dozen years of the Barnum & Bailey Show, and the season of 1893 is but a duplicate of its predecessors." The above material indicates that the routing and use of the various advance cars was flexible under the master hand of the show's general agent, in the case of Barnum and Bailey in 1893 an all time great - Louis E. Cooke.

The 1895-96 route book of the Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows contains an article on the advance cars by Willard D. Coxey. The boasts of the amount of sheets posted in an average day is somewhat tempered in the Ringling version. Coxey says,

"From forty to sixty miles a day is the average drive for the country billers, and the posting of five hundred sheets of paper along a route is not considered an extraordinary day's work for a good man, although three hundred is the average. In order to thoroughly 'bill' the country around the city in which the show exhibits four to seven two-horse wagons are required. The teams are hired in each town, and each wagon has a driver and one or two bill posters. The bill posters are instructed to return in time to leave on the car when it departs for the next stand, whenever it is practicable to do so. If, owing to the arrangement of the railway schedules, the car has to leave at an early hour in the afternoon, the men who go into the country are given transportation (show script), and instructed to take the first train on their return and rejoin the car in the next town.

The posting in the place where the show is to exhibit is done by the 'town gang' under the immediate supervision of the boss bill poster. The 'town gang' covers from six hundred to three thousand running feet of billboards, in addition to a large number of daubs each day.

The manager as well as the bill posters sleep in the advertising car. The sleeping accommodations on the Ringling Bros.' advertising cars are unusually ample. The cars are furnished with folding beds arranged like the upper berths of a Pullman sleeper, and the men have lockers for their clothing. Meals are secured in hotels, where arrangements are made in advance by the contracting agents who precede the first car.

Each car carries its own supply of billing matter. From fifteen to twenty days paper is loaded at a time. It is received by freight or express, and every shipment requires the capacity of a box car to carry it. With twenty days paper on the advertising car there is no chance for the springs to play see-saw. There are a dozen or more cans of paste as big as barrels, and usually a ton of flour occupies the 'well' under the car. It requires about five barrels of flour a day to keep each of the cars supplied with paste. Each car has its own boiler, and 'cooking' paste is one of the numerous duties of the busy bill poster. The paste is made with steam, and blue stone is mixed in the 'dope' to prevent fermentation. In this way the paste can be kept a considerable time, even in the warmest weather."

The Red Wagon Annual, a route book of the Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows, season of 1898, contains perhaps the largest amount of space devoted to the advance advertising cars in a circus year book. The Ringling show in 1898 carried three cars and a scribe was appointed on each car to record interesting and unusual happenings throughout the season. The following have been selected to illustrate the atmosphere of life on a circus bill car prior to the turn of the century.

From the No. 1 Car, called the "Royal Irish Mail" comes the following:

"Louisville leads off the second week after a long Sunday run from Murphysboro, Illinois. Rain Monday. One of the new men with the smallest route on record, excuses himself on the pleas that he 'was afraid of getting his paper wet.' A. G. Ringling meets the car in Louisville, and goes through to Lexington enroute to Eastern opposition stands. At Huntington we discovered that the notorious Sam Myers, a contract crook, has been presenting himself as an agent of the show, and has decamped, leaving his board bill unpaid. Charleston, West Virginia, is Friday's stand. The hyphenated member of the circus syndicate [Forepaugh-Sells] billed in ahead of us. A. G. Ringling has answered the guns of the enemy with a heavy fusilade of flashy paper and merry circus war, which lasts until show day is inaugurated.

Strict authorities at Williamsport. Making paste on Sunday prohibited. Plenty of opposition at Connellsville. Two other shows billed in ahead. Persistent rain at McKeesport. Pittsburgh - Two days. Toughest town in America to bill. Butler town authorities object to high billboards. Several days of opposition.

Rival bill posting (local) firms at Worcester. The one we don't use gets out ahead of car and contracts daubs in suburban towns. Public sensibilities jarred by seeing the discarded, but venerable, old city hall, a relic of colonial days, covered with pictorial announcements of the rival firms. Foxey Italian gets three contracts for the side of his fruit shack and then tries to rent it to an opposition show. At Lawrence the manager takes an involuntary soup bath at the dinner table. The girl who drops the soup plate on him giggles and vows she'll never do it again.

Bad hotel at Winsted. Chickens on a strike, and eggs scarcer than hen's teeth. Two enterprising town girls apply to Stevens, the programmer, for a job 'passing bills.' 'Steve' falls into a trance and the girls are frightened away. At Weedsport, Stevens graduates from programmer to bill poster and throws up his first sheet of paper. Bluski, by merest accident, of course, covers the tyro with paste.

Laid out at Woonsocket over Sunday. Second baseball battle of the season. Treager and Titus leading the opposition nines and the Treagerites win a glorious victory.

Gain a day at El Reno. Bill the town at night. Best billboards of any town its size in the country. All high grade flooring lumber."

The tid-bits from the No. 2 Car included:

No. 2 stands alongside Buffalo Bill car No. 1 at Washington and Baltimore, the men fraternize. The knowing ones say it looks suspicious, and intimate that the opposition has been purposely "worked up" to create talk.

General gathering of rival show agents at Pittsburgh. Fred Beckman and E. H. Woods, of the Buffalo Bill, in advance of the opposition. At Butler both the Wild West and Main shows try to shut us out, but without success. At Utica all hands are invited to visit Sig Sautelle's circus, and the proprietor makes an eulogistic announcement of the coming of the big show. Trouble galore at Troy. Rival billposters, and rival claims for billboards contracted for the "World's Greatest." More Wild West opposition, but town beautifully billed in spite of all obstacles.

At Dubuque, Reeves breaks the record for No. 2, in a town of that size, using 2,000 window lithographs in good locations. Owing to opposition most of No. 2's billing for Cedar Falls is done at Waterloo, the "big suburb" of the Falls.

Meet car No. 1 of the Forepaugh-Sells show at Cedar Rapids, while waiting for the train to West Union. The erstwhile enemy is treated to lemonade, which is always "on tap" Sundays on the intermediate advance car.

Here are a few quotes from the scribe on the No. 3 car:

The "last shall be first" is literally fulfilled at St. Louis, where No. 3 opens the season a week ahead of the "Irish Mail." To be precise, the excursion car opens March 23, and bills "the city at the end of the bridge" for the opening of the big show at the magnificent Coliseum. Bad weather necessitates re-billing the second, and even third week to some extent, and there is no time for play or pipe stories. The record in the city is 13,983 sheets, with 4,000 sheets of window work. The excursion billing aggregate 8,277 sheets. The No. 3 also thoroughly banners St. Louis. At Winsted the car is anchored under the windows of a pin factory. Some of the boys are still writing six page epistles to the fair pin makers. At Niagara Falls several men representing a small opposition show are arrested for helping themselves to our boards without asking permission, and fined.

Montpelier! Daubs are plentiful again, and Kettler's scheme to anchor 24 sheet pictorial banners on captive balloons falls flat. While lying at Sleepy Eye advertising car No. 1 of the John Robinson Show passes through. Wm. Dale, manager, and George Cook, programme manager, extend fraternal greetings.

Forest City furnishes a surprise. The landlord invites the boys up to the desk and turns on his phonograph. The voices of Sam Hamant, Mike Conners and W. D. Coxey, of Car No. 1, readily recognized, Peoria offers opportunity for heavy railroad billing, and gets it. Over 6.000 sheets in country and 450 renewed in town.

For the record in 1898 Ringling's No. 1 car carried 25 men, car No. 2 had a crew of 18 and car No. 3 sixteen men.

The Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows used four advance cars in 1892, but dropped the fourth car for the 1893 season. The Barnum show continued using four cars until it went to Europe. Upon its return for the 1903 season The Greatest Show on Earth again used four advance cars, but by 1905 it too dropped the fourth car. In 1902 the Great Wallace Show used only three cars.

In 1906 another important change in the operation of the advance cars was evident on the Barnum show. New or remodeled cars contained a galley, and with the addition of a chef and a waiter on each car the full crew was then fed on the car as opposed to eating at hotels.

R. M. Harvey, contracting agent of the Barnum show in 1906, wrote a description of the No. 1 car which appeared in the November 3, 1906, Billboard. Harvey described the car as follows:

"The first of the group of advertising cars in advance of the Barnum & Bailey Shows is a seventy-foot car, having six wheel trucks and equipped with all the requirements of the Master Car Builders Association and is fit to be attached to any passenger train. The outside of the car presents a neat and an attractive appearance, being a bright red and although the decorations are of a modest character and in gold the average person does not have any trouble in recognizing it as 'that show car.'

At one end of the car is the kitchen. Here all the appliances and utensils found in the modern and best dining cars are to be seen, presided over by as capable a chef (Walter Humphries) as ever prepared any hotel menu. Passing through the passage way at the side of the kitchen we enter the paste or boiler room. The large upright boiler required for the generating of the steam for the cooking of the twenty barrels of paste used by this car daily, is always ready for inspection. The paste cans and buckets are stored in this room while immediately underneath in the cellar large quantities of the best winter wheat flour is constantly kept in stock, so that paste is always available. D. Coates is the expert paste maker of the car, and gives his entire attention to the paste department.

Going through the hallway the visitor enters the private office of the manager of the car. Lester W. Murray has for several years been the master mind of the car, and that he has been successful is attested by the facts that a surprisingly large amount of work is accomplished by the men and that they literally love him as their 'father.' Mr. Murray's private office is furnished with red tapestries which give it the appearance of an aristocratic oriental den. In this den is found a nice roll top desk, a safe, a file case, a stenographer's desk, a typewriter and other necessary office furniture, while in one corner of the apartment is the lavatory with hot and cold running water.

The other half of the car contains the bill room, buffet and sleeping car combined. Berths for 28 men. In the day time the sleeping car becomes a large bill room, and Tom Conners may be seen laying up the 'stands' of paper, the product of five different printing houses. At meal time the room becomes a dining room."

The addition of a kitchen in the car allowed the car manager to fete the crew to especially fancy meals on holidays and at the close of the season, a tradition that was practiced back on the show.

On Saturday, November 3, 1906, the closing day of the season, of the Barnum & Bailey No. 1 car, manager L. W. Murray, tendered such a meal to members of the car in appreciation of the faithful services rendered. A special menu was printed for the occasion. The menu was enclosed in a brown cover with a purple ribbon, just as elegant as the special menus published for the special meals back on the show.

And what a meal was prepared by chef Walter Humphries, it included the following delicacies: Raw oysters, with celery and stuffed olives. Oysters stewed in cream. Roast stuffed turkey, with peas, creamed potatoes and mashed turnips. Boiled live cracked lobster and asparagus tips. Plus individual ice creams as well as both mince and lemon pie, followed by cake, fruit, nuts and candy, and a selection of tea, coffee, chocolate and milk. Cigars were passed afterwards. A note in small type at the bottom of the menu states, "Ask the waiter for individual toothpicks and use the paste buckets for finger bowls."

The smaller shows were also beginning to serve meals on the cars, and this practice continued on into the 1920s with the circuses owned by the American Circus Corporation, as well as most other 10 and 15 car circuses.

A special menu was printed to commemorate the annual Thanksgiving Dinner given the 16 members of the crew on the Sun Brothers World's Progressive Shows advance car on November 27, 1913. This was a rather fancy meal also. The Billboard of December 2, 1911, carried an article telling of a special menu prepared by chef Monroe Jones, on the closing day November 12, 1911, of the Downie and Wheeler Circus advance car. It is not known if a menu was printed or not for the special meal. Special closing day menus appeared to be the rule on all cars carrying a kitchen.

Information gained from Billboard files indicates that most of the other 10 and 15 car circuses served meals on their advance cars in this period.

The Young Buffalo Wild West car in 1911 carried 16 men plus a chef. Jones Bros. Circus in 1915 carried 14 men plus a chef. The Great Sanger Circus in 1912 carried 14 men and a chef. The policy of Jerry Mugivan of feeding on the Sanger car continued throughout the history of all of the advance cars operated by the various circuses of the American Circus Corporation. The Christy, Sparks, Gentry, Main, and Heritage Bros, circuses in the 1920s carried a chef on their cars.

In 1916 Edward Arlington brought an innovation to the operation of the advance car on the Buffalo Bill-101 Ranch Wild West Show, when he started carrying and utilizing automobiles for town and country billing. The May 13,1916, Billboard carried an article with a photo of three Model T Ford cars next to the car. Arlington announced that the cars were proved a success, not only from the standpoint of efficiency, but also because of its economy. The No. 2 car carried three machines, which so expedited the work of the country billing that it was found practical to make two routes every day with each machine, thus covering six routes a day. Where there were only four routes they were negotiated by two cars and the third one was used for town billing. The cars were illuminated with the name of the show, and attracted a great deal of attention.

The article went on to say that until the advance reached St. Louis both the No. 1 and the No. 2 cars were run together. This was done experimentally in order to see whether or not it was feasible. The success attending the operation of the two cars in conjunction, one utilized for the manager, the press bureau and the bill posters and lithographers, and the other for carrying the autos and a dining department, was so pronounced that Mr. Arlington arranged for a third advertising car. A little later in the season he planned to again run the first two cars in conjunction. A motorcycle with a side car was also carried, it was used by the car manager and the press agent in getting around town and also was used for checking up on billing routes and in lithographing outside towns. Soon after this a number of shows began hiring autos and trucks in place of horse teams for country billing routes.

Most of the advance cars used in the 1920s by such circuses as Sparks, Barnes, Gentry, Main and Christy were like the one used by the Howe's Great London Circus and Van Amburgh's Trained Wild Animal Shows during the season of 1921. L. A. "Dude" Schrack, a CHS member from Mansfield, Ohio, has been helpful in reaching back in his memory to 1921 when he was a member of the bill crew on the Howe's car. His comments follow:

The layout of the car was as follows, galley occupied one end of the car, very shallow but the width of the car, next was the dining area, two tables seating six or eight each, when the tables were struck up it became the sleeping area with four men up and four down. The chef and some of the older men slept here as they couldn't make it into the upper berths. A narrow aisle along one side of the car from the dining area past a stateroom, which contained an office desk and chair and I believe a foldup upper bunk above the desk. The other side of the office had lower and upper bunk beds which I think were permanent.

Moving past the office stateroom into the billers area there was a center aisle which ran back to the two side doors. Wooden cupboards waist high on either side of the aisle contained 30 days supply of paper. The tops or counters of the cupboards provided the flat space for the lithographers to circus the paper and paste on the date tails. This was done each day after the men returned in the afternoon. There were only upper berths in this section of the car and two men slept in each berth. The space between the two large side doors was generally taken up with storage of large cans, barrels and kegs that the paste was made in. There was a steam boiler used in making the paste, a wash room and a compartment for a electric generator and sleeping space for the car porter who served as paste maker, in the end of the car.

There were 27 men on the car when we started out, that was two more than the 25 tickets the show had purchased to move the car, so each time the car was hooked on to a passenger train and was to be checked by the conductor two of the smallest men on board had to be hid in the paper cabinets until after the check was made.

My best recollection is that everyone ate breakfast and supper on the car, the town lithographers came back to the car for lunch in nearly all of the cities. The men billing the country routes were given lunch money. The banner men generally came back to the car for lunch also. One horse wagons were hired for the country bill posting routes, and in a few towns touring cars may have been rented.

The show rented space on 24 sheet billboards owned by a local firm, and in some cases they may have furnished the transportation for the local bill posters.

The food served on the car was good and plenty of it, pork chops every day and twice if you ate lunch on the car. We generally hunted up a barbershop twice a week that had bathtubs to let at 25 cents for a bath, soap and a towel.

The brush men were mostly old men and boozers and I doubt if they could have worked for anyone else. Their only clothing was a pair of bib overalls and a cast off suit coat. Their table manners were terrible, I had heard of "sword swallowers" but I had never seen so many guys that didn't know what a fork was for and ate everything off of a knife.

One more important part of the car was the "posum belly" that extended below the outside of the car between the wheels. This storage area was used for ladders, long handled brushes, cloth banners and all sorts of junk.

Another first for circus advance advertising cars came in 1923 when the first all steel car was used by the Ringling-Barnum Circus. The June 2,1923 Billboard commented:

"The first advertising car of the Ringling Bros, and Barnum Bailey Circus is in Boston this week with George Goodhart in charge. It is expected that the new all steel advance car will reach Boston from Bridgeport in time for the material to be loaded to the new car from the old one, and it is expected that the first car will leave Boston with the new equipment."

A description of the new car was printed in the July 7, 1923 Billboard:

Recently an all steel Pullman coach, 80 feet in length, modern, sanitary and comfortable in every respect, was parked in the New York Central yards in South Bend, Indiana. Manager George Goodhart, 42 years in show business and grown gray in the service of the Ringlings, sat at his oak glass-topped desk checking his reports.

From this description it would appear that this car was the first to provide shower bath facilities. Although we can find no firm evidence it appears the Ringling cars discontinued feeding on the car in 1920. No chef was carried in 1922 and there was none in 1921. However all of the cars we can find a record of in the 1920s other than Ringling Barnum did continue to carry a galley and a chef. Each of the cars carried the contracting press agent, but the usual practice was for the press agent to eat up town and not on the car.

In 1922 the Sells-Floto show carried two cars as did Al G. Barnes. But all other rail shows, except Ringling-Barnum with three cars, used only one. The John Robinson car in 1922 carried 23 men, the No. 1 car of on the South Bend routes. The finest of copper screens protect the wide open windows, a soft-purring electric fan overhead kept the air circulating. Complete office equipment was conveniently at hand. Upper berth, shower bath, toilet facilities and home comforts make the compartment a wonderful place to live and work while traveling. Adjoining and furnished in duplicate is the press office and home of Sam J. Banks. The sides of this bill car differ in no way from the regular Pullman coach. There are just as many windows. These side windows furnish ventilation and an abundance of light for the workers to sort and arrange the thousands of sheets of lithographs and dates kept in the mammoth paper bins occupying the space on both sides of the center aisle. Above are the berths for the workman. Further on are more berths, upper and lower, clothes lockers and the paste department, where the six to eight barrels of paste used in each town is cooked by steam and mixed ready for the brigades. Car No. 1 sometimes uses twenty-five barrels of flour a day for paste. Only the very best, first quality cooking flour is used, for it is found that this makes the best paste. The car has a dynamo for furnishing electricity for lighting. The car is said to be the first all steel advance car especially constructed for the task ever on the tracks.

Sells-Floto carried 26 men, the No. 2 Sells-Floto car had 17 men, the Sparks car 23 men, the Christy car 17 men, the Walter L. Main had 19 men, Hagenbeck-Wallace 25 men and Al G. Barnes No. 1 car carried 22 men, in each case a chef was a member of the crew.

In 1928 the Ringling-Barnum show dropped its third car and all other rail shows touring used only one car. A letter in our files lists the salaries for the advance on the John Robinson show and William P. Backell, car manager received $60 a week plus expenses. Only William J. Lester contracting agent on the show received a higher salary, $75.00.

The Ringling-Barnum show continued to use two advance cars through the 1940 season and then dropped to one. A second car and a brigade moved by station wagon and by passenger train. As many as 17 station wagons were used and the total number of men handling bill posting, lithographing and banner tacking averased between 40 and 45 men during the 1940s. By 1950 only 19 men were on the bill car and 15 men were on the brigade. The crew on the car dropped to 12 in 1952 with 5 on the brigade. However in 1954 the advance car crew was boosted to 20 with 9 on the brigade, but was retired at the end of the season. In 1955 the year before the tent show went off the road only seven men handled all of the advance advertising, working from trucks.

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The Romance Between the Circus and the Air Conditioning Industry

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows, Inc. first became associated with the air conditioning industry in the 1920's. This episode concerned Madison Square Garden and this topic has been discussed by the writer in another issue of Bandwagon. Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey again became involved with the air conditioning industry in January, 1938. The occasion this time was necessitated when John and Henry Ringling North purchased the gorilla, Gargantua in 1937. Gorillas up to that time had not been kept alive in captivity for any great length of time and the Norths had to find a way to keep the gorilla alive for more than a few months. The main reason gorillas were difficult to maintain in captivity is that they are sensitive creatures and easily contract colds and pneumonia if exposed to such illnesses or to chilling drafts and sudden temperature changes. Some way had to be devised to maintain both a constant temperature as well as a constant humidity in Gargantua's cage as he traveled with the big circus. Therefore, John Ringling North contacted Lemuel R. Boulware, Executive Vice-President of the Carrier Corporation to see if the people at the giant air conditioning plant could design an environment within Gargantua's cage whereby the gorilla could be kept alive and happy. John Ringling North first met Boulware at the wedding of North's sister, Mary Salome. Boulware was the best man. Soon John Ringling North and Lemuel Boulware were close friends.

John North wanted the best job of air conditioning done, and Boulware and his associates at Carrier wanted it to be the best job, both for the sake of the Norths and for the safety of the gorilla. In addition, engineers at Carrier soon became intrigued and challenged with the prospects of the impending job. Air conditioning a circus cage had never been done anywhere before.

Naturally John Ringling North took an active role in the early discussions which involved the planning and eventual construction of the cage. However, Carl Hathaway, general manager of the big circus at the time, took a more direct role before his untimely death on January 25, 1938. Actually, Mr. Hathaway discussed the transport problems of the gorilla with the Norths and other circus officials before the go-ahead was given the people of Carrier.

Carrier agreed to supply the air conditioning equipment and to provide the necessary design for the cage to insure successful air conditioning and the circus agreed to design and build the cage from the standpoint of circus specifications.

John Ringling North telephoned, then later wrote Mr. Boulware; and from that day forward special handling was the watch word at the big Carrier plant at Syracuse, New York, in regard to the construction of special equipment for air conditioning the cage for the circus's million-dollar menagerie attraction.

In order to give some idea of the tremendous problems and responsibilities that faced Carrier engineers at the start of the project, the following letter from Mr. Logan Lewis (late vice-president and one of the founders of Carrier) is quoted:

It was recognized from the beginning that the problem of providing adequate service was a massive one. Our Operating Instructions here when put together in a bound volume contains some twenty typed pages and about double that number of printed ones. One of the typed pages gives the addresses of Carrier's 19 field offices; and the names of individuals to be contacted therein if and when service was needed. Carrier had a number of Dealers at that time but by no means all of them had been sufficiently trained to service the type of equipment that was installed on the cage. (1)

The first written record of a communication between North and Boulware is found in a letter dated February 23, 1938, when Boulware wrote the following:

February 23, 1938
Mr. John Ringling North
Sarasota, Florida
Dear John:

Our folks are beginning to actually work on getting together the equipment, and I think we should have some definite understanding as to what we are going to furnish, and what you are. I realize, of course, that we have had no conversation about this since the first evening you called me, and my recollection of it is that we are to furnish what equipment we make, and you would provide the balance.

When you were contemplating a smaller cage, we had in mind furnishing standardized equipment which would take very little duct work, or other connecting-up by tinners or plumbers. Since you have increased the size of the cage, however, we have had to go to larger equipment which is not in a self-contained package, and which will therefore have to have a little more connecting-up by the tinners, plumbers, and carpenters. This does not amount to anything to speak of, however.

As the matter stands now, it seems to me that the division of the work should be as follows:

1. We will furnish:
(a) Equipment we make for this job, such as two refrigerating compressors, the air handling units, the cooling coils and heating elements, together with the controls . . . We will pay the freight from here on this foregoing equipment.
(b) The engineering for laying out and completely designing this job, together with the detailed drawings, etc.
(c) A superintendent to supervise the installation of this equipment in the cage . . .

2. You would provide the cage, the engine generator set, the metal ceiling, and such miscellaneous tin work, piping and electrical hooking up as may be needed. Such of the above equipment, like the engine generator and ceiling, as you want us to buy, we will send on to you freight prepaid and will bill you for the cost of the material to us, plus the cost of the transportation. As you know, we have already gotten a very good reduction on the engine generator set. If this is thoroughly agreeable to you, I wish you would acknowledge it here so our folks can have a complete understanding on the basis of which they can write up the orders and the instructions to the various folks concerned.

I hope your wounds are healing. Best regards, to your Mother and the family.
Yours very truly, LRBoul ware: mh (2)

According to Logan Lewis, this letter is the nearest approach to a contract now available in company files. Correspondence clearly indicates that Boulware was interested in the project from a technical as well as a publicity point of view and that North wanted the best air conditioning system Carrier had to offer. The total cost of the project was estimated at between three to five thousand dollars (1938 prices).

Mr. Lewis in a letter dated October 10, 1958, wrote that "the entire negotiation and subsequent operations were handled as a highly special project by the Home Office in Syracuse." (3)

Donald E. Perry was selected as the engineer to go to Sarasota and negotiate all pre-contract engineering matters with circus officials. Perry's main tasks were (1) to keep the gorilla in pure air and away from the sneezing public and (2) to keep him in a uniform, comfortable temperature (75°F.) and relative humidity (50%). Perry reported in February, 1938, to Boulware that everything was in readiness for the start of construction and installation of the air conditioning equipment and in return L. L. Lewis was notified. Lewis then sent the following letter to Messrs. L. B. Mann, Boulware, French and Gillham at the Syracuse plant (February 21, 1938) which formally set the wheels in motion for work to proceed.

Date February 21, 1938
To SYRACUSE OFFICE
Attention of MR. L. B. MANN
Mr. L. R. Boulware
C. C. Mr. Donald French
Mr. J. N. Gillem
Subject: GORILLA CAGE
RINGLING BROTHERS
JOB 8H-1

This letter will serve as your preliminary authorization (to be confirmed in some formal manner by the Order Department) for proceeding with contract engineering and the ordering and installing of all necessary machinery, materials, etc. The cage is to be built by Ringling Brothers in Sarasota, Florida, all machinery and materials to be shipped to Sarasota and installed in Sarasota.

We are to furnish and install all air conditioning machinery, sheet metal duct connections, controls, etc. As a part of the work of building the cage, Ringling is to supply and install the perforated ceiling on the grounds that it is a part of the interior of the cage. Ringling is to furnish the gasoline motor generator set and most certainly will be expected to cooperate with us by placing it within the cage, and we think by actually anchoring it to the floor of the cage. Ringling will be expected to do all carpentry work in connection with the installation. We presumably to do all sheet metal work which may not fall exactly in the classification of duct connections.
Mr. L. B. Mann February 21, 1938

Since Ringling is relying on us as engineers and we are assuming the responsibility for designing the entire system, we are expected, if by so doing time can be gained, to order such materials as the perforated metal coiling, the motor generator set, and perhaps other pieces of material. These transactions should be carried out in such a manner as to obtain greatest possible speed. We presume, subject to correction, that we may order, for example, the motor generator set, in the name of Carrier and bill Ringling for the cost thereof.

We will rely upon the Order Department to ascertain to what account this work is to be charged, and to so advise Accounting to any other departments concerned. In this connection, it should be noted that certain traveling expenses and Eastern Contract Engineering time have already accumulated.

You are to look to Messrs. Don Perry and Sam Shawhan who have heretofore been intimately identified with this proposition for such aid and advice as you may require.
Very truly yours, L. L. Lewis (4)
js/

Also on February 23, 1938, S. F. Shawhan of the Syracuse plant's Development Department, wrote to Logan Lewis to the effect that the department had built a test cage in the laboratory and had made suitable tests on the perforated ceiling air distribution pattern for the gorilla's cage. In the letter, Shawhan included detailed instructions for the final design and the construction of the ceiling. This information will be covered in the correspondence between Perry and Logan Lewis and a letter to the writer from Perry.

In turn, Mann (February 23, 1938) wrote the following letter to the Carrier Order Department at the Syracuse plant:

Date 2/23/38
Carrier General Offices
Syracuse, N.Y.
Replying to
To SYRACUSE ORDER DEPT.
Attention of MR. J. N. GILLHAM
C. C. MESSRS: L. L. BOULWARE - SYR; DONALD FRENCH - SYR.; L. L. LEWIS - SYR.; WARREN RULE - Acctg. Dept.; J. A. DENHOLM - Purch. Dept.
Subject: GORILLA CAGE
RINGLING BROTHERS JOB #8H-1

Mr. L. L. Lewis' letter of February 21st outlines the general procedure to be carried out on the subject job with reference to materials and labor to be borne by Carrier and that to be borne by Ringling.

All material bought for, shipped to and for which Ringling is to pay should be ordered and charged to Job #8H-1. Such equipment should probably be shipped freight prepaid so that we could bill Ringling the total cost of the invoice.

All material ordered by Eastern Contract and all engineering, drafting and traveling time including traveling expenses should be charged to Job #8H-1A. Job #8H-1A should also be charged with any construction services rendered. You are to inform the Accounting Department of the proper appropriation number so that cost incurred under 8H-1A may be properly transferred from the Eastern Contract account.
Yours very truly, L. B. MANN (5)

Meanwhile, Mr. Perry had written John Ringling North and Logan Lewis and the contents of these letters tell more of the story:

February 28, 1938
CC: MR. L. R. BOULWARE - SYRACUSE; MR. L. L. LEWIS - SYRACUSE; MR. J. N. GILLHAM - SYRACUSE; MR. L. B. MANN - SYRACUSE; MR. C. V. FENN - SYRACUSE
AIR MAIL
REGULAR MAIL
SUBJECT: JOB #8H-1
RINGLING BROTHERS & BARNUM & BAILEY COMBINED CIRCUS
Mr. John Ringling North
Ringling Brothers - Barnum & Bailey's Combined Shows Inc.
Sarasota, Florida
Dear John:

You have probably received Mr. Boulware's letter of February 25th and know that we are proceeding as rapidly as possible with the final details of the equipment for "Gargantua's" cage. We are a little behind on our schedule but feel that we will be able to complete the work in time as originally planned.

You should have received the perforated metal for the ceiling by this time and the Engine generator set should arrive some time this week. Our factory is rushing the equipment manufactured by us and this should be in Sarasota in time for assembly to start during the week of March 7th. Other items of equipment which we are ordering for you will arrive by the time they are needed.

In regard to the perforated metal for the ceiling, we would like you to pass on the following method of procedure to Mr. Yeske. The ply-wood for the ceiling should be cut to size and the perforated metal attached to it with screws and bolts. Before this is put up on the ceiling, holes should be drilled thru the ply-wood to match the perforations in the metal both as to size and location. The holes thru the plywood should then be countersunk on the top side (that is the side away from the perforated metal). They need only be countersunk just enough to remove any rough edges which may result from the drilling. These holes must be clean and smooth so as not to obstruct the air flow through them.

Before the drilled ply-wood with perforated metal attached is erected on the ceiling, certain baffles should be installed in the two center air passages between the rafters. These baffles may be of wood or sheet metal and will serve to equalize air distribution down the length of the cage. Four of these are required and they should be placed 4' apart. They should be fitted tight against the roof and extended down toward the ply-wood ceiling. Varying air spaces should be left between the bottom of the baffles and the perforated ply-wood.

We are attaching our sketch #1 which gives dimensions and which we hope will make clear what is required.

We are attaching a print of our general layout dated February 28, 1938. You will note on this that a number of changes from our original plans have been made. This was caused by the necessity of going to larger equipment and getting away from the use of a self contained unit.

We have indicated on section A-A, the return air openings in the equipment room partition. These we show 12" high by 12" wide which is in accordance with our recent telephone conversation. We have shown five of these openings, but Mr. Yeske's talk with us inferred that he thought he could get in six. We would like to have six if possible.

Our section A-A we also show the door between the cage and the equipment space. We have made this 2' 3 1/2" wide and 3' high. It would be possible for you to make this door higher if necessary, but we ask you to be careful that you do not get this so high that it will interfere with our supply duct which will be located over it.

On our layout we have indicated a certain type of wall construction around the equipment space. We realize that Mr. Yeske has probably not built this in just this way. As you will note a number of openings are required thru these walls. It was our understanding with Mr. Yeske that these openings would be cut after we started erection of the equipment in the cage. The exact size and location will have to be determined then and the proper framing provided.

We have indicated on the print in red pencil the spaces available in the partition openings thru which the cage lights will shine. Two similar openings will also be required in the end of the cage at the sleeping quarters. We suggest that these openings not be cut until after installation of the equipment has been made. We have allowed in the generator, sufficient capacity for 4-100 watt lights.

It is our understanding that you agreed with Mr. Boulware that certain signs would be painted on the outside of the cage in which the name 'Carrier' would be prominently displayed. Our Advertising Department is preparing suggestions for these signs which will be forwarded to you soon. The general theme will be that the climate of the Belgian Congo is being reproduced for 'Gargantua' by Carrier air conditioning and we believe that they will meet with your approval.

I am sorry to have to tell you that it will be impossible for me to return to Sarasota on this job. I have recently been assigned to some new work which makes necessary my transfer to our Cleveland Office. Mr, D. A. Newton of our Contract Engineering Department is now handling the final details of this project and I have been working with him so that he is thoroughly acquainted with all the requirements. If you have any further questions I suggest that you take them up with him. I hope that it will be possible for me to see you all again some where on the road, possibly in Cleveland.
With best personal regards, Yours truly,
CARRIER CORPORATION
(D. E. PERRY) (6)
DEP:B

Donald Perry also wrote an undated letter to L. L. Lewis and portions are reproduced (with permission) at this time. Perry first wrote that:

When I arrived I found that the cage is going to be built by Mr. Yeske who has been building wagons and cages with the circus for years. He is one of the master mechanics who never uses blue prints but keeps their plans in their head. Little by little I have been able to get out of him just what he is expected to do and had him change some things to better suit us. No work has been done on the cage yet as they have been waiting for weeks for the aluminum out of which they expected to build it. Yesterday they cancelled the aluminum order and will proceed to build the cage out of wood with steel sheets or aluminum sheets if they get them . . . Mr. Perry continues:

. . . At night or when traveling the gorilla is going to be kept in his sleeping quarters where he is to have a bench raised about 18" off the floor . . . Furthermore . . . The circus will open in Madison Square Garden on April 8th or 9th and they expect to leave here on April 1st. There is no possible chance of the cage being sent to Syracuse to be equipped so our work will all have to be done down here. Mr. Yeske has a pretty good machine shop and he is ready to help us out in every way which he can with labor and material and the use of the shop.

To point up the thinking about the gorilla at winter quarters, Perry wrote Lewis:

I cannot describe how much this gorilla, 'Gargantua' is his name, means to these people. He is the most important thing on earth to them right now, and he is practically all they talk about. They are depending on us for this air conditioning as they are positive they cannot keep him alive without it . . . (7)

Donald Perry was kind enough to write a complete description of the air conditioning system for the gorilla cages in laymen's language. This letter was received by the writer on February 7, 1959.

CARRIER CORPORATION
CARRIER PARKWAY, SYRACUSE 1, NEW YORK
February 5, 1959
Dr. Robert I. Loeffler
Concordia College
Department of Biology
Moorhead, Minnesota
Dear Dr. Loeffler:

In many respects the air conditioning system for this cage was quite conventional and similar to what might serve a building or room today. The unusual features were due primarily to the necessity of mobility and the peculiar characteristics of the inhabitant.

The two air conditioning units which provided the required cooling and de-humidification each had an approximate capacity equivalent to a refrigeration effect of 3/4 ton or 9,000 BTU per hour. These were similar in construction to today's Room Air Conditioners except that they were the console or floor mounted type instead of the more common present window sill models.

The essential elements in each unit included a reciprocating refrigeration compressor belt driven from an electric motor, an extended surface finned type cooling coil, a refrigerant condenser coil of similar construction together with motor driven fans to move the required air quantities over these coils. As in present day units of this type, the moisture dehumidified from the air at the cooling coil was re-evaporated into the outgoing air stream on the hot condenser coils, thus eliminating the need for a drain connection.

Because the standard fans in the air conditioning units were not designed for the resistance inherent in the type of air distribution system necessary for the cage, an auxiliary or booster fan received air from both units operating in parallel and raised this to the required supply pressure.

Also because of the resistance through special high efficiency air filters in the ventilation air intake a separate outside air booster fan was used to force the required ventilation air into the system.

For cool weather heating, electric resistance type heaters under separate thermostatic control were installed in the supply air circuit.

All of the above equipment, plus a 3 kilowatt direct current gasoline engine driven electric generator was installed in a 4' x 7' x 6' high compartment at the end of the cage opposite from Gargantua's sleeping compartment. The generator supplied power for the compressor and fan motors as well as the electric heaters and cage lights. Direct current was used to match the portable power generating plants carried by the circus and to which this cage and other equipment were connected when on location.

The air distribution system within the cage presented some difficult problems. First, because of the relatively large air quantity to be circulated draftlessly in the cage with its low ceiling height; and second, because of the necessity for the air distributing devices to be tamper proof even to the hands of a gorilla. This was solved through the use of a perforated steel and plywood ceiling through which the air was supplied using some 25,000 1/4" holes.

It is interesting to note that a mock-up of the cage was built in our laboratories to test this air distribution system before establishing final details. [S. F. Shawhan, Carrier's Development Department, built the test cage in Feb. 1938.] It was found that we could maintain temperatures in all parts of the cage, 6" from the ceiling and 4" from the walls and floor with a maximum variation of 3° and with air velocities within the cage not exceeding 25 to 30 feet per minute. A velocity of 50 feet per minute is very acceptable in systems designed for human comfort. The air conditions of 75°F and 50% relative humidity for which this system was designed have often been questioned by those unfamiliar with the objectives. These do not sound like jungle conditions with which most people are inclined to associate gorillas. I was told, however, that Gargantua was a mountain gorilla from the Belgian Congo and that his natural habitat was a high altitude area with a temporate climate.

One purpose of the air conditioning system was to keep Gargantua vigorous and alert so that he would put on a "good show". Many of the caged animals were sleepy and sluggish most of the time. A second, and perhaps the most important purpose, was to permit complete isolation from the viewing crowds of people. The circus veterinarian explained to me that such a gorilla had no natural immunity to, or defense mechanism against, the germs and viruses of civilization and that even a common cold could be fatal.

With reference to Mr. Yeske, I have no knowledge as to whether he is still living. If he is, however, he has lived to a ripe old age because I would judge that he was approaching, or in his seventies, when I knew him 20 years ago. He was wagon master for the circus and as such designed and built most of their wheeled vehicles including cages. He was a true master mechanic of the old school and his assistance in the design of the cage structure was invaluable.
Sincerely,
Donald E. Perry
Engineering Training Dept. (8)
DEP/bd

The air conditioning equipment was made at Syracuse, shipped to Sarasota, and installed by the Atlanta office of Carrier under the supervision of engineer, Mr. C. V. Fenn. He was also manager of the Atlanta office at the time. He reported, in the following letter, to Mr. Boulware that the special cage for Gargantua had been completed for the circus. This was on April 1, 1938, and the letter reads in part:

April 1, 1938
Syracuse Office
Mr. L. R. Boulware, Mr. J. H. Koonce - N.Y. Office
RINGLING BROS. OUR JOB # 8H-1-A

The air conditioning work in connection with the above job has now been completed and the circus is supposed to have left Sarasota, Fla. today for a trip to New York.

At Mr. North's request and after considering the matter carefully, we are having one of our men meet the circus in New York, to be sure the air conditioning equipment is functioning properly.

It was also believed that we should continue servicing this equipment . . . until such time as the circus itself leaves New York City . . .

We are writing this letter to request that you either confirm or reject this idea, giving us instructions to the contrary, if required.

If you concur with us, we believe it would be a wise idea to advise Mr. North direct so that he will know on what basis future servicing is to be arranged . . .
Yours very truly,
C. V. Fenn, Construction Department (9)
CVF: EDL

It goes without saying that Gargantua reached Madison Square Garden safely and that the air conditioning equipment was working properly. Thousands of individuals viewed the big gorilla between April 8 and 30th. Mr. Richard D. Kroener, acted as Superintendent and Jose Tomas was his assistant. In addition, Harry M. Carter, Julius Gerlick, Ray O. Powell, Hubert Sheppard and Walter Vaughn were also in attendance. The circus provided a Gorilla Top, and, in 1941, Frederick Clay, Eugene Wernek, Archie White, Snooks Van Ealey, James Williams, John Wilson, David Harris, Garfield Green, John Woodward, and Charlie Young were responsible for getting the exhibition area ready for Mr. & Mrs. Gargantua. There was an attendant present with Gargantua and Mlle. Toto at all times and at the slightest indication that the air conditioning equipment was malfunctioning George W. Smith, General Manager, was notified, as well as the nearest Carrier representative. The writer remembers vividly that at the railroad yards and on the circus lot before the cages were jockied into position, nobody was allowed near them. The drawing power of the two apes for the circus was considered so great that officials took no chances with an "accident". Labor trouble forced the closing of the 1938 season quite abruptly at Scranton, Pa., on Wednesday, June 22, and Gargantua, under special heavy guard, on the show train returned to Sarasota. Scranton was a big labor city in 1938 and John and Henry North were not going to take any chances with the gorilla; fortunately nothing happened to their star attraction. The circus reformed by July 11 to go out under the banner - Al G. Barnes and Sells-Floto Circus, Presenting Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailev Stuoendous New Features.

In 1940-41 Carrier installed similar air conditioning equipment in a specially designed cage for Ringling's second gorilla, Mlle. Toto. Mlle. Toto toured for the first time in 1941. Carrier prepared the following advertising statement:

Air conditioning cage used by Mrs. Gargantua in her debut as a star of Ringling Circus. . . . Thermostatic controls maintain temperature at 75°F,. humidity is held at 50%. These conditions have been proved ideal for gorillas as a result of three years of experience with Carrier air conditioning in Gargantua's cage.

Both air conditioned gorilla cages proved to be highly successful. The circus had little difficulty with the air-conditioning units while the show was on tour. Not only were the gorillas of great curiosity to the public, but the fact that they lived in air conditioned comfort was of equal interest to the viewing public. In 1938 there were few homes that were air-conditioned, and certainly no automobiles, and air-cooled trains were few and far between. The Carrier Corporation and the circus were demonstrating the reliability and effectiveness of air-conditioning. The circus's daily contact with hundreds of people across the nation helped to advertise air conditioning for Carrier, and certainly the installation of such units in future years can be traced to a couple of gorilla cages in the circus!

Henry Ringling North, circus vice-president at the time, indicated to the writer that the phrase, "jungle-conditioned cage" won the Carrier Corporation the Advertiser's Award for 1938.

Air conditioning did not stop with the two gorilla cages. In 1939 while at winter quarters at Sarasota, Florida, circus officials decided to air condition the giant Big Top. John Ringling North, then president, wanted an excellent job of cooling in order that the main tent would be refreshingly cool on a sweltering hot August day. John North and the Board of Directors decided that the contract would be awarded the Buffalo Forge Company of Buffalo, New York. To the people of Buffalo Forge Company it was a great challenge to cool such a large facility as the Ringling Big Top. Of course, they knew it would be a difficult task because of the very nature of the canvas fabric and the terrifically high summertime temperatures the canvas is exposed to almost daily. It would be an expensive operation for the circus but even if the project was only partially successful, it would point out to the entire world the potential of future air conditioning. The project was also good publicity and advertising for both the circus and Buffalo Forge.

John Ringling North, contacted J. J. O'Shea, engineering sales representative of the Atlanta, Ga., office of the Buffalo Forge Company and contract number 39A-7681017 was drawn up. However, O'Shea advised North after several conferences, against the idea of a full mechanical refrigeration system of cooling because Gargantua was such a tremendous attraction during the summer of 1938 that he was exhibited at the Bertram Mills Circus in the early winter of 1939. He, in his air conditioned cage, sailed aboard the S. S. Maasdam, from New Orleans on December 3, 1938. Mr. Steilen, former engineer with the Carrier Corporation, went along to make certain that the air conditioning equipment worked smoothly. Carrier issued this advertising sheet for the occasion.

Courtesy, L. L. Lewis and Carrier Corporation of Syracuse, N. Y. (in the words of J. E. Gill, at that time chief engineer of Buffalo Forge):

By a full mechanical refrigeration system we mean one similar to that used in modern theatres, restaurants, and hotels. Here the cooling effect is obtained from a refrigerant handled by powered compressors. The refrigerant is compressed, then allowed to expand in a cooling coil from approximately 135 PSI to 40 PSI. In expanding it produces a cooling effect in the cooling coil and the air to be cooled is moved over the coil by a fan. This system produces a better air conditioning job, in that it can produce lower temperatures and humidities, but does require considerable power which was not available in the circus set-up. For instance, 60-75 HP for a compressor would be required at each [circus] trailer to produce approximately the same cooling. (10)

Furthermore, it wouldn't be economically sound and the transport of the mass of equipment required was out of the question. However, O'Shea and W. R. Heath, the latter then assistant chief engineer, later vice-president of Buffalo Forge, recommended that the big tent be cooled by giant cooling slits or seams near the top of the tent. However, circus officials did not go along with this latter suggestion in 1939 but did adopt it after World War II. Then Mr. Heath recommended the alternate method that was finally agreed upon by which melted ice produces the cooling effect. For heat transfer in a fan air stream, water is finely atomized in spray nozzles. The water is previously cooled by spraying it over a bunker filled with ice. It is possible to cool the air by passing it directly over the ice - however, to obtain the necessary transfer between the air and ice, large areas are needed and the ice dispensed in small pieces.

The cooling units obtained air from under the seats and it was drawn in by a large centrifugal fan in each air conditioning unit. This air was washed by sprays of cold water (or heated as required or needed), and blown through canvas ducts which had aluminum grills in the circus Big Top from above the heads of the patrons at eight strategically located areas of the Big Top. Incidentally, for heating, hot water from a General Electric oil furnace boiler circulated through a heating coil which was located at the inlet of the fan. The pump normally used for spraying water over the ice in the trailer (wagon) bunkers was used for circulating water from the oil furnace through the hot water heating coils.

Each trailer was equipped with a Buffalo Forge "Limit-Load" fan which handled some 17,000 cubic feet per minute and was driven by a horsepower motor. The fan pulled the air through an air washer which was made of narrow iron fittings fabricated into one piece in order to eliminate the chance of leaks caused by extreme service requirements. A pump driven by a three-horsepower motor sprayed some 150 gallons of chilled water per minute into the air washer in order to both cool and dehumidify the air destined for the tent. Still another pump run by a two-horsepower motor took the water from the tank of the air washer and sprayed it over the ice in the ice storage bunkers to cool the water to the desired temperature. The ice bunkers in each air conditioning unit held sixteen, three hundred pound cakes of ice. Under design operating conditions, 4800 pounds of ice was sufficient for one hour's operation and the ice had to be replaced in the bunkers when it melted to about twenty-five per cent of the original amount. A three-hour period of operation - about equal to the length of one circus performance - required about 7.2 tons of ice per unit.

Four air conditioning trailers were equally spaced (about 100 feet) on either side of the tent (length of tent - 400 feet). Each wagon was a self-contained unit which included a two hundred gallon water tank and a fifteen-gallon oil storage tank plus an expansion tank. It was imperative that the ground on which the trailers stood was as level as possible. Three additional seventy-foot flatcars and an extra force of men were necessary for the operation and transport of the eight trailers.

The eight trailers numbered 162, 163, 164 (carried on Flatcar 132), 167 (Car 131), 161, 166 (Car 130) and 160, 165 (Flatcar 129) that housed all air conditioning equipment were designed and constructed by the Structural Steel and Ornamental Division of Southern Iron & Equipment Company of Atlanta, Ga. Buffalo Forge furnished the air handling apparatus and the circus provided the boiler for the heating service. The boiler was made by Cleaver-Brooks Company of Milwaukee. A letter from the president of the recently reorganized company (Structural Steel and Ornamental Division of Southern Iron & Equipment Company) (1962) which built the trailers indicated all documents of their predecessors had been destroyed and most of the old help had left the company.

In the summer of 1939, N. W. Crique, of the engineering staff of Buffalo Forge, traveled with the circus to make certain all air conditioning equipment was in proper working order at all times. The eight units were put into operation on the Chicago lot, but when Mr. Crique checked the units the first day he found only two of the eight working properly; upon investigation he discovered that one had all valves set improperly. Two units had been so placed on the lot that the doors could not be opened and, of course, no air could circulate into the bunkers. The two units that were functioning properly were completely stuffed with suitcases and watermelons, so naturally no air could get through. Two were so set between tent and side poles so that the intake doors to the washer could not be found so no air could get in; one was set so that ice cubes would have to be carried and lifted to ice it so no ice was being used. Crique rectified all these faults, and by the time he left the circus near the conclusion of the season, Buffalo Forge ". . . was cooling air from 100°D.B. to 62°D.B. in the contract capacity of 15,000 cfm per unit while melting two and one-half tons of ice per unit." However, additional changes were made as field conditions warranted:

Since there was a high temperature rise in the air from the outlet of the unit to the diffuser owing to the canvas ducts being exposed to the sun, Buffalo Forge recommended that they move the ducts inside the tent. They also recommended the circus institute a more regular icing procedure since we found they were not keeping the bunkers properly iced. When these suggestions were carried out the system seemed to work as expected and Buffalo Forge heard nothing from the circus the following summer. (11)

The circus was informed at the start of the project that the indoor temperature of the tent would not be much lower than the outside temperature because of the effect of the sun's rays on the canvas and the problem of leakage of cool air through the canvas. Neither of these factors can be completely controlled by anyone or anything. Buffalo Forge hoped to hold the inside temperature somewhere between 5 and 10°F. below the temperature outside on sunny days and only 5°F. on cloudy days. With no cooling or venting the engineers estimated the inside temperature would approach twenty to thirty degrees above the outside.

J. E. Gill supplied interesting data, but most of it is of a highly technical nature. Mr. Gill provided blueprints of the complete apparatus layout and these contain such items as the Shop Order Number A-76810-7, drawn by N.W.C., scale 3"- 1 foot, dated 4-19-39 and the Drawing Number 2-67125. Likewise, Gill sent the blue print for the design of the trailers which housed the air conditioning units and the big top layout for the air conditioning system. The wagons were numbered 160 to 167.

As to the cost of air conditioning the Ringling Big Top, Buffalo Forge furnished the air handling equipment for between $15,000-18,000 (for all eight units) but added to this figure was the cost of the eight circus wagons (no figures available) and the necessity of increasing the generating capacity of the circus power plant to provide additional electrical loads to drive the fans and pump motors. It turned out to be a considerable investment for the big circus. Likewise, the daily ice requirements became exceedingly burdensome.

The following Ringling personnel were involved in the project: Henry Ringling North, C. E. Bedaux, who handled engineering matters for John Ringling North, R. Davidson, the chief circus electrician, G. W. Smith, then general manager of the circus, and Mr. Steele, publicity officer.

During World War II the air conditioning units were declared non-essential for the successful operation of the circus by the Department of Defense Mobilization and the show was not allowed to transport them by rail. After the war, Ringling did not reinstate the units, but instead had the Big Top ventilated at the top by means of giant slits or vents as recommended in earlier negotiations with Buffalo Forge. On fairly windy days the tent was cooled somewhat by this means but on hot, humid days, little relief was afforded the public.

Buffalo Forge officials are of the opinion that most of the trailers have been scattered "around the world" because they have received many inquiries about the operation of the units over the past twenty years, one originating in the Union of South Africa.

The March 26, 1955, issue of The Billboard reported that the Ringling Circus big top would again be air conditioned but with "a new system which would be an improvement over earlier attempts." The Chrysler Corporation Airtemp equipment was to be used and the company assembled a demonstration unit at Dayton, Ohio, and Philadelphia for the benefit of circus officials. This took place on March 13th. Chrysler's chief representative (project engineer) was Mr. R. E. Shattock. Mr. Shattock graciously supplied the following data about the proposed project:

I believe that our initial contact with the circus was through Mr. John North and C. E. Buchholzer, Airtemp's president at the time. My involvement started with visits to the circus at various cities to study the many application problems peculiar to the Big Top. Messrs. John and Henry North would put me in touch with the proper lead man relative to considerations for: safety codes at various sites, electrical power, water supply, mobilization time, rolling gear design, canvas work, field work, rigging, hauling, train loading, equipment size and weight, etc., etc. Problems in this category required the major part of the study. (12)

The Chrysler Corporation, and Mr. Shattock in particular proposed these features for the proper air conditioning of the Ringling tent.

1. Vapor cycle with reciprocating compressors electrically driven.

2. The refrigerant selected was R-22 for safety. (Non-toxic, non-explosive, etc.)

3. Condensing phase of system by evaporative condensers due to size, weight, noise, and power considerations.

4. Direct expansion of the refrigerant in the air cooling coils, with total reclamation of condensate for condensing purposes.

5. Diesel engine driven generators. Each generator would handle two (2) air conditioning units.

6. Ten units would be located around the Big Top. (I believe that a total of 10,000 H.P. was planned.)

7. Air distribution would be by fire-proof canvas ducts. Portions of the ductwork was to be an integral part of the tent top, near the side wall edges.

8. The general plan was to introduce the air over the upper portions of the seating areas, the stratification of the cooler air would blanket the spectators as if in a bowl. The distribution ducts would be provided with various sized grommets and openings for control of air direction, volume, and throw. The air was to be drawn out from under the seats.

9. Where permitted (some cities prohibited use of the tent side walls in the general seating areas) 80% of the air was recirculated for efficiency.

10. Equipment was to be mounted on the type wagons developed over the years for circus usage. These were very rugged, rubber-tired vehicles capable of being dragged through any type of terrain that the "Cats" (full-tracked tractors) similar to those built by Caterpillar Tractor Co.) could navigate. (13)

Generally, the system proposed and the wagons to be used were similar to those used by the Buffalo Forge Company in 1939.

Mr. Shattock wrote that "I do not believe that any unit toured with the circus during 1956." (14)

It is strange that the circus negotiated at all in 1955 about the possibility of attempting to air cool the Big Top because at the time it was experiencing difficult times financially. One reason behind the move was the constant hope that the new innovation, if successful, would help draw crowds. However, the circus left the tenting operation in 1956 (July) so it would have been unfortunate if the Chrysler Corporation had supplied the circus with the units only to have had to remove them in July.

Charles T. Hunt, Sr., was the first man to air condition a circus tent. This was in 1937, one of the two seasons he went out under the Eddy Brothers title. Charles J. Meyer of Elizabeth, New Jersey, drew up the plans and worked out all of the details and actually building the unit in the Edwin Burhorn Co. factory. Hunt claims that his air conditioning system was the forerunner to the equipment used two years later by Ringling Brothers Circus. This is not entirely true. George M. Forepaugh, a surviving relative of Adam Forepaugh, circus magnate, called Hunt's cooling system one of the greatest innovations in circus history. The air conditioning equipment was mounted on a small trailer consisting of a metal housing unit in which was placed the tank for the ice and water, a pump, a fan, and a three horsepower motor. The water was constantly sprayed over the ice and the cooled air was then moved by the fan into a canvas duct. The duct went over the canvas sidewall of the tent and ended up as a fan-like funnel over the reserved seat section of the main tent. A continuous stream of "manufactured air" was blown about 50 feet in either direction over the reserved seat section. The bleachers received little benefit from the cool air. Hunt called the mechanism the "Tent Air Cooler". Unfortunately, Hunt Brothers Circus did not continue to use the air conditioning equipment - economics and disappointing cooling of the Big Top on excessively hot summer days forced its abandonment. (15)

Air conditioning of homes and cars came into its own (1970), whereas the circus used this means of cooling some thirty-five years ago for the first time. Hunt Brothers and the Ringling Circus were well ahead of their time. Air conditioning is here to stay and it might not have been abandoned by the Ringlings if World War II had not occurred and if the expense could have been reduced. It might have been more successful if someone had investigated the possibility of improving the type of canvas which would have resulted in retaining more of the cool air within the tent. Likewise, newer techniques for cooling greenhouses today, by means of better circulating techniques, might very well have made air conditioning of circus tents in the 1930's more successful. The expense factor has also been reduced considerably at the present time.

The simple fact that the circus used the new innovation for cooling its circus tents pointed out the tremendous potential of air conditioning systems for the future.

Bibliography

1. The writer wishes to express sincere appreciation and thanks to Mr. Logan L. Lewis, one of the founders of the Carrier Corporation, for his keen interest in this project and for furnishing all of the data, including all of the correspondence, concerning the air conditioning of the Ringling and Barnum & Bailey's Combined Show's gorilla cages. Thanks are also due Mr. Walter G. Iles, Assistant General Counsel, Carrier Corporation, for granting permission to publish official company documents contained herein.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Courtesy and permission of Mr. J. E. Gill, Buffalo Forge Company, 1958. Special thanks are due Mr. Gill for also providing the documents that covered the air conditioning of the Ringling Circus Big Top. Without this material this story could not have been written.
11. Ibid.
12. Courtesy and special thanks are extended Mr. R. E. Shattack, of the Chrysler Corporation.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Charles T. Hunt, Sr. as Told to John C. Cloutman, The Story of Mr. Circus, (Rochester, N. H.: The Record Press, 1954), p. 254.

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The Origin of the Extravaganza

In the development of the American circus there have been many innovations, inventions, and creative ideas which were utilized to draw a crowd to the big top on circus day. Posters, handbills, and newspaper advertisements were all used to set a date for a performance, but were they enough? The presence of a crowd in town did not always necessitate its attendance at the show. What was needed was an attraction which would whet the appetites of the prospective customers, and entice them to part with the price of admission.

In the early years of the travelling mud shows there were two basic attractions which emerged to whip up interest in the people who came to town on an appointed day. The first attraction was the circus parade, which wound like a snake through the streets, while the second attraction consisted of free entertainment outside the big top. The second pre-show attraction came in various forms; from men and animals climbing to dizzy heights to the tops of tents, to elephants frolicking in the water.

The history of the circus parade goes back to the initial development of the travelling circuses and menageries that first took to the roads of America. The parades were for the most part attention-getters as the proprietors of the various shows attempted to create an atmosphere in town which would be to their benefit. But the parade developed slowly as the roads of the country were questionable most of the year, and excess baggage in the form of parade wagons was unthinkable.

The first parades were nothing like the brilliantly colored and extravagant displays of later years, but they were a beginning. One early show, Frost, Husted & Company, advertised that their band would announce their arrival in town while being conveyed in a splendid barouche carriage. (1) Another show, Purdy, Welch, Macomber & Company, was a bit more elaborate as they mounted their band on horses, while the drummers were perched on elephants. (2) The elephants in this case were main attractions in themselves, and from these and other developments the circus parade blossomed.

In the early years there could be little in the line of great parades, as wagons had to be light since road conditions usually hampered travel. Equipment was limited; June, Titus, Angevine & Company had only eleven wagons, one music carriage, three buggies, forty-three horses, and other necessary equipment in 1840. (3) With such a limited number of carriages and horses, it would appear very unlikely that little would be used for anything other than the immediate transportation of the show. Still a single carriage could be utilized to a high degree. In 1842 a barouche drawn by six horses, not only contained the band of a circus, but also the great lion trainer Herr Driesbach, and a Brazilian tiger. (4) Likewise, another lion tamer, Van Amburgh had a similar perch in his Roman chariot which was drawn by eight horses and guarded on each side by two lions. (5)

With the growth of roads by the late 1840's, it was possible to take a large band wagon or chariot along for the parade. The term large is conditional as most vehicles were constructed in a "light and graceful style for which American vehicles were famous." (6) What was developing was a more "showy" attitude, and many circuses presented elaborate wagons in their displays. Raymond & Waring in 1848 used a great Colossean Chariot which preceded their seventeen menagerie wagons in the parade. This chariot was a work of sculptural and decorative art, reported to be thirty feet long, weighing 8,000 pounds, and to the summit of its canopy was a distance of twenty feet. (7) One might question the statistics and weights as they were advertised, but nevertheless a large parade wagon did exist.

Other shows had similar parade wagons. Welch, Delavan & Nathan's Armamaxa, or Imperial Persian Chariot, was drawn by thirty horses, a very large team which was possibly a prelude to the forty horse teams which came into existence in later years. This chariot had gilded scroll work with frill mouldings and was decorated with eagles, equestrian figures, stars, flowers, and wrought in gold and silver. (8) The Van Amburgh Menagerie had a Grecian State Carriage called the Tuba Rheda, which exemplified the influence of the Greeks and Persians on circus history. Practically every show had a band wagon for their parade as Crane and Company used a monster Dragon Chariot drawn by twelve camels, and an added innovation. To please the juvenile portion of the crowd they had a Fairy Chariot which the company devoted to the conveyance of its juvenile corps. Sands, Lent and Company used three elephants to draw their East Indian Car, while their Chariot of Queen Mab, a miniature wagon, was drawn by twenty Lilliputian ponies (possibly showing the influence of Gulliver's Travels on the circus). P. T. Barnum's Car of Juggernaut was also elephant powered, but ran into difficulties one day. The students of Princeton College ran the car into a canal, and caused one newspaper editor to note that the car should not be left out at night and to take particular care hereafter to Barnum. (9)

In 1849 Spalding and Rogers added a new twist to the parade when they presented their forty horse team, and also a new parade wagon. It was called the Appollonicon, a new musical instrument constructed by Henry Erben to take the place of the band in the circus exhibition. The car had a large number of pipes, some of which twenty feet long, but was not powered by steam as the calliope would be later. Instead the music was described as a mixture of gong, bagpipe, and feline falsetto, and was sure to draw a crowd of circus-goers. (10)

Band and parade wagons developed, and the next big change did not come until 1857 with the utilization of the calliope. Although Spalding and Rogers had initiated the forty horse hitch almost a decade earlier, it was not until 1857 that others copied their idea. Nixon and Kemp used the hitch to draw their new calliope, although in some cases a lesser number of horses were used. Still with such a hitch the crowds did not always appreciate the display as the parade was described on one occasion to be nothing more than poor music, and forty poverty stricken horses with red sashes across their backs. (11) Howe and Cushing's Great American Circus when it went to England in 1857 also had a forty horse hitch with their show. Their parade was headed by an immense and highly decorated vehicle, drawn by forty splendid cream-colored horses. (12)

Not to be outdone by any rivals, the L. B. Lent show in 1857 also had a great team, but theirs consisted of fifty, ten more than the forty horse teams of any competition. This longest team of horses ever driven, was managed by Henry Lacey, the modern John, and fifty horse driver. (13) One doubts if a fifty horse team was really used after a newspaper editorial stated that Lent's large musical wagon, drawn by only twenty eight horses made the entry into town, and attracted considerable attention. (14) It is possible that a fifty horse team did exist on the Lent show, but was not used on this occasion.

In 1857 another type of pre-show entertainment came into vogue which consisted of an exhibition on the show lot, or outside the circus tent. The calliope of Nixon & Kemp was one of these attractions. After parading through the streets, the calliope was driven inside the pavilion where a concert was given, and the works thrown open for the inspection of the audience. Not only could the new musical instrument be inspected, but an open invitation was given to the ladies who were invited to play upon the steam instrument. (15)

Other presentations ranged from an ascension on a wire, by both man and animal, to the top of the tent, to an elephant taking a bath. One of the first advertised ascensions was in 1856 when Sands Circus presented Mad'lle Isabelle who would walk a wire some 300 feet from the ground to the top of the pavilion. In 1857, Mad'lle Isabelle was with G. N. Eldred's show, and at least five other shows advertised practically the same type of attraction in the form of ascensions to dizzy heights. Spalding & Rogers had the great Creole Gymnast, Mad'lle Agnes, who, at noon every day weather permitting, would trundle a wheelbarrow up a half inch wire 200 feet to the top of the tent. One observer commented that "he see'd the beautiful Creole wheel her barrow on the slender wire to the top of the tent, a feat worth going miles to see." (16) Nixon & Kemp held a similar attraction as their Mad'lle Louise walked up 365 feet of wire to the top of the flagstaff, and this was also observed with "great surprise and consternation." (17) Levi J. North had a grand free ascension by Miss Castella, while L. B. Lent had a double ascension in which first Mad'lle Marie would walk a tight rope to the top of the pavilion, and then Prof. Hemming would achieve a similar feat but propelling a wheelbarrow before him. A double ascension was also scheduled for the Yankee Robinson show as they presented Mons. Paintero before the evening performance, and an unusual act before the afternoon show. The only real difference between the various attractions was that Spalding & Rogers offered to admit everyone free if the wheelbarrow failed to make it to the top of the tent.

When a man or a woman climbed to the top of a flag pole, it was quite an achievement, besides being free. Still what would a crowd think of an animal which could accomplish the very same feat? On the Yankee Robinson show Mons. Paintero was scheduled for the evening performance, because a special attraction was to come off before the afternoon show. There existed a very unusual trained horse by the name of Black Hawk, and it was advertised that he would climb a structure which was erected by means of two ropes running from the ground to the top of a forty foot pole. Upon these ropes was laid a continuous line of planking, into which were nailed cleats to form a footing for the horse. (18) One account states that:

The horse was brought from the pavilion dressed in a simple girth and bridle, looking indeed careless enough to make the awful ascent. . . . Mr. O. W. Dodge who trained him commenced the ascent, beckoning the steed to follow, without even a line or string to indicate the direction. As with sure and steady steps the horse followed up, up, up. The descent, which was done slowly safely backward, occupied nearly twice the time of the ascent, and was even more difficult and interesting. Young Black Hawk was led triumphantly into the tent, and then came the rush for tickets. (19) Although horses that walked up elevations were rare, there did exist another climbing horse in 1857. A horse named John, was exhibited at a county fair in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and he climbed a platform two feet in width and 115 feet long to the top of a tree. John ascended without saddle, bridle, or halter to the top of the platform and upon reaching the top, he turned around and made the descent head foremost. (20) Unfortunately John is then lost in history, while young Black Hawk had his life cut short. While making one of his ascensions in September of 1857 in Coshocton, Ohio he lost his balance and fell to his death. (21)

One other animal used as a pre-show attraction was the elephant. An elephant alone was great enough to cause some people to wonder about them, but a few were used as pre-show attractions. One of the first references was in 1851 when Van Amburgh's Menagerie was playing the canal towns of Ohio. A special feature in one town was the elephants taking a bath in the canal basin, and most probably holding up traffic. It was advertised as a free feature to be presented at 10:30 A.M. on circus day. and at the appointed time a crowd gathered and watched the elephants spout water in the air. (22)

Lalla Rookh was one of the outstanding animal attractions in the 1850s. This 1859 Dan Rice poster was printed by John E. Bacon of 12 and 14 Spruce St. in New York City. American Antiquarian Society Collection.

Another fairly well known use of an elephant was when Dan Rice's elephant, Lalla Rookh, swam from the Kentucky side of the Ohio River to Cincinnati. Here too, a great crowd gathered as the elephant made several attempts, and finally proceeded across the river to land safely on the other bank. According to reports, it was a very novel sight and a great crowd enjoyed the spectacle. (23)

In effect the various types of presentations; the parade, band wagons, forty horse hitches, a fifty horse hitch, wire walkers, elephants, and wire walking horses were all developed with one purpose in mind. To make the people aware of the circus, and give them a sample of things inside the tent, as well as a reason to invest a quarter or half dollar in a ticket. The use of a pre-show attraction on the circus lot, or the parade as it proceeded to the lot, might have caused a few people to change their minds on going to the show. Just how many people were enticed to go to the show will never be known, but a conscious effort was made to whet the appetites of the crowd.

Footnotes

1. Huron Reflector, (Huron, Ohio), 18 July 1831.
2. Marian Murray, The Circus - From Rome To Ringling: Appleton, Century, & Crofts, Inc., New York, 1956, p. 51.
3. Ibid., p. 165.
4. Independent Treasury, (Elyria, Ohio), 17 August 1842.
5. Cleveland Plain Dealer, 6 July 1846.
6. Lorain County Eagle, (Elyria, Ohio), 26 May 1857.
7. Sandusky Democrat, (Fremont, Ohio), 6 May 1848.
8. Seneca Whig, (Tiffin, Ohio) 3 June 1848.
9. Perrysburg Star, (Perrysburg, Ohio), 7 June 1851.
10. Holmes County Whig (Millersburg, Ohio), 27 April 1849.
11. Mansfield Herald, (Mansfield, Ohio), 23 September 1857.
12. Lorain County Eagle, (Elyria, Ohio), 26 May 1857.
13. Memphis Daily Appeal, 17 September 1857.
14. Memphis Daily Appeal, 22 September 1857.
15. Western Standard, (Celina, Ohio), 15 October 1857.
16. Mahoning County Register, (Youngstown, Ohio), 27 August 1857.
17. Mansfield Herald, (Mansfield, Ohio), 23 September 1857.
18. Bucyrus Journal, (Bucyrus, Ohio), 4 September 1857.
19. Marion Republican, (Marion, Ohio), 3 September 1857.
20. Mount Vernon Republican, (Mount Vernon, Ohio), 8 September 1857.
21. Progressive Age, (Coshocton, Ohio), 2 September 1857.
22. R. Max Gard, The Sandy And Beaver Canal: East Liverpool, 1952, p. 144.
23. Holmes County Republican, (Millersburg, Ohio), 23 August 1860.

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One Sheet

Among the many puzzles in early show history is that of the identity and ownership of the first three elephants to reach America. Almost every circus historian who has commented upon them has at some point mistaken one for another and no one as yet has been able to give a clear chronology. We do not propose to present one here, but will, with recent evidence at hand, bring the known history up to date.

The first one had no name at any time, as far as can be determined, and reached America on April 13, 1796 aboard the ship America. Captain Crowninshield, the skipper, owned the elephant and is said to have sold it to a Philadelphian named Owen or Owens for $10,000. Advertised as, "The Elephant," this two-year-old beast must have returned its owner's investment several times over as it was widely and continually exhibited for many years. Just how many years has not been determined for no one has discovered when or how the animal died.

Until 1804, when the second elephant arrived, there is no problem in identifying Crowninshield's import and after 1804 it is only a problem when advertising gives no details, for the Crowninshield elephant was ten years old and the newcomer four. The final appearances about which there is still doubt as to which elephant is being shown occur in 1808 and thereafter no sign of the original animal has been found. This, of course, gives rise to the notion that the elephant died sometime near to 1808. However, it seems most unusual for such an event to take place and not be recorded. This is the first mystery among the several concerning early elephants in America.

The second importation took place in 1804 and is everywhere said to be by Hackaliah Bailey's brother, a sea captain. We have found no reference to this brother. According to most accounts the sea captain sold the beast, a four-year-old African, to Hackaliah who put it on exhibition.

Actually, it was Edward Savage (1761-1817) who was the original exhibitor, and thus, by presumption, the original owner. Savage, a well known artist of the time, painter of portraits of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, among others, advertised this elephant in Boston in June, 1804. (1)

This is probably the animal usually referred to as "Old Bet," though we find no contemporary reference using a name. Hackaliah Bailey owned her by August 1808 for in that month he sold two-thirds of her to Andrew Brown and Benjamin Lent. (2) That he bought her back cannot be doubted as he granted Benjamin Lent 25% of her earnings for eleven months beginning August, 1809 in exchange for a half-interest in a tiger. (3)

Interestingly enough, a witness to this last exchange was one John Owen and the researcher wonders if he is the Owen (or Owens) that purchased Crowninshield's import.

"Old Bet" was shot in Alfred, Maine on July 26, 1816 reportedly by a man angered at the thought of the money the exhibitors were taking out of the state. More likely, he was exercising a grudge or testing the beast's hide, but be that as it may the elephant was killed. She had grown to a height of eight feet, according to advertisements, and was fourteen years old. Bailey - or someone - exhibited her skeleton at 301 Broadway in New York in April, 1817.

There were no elephants in America from July, 1816 to December, 1817. Then two landed in the same month. Columbus, with which we are not concerned, came into Boston on a ship of the same name and a female elephant disembarked in New York from the ship Trident. (4)

Dingess (5) refers to the importation of an elephant "Betsey" in July, 1819, but we believe he was confused by the arrival of Tippoo Sultan in May, 1819. Dingess says a soap chandler named George Brunn was on board the ship bringing the animal in and that he advised Benjamin Lent of its arrival. Lent supposedly got with Bailey and the two of them purchased the elephant for $1,000.

This story is often cited as the manner and price in the purchase of "Old Bet" and certainly could have been either animal, did we not know of Edward Savage's interest. Because of this we must conclude that "Old Bet" went Savage-Bailey-Lent and that "Betsey" was originally the property of Bailey and Lent.

She was born 1806-1808, imported in 1817 and first exhibited in 1818. Benjamin Brown was at one time her keeper and he stated in an 1879 newspaper interview that the elephant was exhibited in conjunction with a lion. We find no advertising to this effect before 1820 so we conclude he began his duties then.

In late 1822 Charles Wright was showing her and we assume he had leased her for the season. Wright was in the animal business for several years and was a witness to Hackaliah Bailey's will.

In 1823 Edward Finch, under the name E. Finch & Co., was exhibiting her, presumably another lease. Dingess says that Bailey and Finch split the proceeds of the show. This elephant was generally advertised as a "Large and Learned Elephant." Most advertisements referred to her age, which is how the researcher can trace her.

"Betsey" met the same fate as "Old Bet", being shot on May 27, 1826 in Chapachet, Rhode Island. Some young men were apparently interested in seeing if her hide would turn a rifle ball. They were arrested and some restitution was made.

In 1827 Hackaliah Bailey erected in front of his Elephant Hotel in Somers, New York the famous elephant statue. He is said to have done this in memory of "Old Bet", but perhaps it was simply a memorial to both his elephants.

Unanswered questions remain. Perhaps the foremost is the fate of the Crowninshield animal. None of the people who initially wrote of these beasts, Earl Chapin May, James Shettel and John Brown, annotated their work so it has to be treated as hearsay until the investigative reading is done.

The main points in this outline are the result of newspaper advertising and specific points can be provided by writing the author.

1. Independent Chronicle (Boston), June 28,1804.
2. William Bailey to Vivian Mars, in litt, December 13, 1947, Hertzberg Collection.
3. Ibid.
4. Columbian Centinel (Boston), December 13, 1817.
5. Dingess manuscript, Hertzberg Collection.

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Side Show Attractions

A freak, by Webster's dictionary, is something unusual or abnormal; esp: one with physical oddity who appears in a circus sideshow. Whether it has canvas banners or illustrations on the side of a semi-trailer, every circus of merit has a sideshow containing a collection of strange and unusual people. Today most circus midway annexes contain a few "people" attractions but most of the "sideshow" tent is occupied by the show's elephants and a few caged wild animals.

Looking back over the many years of circus history the sideshow has long been a fixture on the sawdust lots.

In America, P. T. Barnum was probably the first freak exhibitor of merit. Long before his association with the circus Barnum featured freaks of nature in his Museum. It is undebatable that Barnum's most famous freak was General Tom Thumb. This midget helped the famous showman in making three fortunes, but without Barnum's help the attraction would have been unknown. Tom Thumb was born in Connecticut in 1838, son of a carpenter. Barnum found him five years later when he weighed 15 pounds and stood less than two feet tall. Barnum called his new midget "Tom Thumb" in place of his real name, Charles S. Stratton. Gen. Tom Thumb was first shown in Barnum's American Museum in New York City. Later London, England, played host to the General and his able manager P. T. Barnum. In 1851 Tom Thumb toured with Barnum's Great Asiatic Caravan, Museum and Menagerie. On February 10, 1863 he married Miss Lavinia Warren Bumpus, who was 20 years old at the time, weighed 29 pounds and was 32 inches tall. Thumb at the time was 25 years of age, was 35 inches tall and weighed 52 pounds. Thumb had won out over his best man at the wedding. The best man was another midget Commodore Nutt who was only 29 inches high. Nutt, whose real name was George Washington Morrison, came under Barnum's tutelage in 1861, with Miss Warren, whose full name was Mercy Lavinia Warren Bumpus joining a year later. At the time, Thumb was in temporary retirement at the age of 23, enjoying his wealth and, among other things his miniature billiard table. Thumb met Miss Warren while she and Nutt were performing for Barnum in New York City.

While on their honeymoon, the newly-weds were entertained by President Lincoln at a dinner and reception in the White House.

Thumb earned several million dollars but, at the time of his death on July 15, 1883, left his widow only $16,000, and some real estate. His widow married another midget, Count Primo Magri, two years after Thumb's death. She died in 1919 at the age of 78, widowed a second time.

Another successful early attraction of Barnum was a real oddity of nature. Chang and Eng were the original "Siamese twins", but they were really Chinese. Born in 1811, the twins were joined at the lower end of the breastbone, mainly by cartilage and ligaments which stretched and became so pliable that by the time the boys reached their teens they could stand side by side. When they were 32, the twins married Quaker sisters from Trap Hill Township, North Carolina. Chang fathered ten children and Eng twelve. Eng was abstemious and Chang was a tippler. In 1872, during a drinking bout, Chang had a stroke that left him partly paralyzed. In 1874 Chang died. Within three hours Eng followed.

Barnum featured a number of Bearded Ladies. The showman found Susan Ossiwosky at age 11. At this age the youngster had patches of whiskers two inches long. He renamed her Annie Jones. She continued with the Barnum & Bailey show as late as the middle 1890s. A great drawing card for Barnum was Miss Zoe Meeleke, who he called the Circassian Beauty. A girl with wild, frizzy, silken hair, she was billed as having been rescued from the slavery of a Turkish harem. Rival showmen said the fuzziness of her hair was due to frequent washings in stale beer.

Lionel, the original lion faced boy, was born in Warsaw, Poland. His real name was Sterhen Bilgraski. He was but another of the ever popular hirsute oddities.

Barnum and other showmen have been great on "missing link" attractions. Barnum's "Zip, the what is it" was called the link between man and monkey. Actually Zip was a mentally subnormal Negro who could cuss a blue streak. His name was William Henry Johnson and he was born in Bound Brook, New Jersey, in 1843. He died in 1926 after having been a Missing Link, a Martian, an Aztec, and a plain What-Is-It for more than sixty years.

Other showmen decoyed scores of inmates from various homes for the feebled-minded, but their substitutes, called in the trade "pinheads," were refused by three generations of circus goers as real What-Is-Its.

Another famous missing link was Krao, who started out as just another ordinary bearded lady. But because she was so heavily whiskered she rose above that station and entered the realm of those crossing the bridge of evolution. The information printed on the back of a picture card she sold as late as her tour with Ringling-Barnum in 1922, stated: "Krao originally came from Laos and has some abnormal peculiarities and some points of resemblance to certain species of the monkey tribe; the distribution of hair is one, as it grows like that of a monkey, in similar waves, that on the forearm pointing upwards from the wrist to the elbow. The fingers are very supple, being capable of being bent completely back. The cheeks are pouch-like and like monkeys."

Half bodied people appeared in sideshows over the years. Eli Bowen, legless, had small feet extending from the trunk of his body. He was born in 1842 and died May 4, 1924. During his life he was known as the "Grand Old Man of the Sideshow." During his years with the Barnum show he was featured along side his buddy Charlie Tripp, who had no arms. A famous photo shows them on a bicycle, Charlie peddling and Eli steering.

During the Barnum & Bailey tour of Europe at the turn of the century, 14 different attractions were presented.

In 1906 the side show of the Barnum & Bailey show presented the following attractions. Mrs. George Connors, snake charmer; Miss Marie Lille, English Fat Girl; Bayrooty Troupe, Gun Spinning and Dervish Dancing; Lionel, the Lionfaced boy; Krao, the Missins Link; Edward Greenwood, Tattooed Man; Norman Green, Human Skeleton; Col. Page, Midget; Vito Basile, Vegetable King; Billy Kinkaid, Expert Juggler; and J. A. McNulty, Punch and Judy. The sideshow band in 1906 had ten black musicians.

Today's middle aged circus and sideshow fans will remember some of the well known annex attractions of the 1930s. Featured with the Ringling Bros, and Barnum & Bailey sideshow under the management of Clyde Ingalls were such stellar freaks as Koo-Koo, the Bird Woman. Her real name was Betty Green and she had little eyes, thin lips pulled back over her toothless gums and wore an outlandish costume of feathers, and shoes shaped like hen's feet. In her stage outfit she looked quite elderly, but was actually in her early twenties. Another attraction that comes to mind was the Doll Family of midgets. Their real name was Earl and in 1930 Harry was 25 years of age, Tiny 18, Grace 26 and Daisy 19. They had appeared in movies in the 1920s and appeared as late as 1959 with the Cristiani Bros. Circus.

Eko and Iko, the Ambassadors From Mars, or Sheep Headed Cannibals of Ecuador, as they were called, were really George and William Muse, two Negro albinos. No one visiting the Ringling Barnum sideshow will forget these two bizarre fellows with their long hair in curls.

Cliko, the Bushman, an African pigmy, was a fixture on the show and called John Ringling by his first name and directed show employees around as though he was the manager, which he thought he was.

Betty Broadbent, the tattooed lady, first appeared in the 1930s. She appeared with Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros, sideshow in recent years, but spends her off seasons as a demonstrator in department stores, covered by a long sleeved, high neck dress.

There are two main types of freaks on exhibition: natural and created. The natural freaks are those who, through a mistake of nature or an accident in their later life, are "different" than most people. In this classification are such people as Fat Alice of Dallas, Sealo, Johann K. Petursson, the giant, Frieda Pushnik, armless and legless girl and the Hilton Sisters, Siamese Twins. People like Waldo the Great, Patricia Katts, Thomas Ogden and Nabor Felix are also in circus sideshows. They are freaks of their own making, each trying to give the audience the impression of having a special talent.

Waldo the Great was a human ostrich capable of swallowing live mice and frogs along with watches and other small items. He had trained the muscles in his throat and stomach to regurgitate these objects undamaged after swallowing them. To quiet unbelievers, Waldo would allow the rowdy member of the audience to listen as the frog would swim around inside his stomach after he had gulped it down.

Patricia Katts had the skill of sword swallowing perfected to the highest degree. In her act she would insert a neon tube down her throat and the light could be seen glowing from her stomach.

Tom Ogden, in 1972, manager of the Circus Kirk sideshow, presented a fire eating and magic act. He also handled the insertion of the blades in the sword "Box of Mystery."

Nabor Felix has recently been with the Beatty-Cole sideshow as the "Indian Lightning Sculpter." His quick fingers working in clay can mold a design in no time.

There are many secrets in transforming oneself into a circus freak. The Human Blockhead is performed by inserting a blunted icepick in the nose in such a way that it goes into the nasal cavity that reaches deep into the head. Fred Walters called himself the "Blue Man" after the silver nitrate he was taking for a nervous affliction dyed his skin a shade of slate blue.

Many men and women endured the pain and became tattooed people in the sideshow bally. They usually brought with them stories of capture and torture at the hands of barbaric islanders and would tattoo others in the audience for a modest price. Another example of breaking into show business was "Mortado" who had small holes drilled into his hands and feet and claimed he was crucified by savages.

The largest accumulations of traveling freaks in the United States today are probably the James E. Strates Show on the carnival circuit and The Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus on the sawdust path.

The main staple of the Strates sideshow is Mr. Melvin Burkhart. In the 1971 season he performed the Electric Lady routine with girls from the crowd, the Human Blockhead, Magic, "The Box of Mystery" and his famous anatomical wonder act. Also on the show was a Fat Lady, a Negro midget, a Frog Girl, two or three other acts and an annex where a "doctor" would share the secret of birth for an extra admission price.

In 1970, The Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus Side Show tent held, besides the elephants and other animals, a magician, a sword swallower, a bearded lady, an elephant skinned boy, Nabor Felix and Princess Anne the midget lady. Both shows are well worth the price of admission.

Along with everything else in this world, there are freaks that are nothing more than fakes. Not clever illusions but imitations that insult the viewers intelligence. Probably the most gaff initiated freak is the bearded lady. These are unreasonable facsimilies that are on the bottom of the freak social scale. "A gaffed freak is frequently just somebody's wife, cousin, or mother-in-law who is pressed into service or who gets bored stiff reading movie magazines on the back lot of the carnival." In times when modern medicine can explain (or cure) almost anything physically unusual, there is no room for these cheap imitations and they are becoming fewer and fewer with the survivors being shown on the midways of small truck shows.

One should not pity freaks or condemn their exhibitors for theirs is a chosen profession. This author knows three freaks who chose not to enter the world of show business and went to college instead so most all freaks have a free choice in the matter. When legislation was brought up to close down all exhibitions of freaks in Florida, it received many letters from freaks who enjoyed their work and wanted to continue on in the tents. The current trend today is to be an individual and each freak has attained this goal because they are different. Within every person there is a secret desire to be noticed by others. This is evident in the braless look among trend setters and women of fashion. For what woman who leaves the confines of her home without an upper foundation garment does not attract attention on the streets?

Next time the reader goes to an exhibit of unusual people in a sideshow, check and see if the freaks are not staring as much or more so at the people in the audience. Being in a "Tent of Wonders" is far better than spending life in the limits of a dark room of a house or a factory where they will be stared at anyway. In a sideshow, a freak can associate with others who have been deemed different or odd by society and in the shows, the freaks can form a common bond. The best example of this is Priscilla "The Monkey Girl" and Emmett "The Alligator-skinned Man" who fell in love on the bally platform and were married. Freaks are not ashamed of their "abnormality" so why should potential patrons be ashamed of walking under the banner that has the words "Side Show" painted on it? After all, if nobody came into the tent there would be no Annex of Wonders and all the strange and curious people inside would have to live off unemployment checks.

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Buffalo Bill’s Rival Dr. Carver

Photo: Cody is pictured around 1880, he is seated on the right, Texas Jack is seated on the left. Pfening Collection.

On May 19, 1883, William F. Cody and William F. Carver achieved success with an outdoor entertainment based upon a western theme and events in their Wild West, Rocky Mountain and Prairie Exhibition. The western events and themes composing this first venture were to be the foundational features of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show through 1913 as well as the features copied by the numerous imitators of Cody's show. The Cody-Carver partnership ended after only one season together, reportedly over a dispute on whether or not to have a winter tour of the exhibition. The partnership was dissolved with the two men organizing their separate shows. While Cody and Carver would dispute until their deaths who had the original idea of the Wild West Show, an incident in the spring of 1884, gave William Cody a semi-legal recognization to having originated the idea of the Wild West Show, especially as successfully put together the year before in its Omaha premiere. This little known or at least seldom mentioned incident, was one in which Dr. Carver acknowledged in part Cody's significant contribution to the formation of the Wild West Show. St. Louis, Missouri, was the setting for this unusual conflict between "Buffalo Bill" and "The Evil Spirit of the Plains."

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show scheduled the opening of its 1884 season for St. Louis, on May 4, 1884. Dr. Carver, who had been touring the South with his Wild West Show since the demise of his partnership with Cody, attempted to compete with the Cody venture by booking his show into St. Louis and opening it one week before Cody's arrival. Conflict developed immediately with the two shows in the same city at the same time. Ill-feelings between the two shows ran high as a disagreement developed over which show had the sole right to use the title, "Original Wild West," in the advertising of its show. Cody obtained an injunction from the courts to keep Carver from using the disputed phrase in the advertising of Carver's western entertainment. In addition, Cody had the sheriff serve an attachment for alledged debts against the Carver enterprise. This action allowed for a seizure of the stock and equipment of the show. Through these legal actions, Cody was able to prevent the Carver enterprise from performing until the issue could be cleared up through some form of judicial ruling. (1)

Antagonism developed quickly between the two rival parties, resulting in an event resembling a scene out of a dime novel. After being served with the injunction papers, Dr. Carver retired to the St. James Hotel. Across the street at the Southern Hotel, the cowboys associated with the Cody Wild West Show were talking about the difficulties between the two shows. Knowledge of Dr. Carver's presence just across the street produced the following situation described by a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Buck Taylor, the King of the Cowboys, at once expressed a determination to call upon Carver . . . Buck Taylor's determination to hunt Carver in the St. James rotunda was no sooner announced than he made a start to cross the street, but Col. Prentiss Ingram, Mr. Cody's manager, Fred Matthews, the Rocky Mountain stage driver, and Bill Wolcott, the press agent leaped upon him and begged him to desist from his full purpose. The king of the cowboys was finally induced to abandon his raid upon the St. James and the atmosphere was relined of its sanguinary streaks. (2)

The hostilities between the two wild west combinations were eased some what the next day when court announced it would need additional time to consider the matter. However, the court reminded Dr. Carver, "the defendants would respect the injunctions and make no use of the title, Original Wild West." (3)

The attachment on the Carver Wild West Show was straightened out and the two entertainments immediately set out to attract the amusement seekers of the St. Louis area. Both Cody and Carver were offering the St. Louis patrons of their separate exhibitions, a modification of the successful format they had established the year before in Omaha, Nebraska. The Wild West, Rocky Mountain and Prairie Exhibition was built around seven types of features: (1) equestrianism, (2) a demonstration of the pony express, (3) cowboys and Indians, (4) shooting acts, (5) the appearance of an authentic western hreo, (6) the attack on the Dead-wood stagecoach, and (7) spectacular features. (4) The affinity of the two shows is best demonstrated through a direct comparison of their program offering:

Cody 1) Indian Races, on Foot and Horseback.
2) The Pony Express.
3) Attack on the Deadwood Stagecoach.
4) Display of shooting skills: Capt. Bogradus and his sons.
5) "Buffalo Bill, Himself" - Champion All Round Shot of the World.
6) Cowboy's Frolic.
7) A Buffalo Hunt.
8) Riding of wild bison and steers.
9) Display of Indian native life.
10) Attack on the Settler's Cabin.

Carver
1) Bareback Pony Races between Indians.
2) The Pony Express.
3) Attack on the Mail Coach.
4) Indian on foot vs. Indian on Pony.
5) Dr. Carver - Champion Shot of the World.
6) Spirit and Lively fight by mounted Cowboys.
7) Cowboy's Fun.
8) Roping, tying, and riding of Wild Texas steers.
9) Indian War & Scalp Dance.
10) Capture, torture, and death of a hunter by Savages of the plains, and rescue by cowboys, led by Evil Spirit of the Plains.

Neither show had modified the successful format of the year before, but both had selected to enlarge upon it in a very similar manner. The two shows competed with one another for roughly one week. The decision of the court was never formally announced in the St. Louis papers, but Dr.

Buffalo Bill's ability to lure a larger attendance to his performances and his claim to be offering the entertainment public the "Original Wild West" have a definite relationship. Cody had enlisted such people as Major Frank North, Buck Taylor, Major John Burke, John Nelson, Captain Bogardus, and others to appear in the 1883 venture and they remained with the Buffalo Bill enterprise after the Cody-Carver split. Part of the initial success of the Wild West, Rocky Mountain Prairie Exhibition was not only its novelty as an entertainment form, but in the fact these performers provided the background and mileau for the appearance in person of the dime-novel hero and symbol of western adventure, "Buffalo Bill" Cody. The dissolving of the partnership Carver did refrain from the use of the disputed title, "Original Wild West" in his advertising. Cody had secured a victory in his favor at this point and even more important, Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show was out drawing Carver's at the box office. (5)

with Carver at the end of the 1883 season, enabled Cody to enlarge the offerings of the show and to make himself even more the focal point of the Wild West Show. The attractive qualities of the show and especially of Buffalo Bill are graphically illustrated by the Illinois State Journal's description of the show arrival in Bloomington only one week after the St. Louis appearance:

This performance is something new and novel in the show line, attracts the attention of every man, woman, and child on the continent: not only in this country, but the name of 'Buffalo Bill' extends as far as civilization exists, and the coming of his 'Wild West' would be the grandest treat which the eye can perceive. Wm. F. Cody is a fine, portly man, above the medium height, has long black hair, a full round face, and no flattery intended, a good looking fellow. His best appearance, perhaps is when sitting in the saddle, where his commanding and keen eyes seem sufficient to pierce a hole through a new board fence. (6)

Cody and Carver's Wild West shows did not have the opportunity to compete against one another again in 1884 after their departure from St. Louis. Cody moved his show eastward to successful stands in such cities as Chicago, New York City, Washington, D. C., Philadelphia, and Boston. Carver's Wild West Show was to suffer from internal problems for the rest of the 1884 season, i.e., a strike by the Indians in the show, seizure for debts, and failure to meet bookings. Cody and Carver would resume their battle and debate in New England during the 1885 season, but the 1884 incident in St. Louis established Cody's ability to attract larger audiences than Carver's show with the two competing against one another and established in part, a recognition of Cody's right to claim his show as the "Original Wild West" entertainment. The American entertainment public wanted to the western amusement offering the opportunity to see in person, the authentic western hero, "Buffalo Bill," which could only be offered by Cody's Wild West Show.

Footnotes
1 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 26, 1884.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. St. Louis Globe-Democrat, May 2, 1884.
5. New York Dramatic Mirror, May 17, 1884.
6. Illinois State Journal

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