Circus Historical Society
Circusiana
Articles by A. Morton Smith, published in Hobbies between 1944 and 1950.
| Important Fires of Circus History | The Two-Car Circus |
| Important Fires of Circus History | The Two-Car Circus |
The CIRCUS has been plagued by fires, wrecks, wind and rain storms and other deterrents since its earliest days as a tented traveling amusement enterprise, and these hazards have oft made the tradition "the show must go on," difficult to uphold.
Demon fire has on a score of occasions in 165 years of American circus history, dealt severe blows to circus caravans.
But there has been no such tragic page in circus history as was written in Hartford, Conn., on July 6 of this year, when more than 150 persons, half of them young children, perished in flames which reduced to ashes, the gigantic big top of Ring-ling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
The mortality of all the other fires of circusdom combined, pales into insignificance as compared with the Hartford toll. And while violent death is tragic in any sense, the fact that all who succumbed in this catastrophe were amusement seeking spectators, etches more deeply the tragedy of the incident.
Impulsively there have been public officials, newspaper editors and individual spokesmen, shocked by the catastrophe, who have predicted that the Hartford fire may be the death knell of the circus as an amusement institution.
They undoubtedly shared the feeling of the editor of one Connecticut newspaper, who wrote:
"For people in all of Connecticut, the word 'circus' has lost forever its connotations of gladness and diversion. What used to be an oasis in a busy world engrossed in care, brings a shudder of horror and a shadow of sorrow."
But the same editorial carries this observation:
"There is no thrill in the world equal to juvenile anticipation for circus day and youthful excitement of trying to keep up with the doings of a three-ring performance. There is no parental gratification more pleasant than sharing this thrill with one's offspring. Circus day has been a perennial treat for youngsters and oldsters alike."
And looking to the future, the editor concludes: "Circus day has meant too much for too long to be banished from the sphere of childhood's joys."
Out of the tragedy undoubtedly will come precautions that will prevent such a holocaust, although hundreds of millions of circus goers have witnessed the performances of more than 1,000 circuses which have toured these United States since the first circus exhibited in 1790, without being imperiled in such a manner by a big top fire.
It is a foregone conclusion that there will be developed and employed, a dual treatment for canvas to waterproof and fireproof the fabric, thus eliminating the peril of fire in the exhibition tent.
And it is obvious that ways and means of providing exits from circus tents for all patrons minus the hazards of impeding equipment and rigging will be worked out by circus technicians.
The circus has long been a miracle of organization, detail and exactness in the handling of great expanses of canvas, huge seating arrangements and a maze of aerial and ground rigging on which hundreds of performers exhibit their skill, daring and artistry.
And there is no reason to believe that the gifted technicians who have invented, constructed and managed the magic circus caravans - here today and elsewhere tomorrow - shall not come through with ingenious methods of contributing to the safety of patrons from the youngest kiddies to the oldest adults who thrill to the charms of circus day. It is a challenge that undoubtedly will be met and met quickly.
As a matter of record for circusiana collectors, appended herewith are brief details of the important fires in circus history preceding the "Hartford conflagration:
February 3, 1838. Thomas Cooke Circus destroyed by fire which razed the Front Street Theatre in Baltimore, Md.
July 5, 1866. Seth B. Howes Circus lost 10 horses in stable fire in Newburg, N. Y.
December 24, 1872. P. T. Barnum’s Circus, Museum and Menagerie destroyed by fire.
December 20, 1873. Adam Forepaugh Circus quarters destroyed at Germantown, Philadelphia, Pa.
November 1, 1887. Barnum & London winter quarters burned at Bridgeport, Conn.
Febmary 30, 1888. W. H. Stowe's circus destroyed along with the steamer "Golden City" on which it was being transported, at Memphis, Tenn. Mr. and Mrs. Stowe, owners, and a third member of the circus lost their lives.
Season of 1889. Terrell Bros. Circus lost 20 horses, burned to death on a ferry-boat which caught fire at Oquawka, Ill., as the show was crossing the Missouri river.
January 19, 1900. Barnum & Bailey winter quarters at Bridgeport, Conn., damaged by fire.
August 5, 1901. Ringling Brothers side-show tent destroyed at Kansas City, Mo.
May 21, 1910. Barnum & Bailey big top burned at Schenectady, N. Y., with 15,000 spectators in attendance at matinee performance.
August 12, 1912. Ringling Bros. big top destroyed by fire on fairgrounds at Sterling, Ill., just before matinee was scheduled. No one hurt.
May 26, 1914. Ringling Bros, lost 43 railway cars which burned at Cleveland, Ohio, with a loss of $65,000.
October 28, 1916. Ringling Bros. baggage horse tent burned at Huntsville, Ala. Forty horses burned to death, 40 had to be killed, loss $25,000.
June 22, 1932. John H. Sparks circus private car, occupied by Manager Charles Spark, burned at Munising, Mich.
February 2, 1924. Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey winter quarters at Bridgeport, Conn., had a $100,000 fire loss.
October 8, 1925. Miller Bros. 101 Ranch Wild West show lost two sleeping cars in fire at Gainesville, Ga.
September 26, 1936. Hagenbeck-Wallace circus had $75,000 winter quarters fire at Peru, Ind.
February 20, 1940. Cole Bros, winter quarters fire destroyed two elephants, eight cages, several parade wagons at Rochester, Ind., with $150,000 loss.
August 4, 1942. Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey circus menagerie tent burned at Cleveland, Ohio, destroying 40 costly animals.
Derailment of seven cars of Cole Brothers Circus train near Little Falls, Minnesota, July 7, with an estimated loss of $53,000 worth of equipment, was the first serious railroad wreck involving a big top organization in 15 years in this country.
However, the circusiana devotees who collect photographs and preserve statistics on circus disasters, produce records that reveal traveling shows have been plagued with wrecks since the 70's when the P. T. Barnum show made railroad transportation popular with circuses, by venturing forth on its own cars.
There had been circuses transported by rail since 1854 when Den Stone loaded his little caravan on railroad-owned cars, but it remained for the P. T. Barnum Great Traveling Exposition and Dan Castello's Circus combined to travel on a 61-car show-owned train in 1872. And it was a Barnum advance car that became involved in the first important circus wreck. The accident occurred at Altoona, Iowa, August 29, 1877, when six men were killed and six were injured.
No major railroad circus has escaped railroad mishaps and curiously, wrecks have often occurred in cycles.
In 1887, the John Robinson Circus was involved in two serious wrecks on successive days, November 4 and 5 at St. Louis, Mo., and Brazil, Indiana, with a loss of two lives, injuries to six and 10 cars wrecked, resulting in a loss of $200,000.
And in 1892, Cook & Whitby Circus suffered a similar tragedy, their train being wrecked July 7 at Richland Center, Wisconsin, and the following day at McGregor, Iowa, several cars being demolished, two men killed and 25 horses lost.
The most extended period of ill fortune, however, followed the S. H. Barrett Circus in 1884. This show suffered losses in five wrecks, four of them in a 25-day period in April and May. Campbell Brothers Circus was involved in three wrecks in a single season in Oregon, Wisconsin and Texas.
The name of the late Ben E. Wallace, famous circus owner of the last generation, was attached to the two circuses which suffered the heaviest loss of life in the history of railroad tragedies in the circus world.
The Great Wallace show, owned and operated by Wallace, was wrecked at Durand, Michigan, August 6, 1903, when 25 persons were killed and 121 injured. This accident occurred only three weeks after the show had been involved in a wreck at Shelbyville, Illinois, July 16, when two persons were killed and four injured.
This wreck was the most tragic so far as the loss of human lives was concerned until 1918, when the Carl Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus train, on a siding at Ivanhoe, Indiana, June 22, was struck by an empty equipment train which plowed through four coaches of the show train. This most serious wreck of circus history claimed 85 lives and injured 179 persons.
Nevertheless, 48 hours after the tragedy, the circus exhibited again in a city 100 miles from the scene. This accomplishment was made possible by the indomitable courage of show-folk, adherring to the motto of their profession, "the show must go on."
Few of the railroad wrecks have stayed the travels of circuses more than a few days and in many instances not a single performance has been lost.
The longest delays have been occasioned by the necessity for replacement of such equipment as railroad cars, tents, rigging and wagons, which are demolished.
Despite the intense rivalry that exists between circuses, when tragedy strikes, it is usually the competitor that comes forward first with the offer of equipment that the show may go on.
This was exemplified in the most recent wreck. For when Cole Brothers Circus tour appeared to be halted for some time to come by lack of railroad cars and wagons, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, its chief competitor, offered the use of idle cars standing on sidings in the Sarasota, Fla., winter quarters.
One of the most ingenious steps taken by a circus owner when a wreck befell his organization was that of George W. Christy, owner of Christy Brothers Circus, who set up his show in a cornfield and gave a performance while the wreckage of his show train was being cleared from the nearby railroad track.
Principal circus train wrecks through the years and the damage done where records are available, are as follows:
1877 P. T. Barnum. Altoona, Ia., August 29. Advance car wrecked, six men killed, six injured.
1878 Sells Bros. Birmingham, Pa., May 1. Three cages knocked off cars and hippopotamus loosed. Sells Bros., Caldwell, Ohio, Sept. 15. Elephants cars derailed, one man hurt.
1882 Nathan & Company. Wolcott, New York, Sept. 23; W. C. Coup, near Cairo, Ill., August 19.
1884 S. H. Barrett, Harrodsburg, Ky., April 10; Abington, Va. April 19; Williamsburg, Ky. April 30; Bardstown, Ky., May 3; Stuart, Ia. July 2.
1885 Barnum & London, Bangor, Me.. July 3. Flat car wheel broke, calliope and organ wagons ditched; Adam Forepaugh, Eddyville, Ia. August 14. 12 persons injured. $50,000 damage done.
1886 Frank A. Robbins, Putman, Conn. July 7, one man killed; Adam Forepaugh, Augusta, Maine, June 16, 18 horses killed, several persons hurt.
1887 John Robinson, St. Louis, Mo., Nov. 4, two persons killed. 10 injured and six cars wrecked; Brazil, Indiana, Nov. 5, four coaches wrecked, several persons injured; damage in two wrecks $200,000.
1888 Barnum & London, Vassalboro, Maine; John Robinson, Corwin, Ohio, Sept. 10.
1892 Cook & Whitby, Richland Center, Wis., July 7, several cars derailed; McGregor, Iowa, July 8, three stock cars ditched. 25 horses killed, two colored musicians injured; Ringling Bros., Concordia, Kans., May 17, two men and 26 horses killed, four cars lost; Centralia, Mo., Oct. 18, six cages demolished.
1893 Walter L. Main, Tyrone. Pa. May 30, 16 cars wrecked, five men killed, 11 injured.
1896 Buffalo Bill Wild West, Centralia, Wis., Sept. 5, five flat cars demolished, four sleepers damaged, one man hurt.
1901 Buffalo Bill Wild West, Altoona, Pa., June 1, six cars wrecked, one man hurt; Lexington, N. C., Oct. 20.
1902 John H. Sparks, Veedersburg, Ind., Sept. 1, two cages smashed and animals hurt when two cars derailed; Sells & Downs, Choctaw, Okla., Sept. 20, two men killed, scores injured. 1903 Great Wallace. Shelbyville, Ill., July 16, two persons killed, four injured, four horses killed, three cars demolished; Durand, Michigan, August 6, 25 persons killed. 121 hurt, four cars destroyed; Indian Bill Wild West, near Mt. Jewet, Pa., 16 horses killed.
1906 Norris & Rowe, Saskatoon, Sask, Can., July 1, six sea lions killed, five flat cars derailed. 15 wagons demolished; Carl Hagenbeck, Tiger Creek, Ark., Oct. 25, three flat cars, 16 wagons destroyed; Cole Bros., Ashburn, Ga., Nov. 10, five cars demolished, one sleeper derailed, none hurt.
1907 Hagenbeck-Wallace, Big Rapids, Mich., July 24.
1908 Hagenbeck-Wallace, Saint Paul, Minn., June 25, bandwason, cook wagon demolished in derailment.
1910 Campbell Bros., Oregon River, Oregon, June 16; Sparta, Wis., August 16; Goliad, Texas, Dec. 9, four flat cars derailed, no one hurt; Buffalo Ranch Wild West, Bessemer, Ala.
1911 Yankee Robinson, Merriland Junction, Wis., June 9, sleeper demolished, another damaged.
1913 Miller Bros., 101 Ranch Wild West, East Somerhill, Mass., June 24, three men hurt; Barnum & Bailey, Richfield, Neb., August 12, five seriously hurt, 22 others injured in collision.
1915 Sells-Floto, Havensville, Kansas, Sept. 16. Three flat cars ditched with 10 wagons, heavy damage.
1916 Miller Bros., 101 Ranch Wild West, en route Roanoke to Norfolk, Va., Oct. 2.
1918 Hagenbeck-Wallace, Ivanhoe, Ind., June 22, 85 persons killed, 179 injured.
1920 Christy Bros., Cardston. Canada. May 25.
1922 James Patterson, Girard, Kansas, May 6; Hagenbeck-Wallace, July 11.
1924 Al G. Barnes, en route to Willows, Calif., Oct. 1, stock car burned after wreck, killing horses; Hagenbeck-Wallace, Longview, Tex., Nov. 11, two sleeping cars destroyed.
1926 Heritage Bros., Toronto, Ohio, May 11.
1930 Al G. Barnes, Canaan, N. B., Canada, July 20. Nine cars derailed, five persons killed. 18 injured.
1945 Cole Bros., Little Falls, Minn., July 27. Seven cars derailed. 12 wagons damaged, two men hurt, $53,000 damage.
During the fast-moving half century that followed the civil war, when one scientific development after another amazed the world, millions of Americans indelibly associated in their memories, their first glimpse of remarkable inventions with their visits to the circus.
For enterprising circus managers were quick to grasp the exploitation possibilities of scientific developments to exhibitions under canvas, which they displayed in town and village the length and breath of the country to astounded patrons.
As early as 1864, New Englanders saw for the first time, a self-propelled vehicle and they watched it lead a circus caravan onto the village green.
S. O. Wheeler's International Circus and Hatch & Hitchcock's Royal Hippodrome Combined, traveled through Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island in the spring of '64, featuring this crude forerunner of the automobile.
The show's newspaper advertisements and handbills pictured a horseless carriage with an upright steam boiler in the rear to furnish motive power.
"The mechanical carriage," the newspaper advertisement said, "will precede the combined companies, procession into town on the day of the exhibition and be exhibited to the circus audience with an explanation of the machinery gratis."
Furthermore, the "self propelled road carriage" was described as being "the most simple, useful and ingenious piece of mechanism ever put into practical use."
A facsimile of this advertisement, reproduced on this page, has become a part of the National Autombile Dealers Association's collection of automobiliana, as an example of one of the earliest self-propelled vehicles of record.
It was not until 1892 that Charles E. Duryea of Springfield, Mass, perfected America's first gasoline buggy and conducted its pulling test on April 19. Three years later, the Duryea Motor Wagon company of Springfield became the first U. S. motor car corporation and a Duryea car won the first automobile race on November 28, 1895.
And as might be expected, the prize winning car went on exhibition in 1896 with a circus. It was the No. 1 feature of Barnum & Bailey's "Greatest Show on Earth," and in addition to leading the street parade, was displayed on the hippodrome track during performances. In 1899, the Walter L. Main Circus also displayed a "horseless carriage" of a design placed on sale by Montgomery Ward and Company.
Millions of persons saw their first balloon ascensions when they were free attractions with circuses. In 1871, Stone & Murray's Circus had Prof. J. W. Hayden, "hero of 10,000 balloon ascensions" as its free act and for years, the P. T. Barnum Circus advertised Daredevil Donaldson, balloonist of note.
Donaldson had made 200 successful ascensions, but he went up during a storm the week of July 12 while the circus was exhibiting in Chicago, and was never heard of again, nor was any trace of his balloon found.
The development of the airplane as a weapon of warfare during World War I, was seized upon by Wheeler Brothers Circus, as a free attraction, and the show gave what it described as "the most astounding spectacle ever witnessed in America." Lieut. Jason and his "gigantic bomb dropping, armored aeroplane" was secured at a "cost of $1,000 per day," for a free exhibition daily.
"He rises with the ease and swiftness of a bird," said the show's throw-away herald, "and in 10 minutes he is far above the clouds. He loops the loop and performs other fancy flying feats with perfect ease. . . it costs you nothing to see this wonderful thing and as you will probably never have another chance, it would be a calamity to miss it."
As time went on, many circuses made use of airplanes for parachute jumps as free attractions, and many were the spectators who saw this daredevil feat for the first time, associated with a circus.
When the electric light became a reality in the late 70's the Great London and Cooper & Bailey Circuses each displayed this scientific wonder in 1879, and the W. W. Cole circus had such an exhibition in 1880.
The Great London Circus extravagantly claimed "the great electric light is equal to the power of the noon day sun" and that "18 chandeliers are equal to 35,000 gas jets."
The late James W. Davidson, an ardent circus fan for many years, described his first glimpse of the electric light as a lad of eight when the W. W. Cole circus came to his home town, Austin, Minn., in 1880.
"On show day, near the marquee," Mr. Davidson recalled, "there stood a large wagon vibrating with the power from a high speed steam engine turning what appeared to be a simple metal cylinder (the generator) and operating at that hour merely as a ballyhoo. Once under the big top, we observed the wiring and the glass globe, but the actual exhibition of the light ablaze awaited the concert that followed the main show."
And Mr. Davidson adds "As Dad and I saw it at the matinee performance, we used the daylight as an excuse for going again at night when the effect would be more brilliant."
After the circus had introduced the automobile, the airplane and the electric light to millions, scientific, developments has become so numerous and the world had been made so much smaller by fast transportation and communications, that new inventions were as well known in remote settlement a few months after they were made public as they were in the metropolitan centers, and the circus dropped its role as a purveyor of scientific knowledge to the masses.
Opposition in circus business has provided collectors an interesting array of choice souvenirs known as "rat sheets" and the history of circusdom some rugged and colorful episodes.
For opposition in the circus field in the early years was more than a clamor for patrons, and it left a trail of bloody street fights between billing crews, picturesque language on slanderous handbills, and a variety of legends of the battles of wits between agents seeking an advantage over competitors.
Opposition over a period of several weeks in which one show was repeatedly bested by a rival, is known to have led to bankruptcy. Billposters were hired for their pugilistic talents as much as for their paste smearing ability. And the use of such terms as "swindlers," "liars," and "shortchange artists," was frequent and bold in advertising circulars.
Because it was a practice for the billposters of a rival show to cover the advertisements with their own pictorial announcements, in addition to regular billing crews, circuses carried "opposition" crews, which specialized in thwarting the efforts of competitors to cover their paper, or to repost their bills where covering was accomplished.
When one circus advertised an appearance in a given city or town, a rival show which might not be scheduled to play the same city for several months, would advertise "Wait for the big show."
Many varieties of effort were employed to prevent the first show in from doing good business. Reproduced on this page is part of a rat sheet used by Adam Forepaugh's Circus in opposition to the Great European Circus in 1877. [transcribed below]
Scheduled to play St. Joseph, Mo., several weeks after the Great European, Forepaugh's press agents strove to belittle the competitors and this particular handbill was distributed on St. Joseph's streets after the Great European show's street parade, and before the afternoon performance.
You see, citizens of St. Joe, you
Have Been Swindled!
from the entry and will be dealt with the same way to the exit of this lying institution. They have not even exhibited on the streets, as they advertised to do.
Is This Not Proof That They Are Swindlers and Liars?
Visit the Show And you will see what the Boxes on Wheels contained
Wait and See the Procession of the Great Forepaugh Show . . .
Referring to the claims of grandeur for Great European's street parade in its advance advertising, the Forepaugh heralds asserted "You have counted only 13 cages, some of them the size of an ordinary Saratoga trunk, one large barn-looking car, a square box wagon with looking glass on the sides, painted red, on the top of which was a huge black bear (as seen in Moberly, Mo.). You saw a few actors on ordinary looking horses (not Arabians) and an ordinary wagon in the shape of a dragon containing a band. You see citizens of St. Joe, you have been swindled from the entry, and will be dealt with the same way to the exit of this lying institution. They have not even exhibited on the streets as they advertised to do. Is this not proof that they are swindlers and liars?"
While the Ringling Brothers show was growing rapidly and threatening great opposition to its older rivals, it was often engaged in opposition with competitors. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1892, was the scene of one of the word-barrages.
Barnum & Bailey issued rat sheets, printed in both English and German, reproducing newspaper items telling of Ringling Brothers bill-posters being arrested for tearing down or covering posters of other shows, and made the declaration, "Neither is it expected that an auction-made, second-hand concern, whose 'sumptuous wardrobe' was selected from the cast-off discarded stock of really progressive shows, can in any way compare with 'Caesar's Triumphal Entry into Rome' as advertised by this little show. Shades of Baraboo, go hunt your tub!"
In a more dignified manner, the Ringlings came back with a proclamation in which it was asserted "Having been unjustifiably and maliciously assailed by a certain rival show, in calling attention to the falsity of these statements, we will indulge in no mud-slinging, no vituperation and no ill-tempered and unsavory language such as our maligners have seen fit to resurrect from the slums of Ellingsgate and which can only serve as a boomerang upon the heads of those who indulge in it."
Sells Brothers tried another trick in its opposition with the Ringlings in Texas in 1894. One of the Sells brothers rode ahead of the Ringling parade in Gainesville, October 18, announcing a balloon ascension at 1 P. M. near the Santa Fe railroad depot. This stunt was intended to draw crowds from the Ringling lot at a time when the doors were opening for the afternoon show more than a mile away.
However, the Ringlings arranged for a local photographer to take a picture of the crowd at the balloon ascension, which numbered some 15 or 20 persons, and this picture was reproduced in the 1894 route book of the Ringling circus to illustrate how a rival's effort to hurt the show's business had miserably failed.
When opposition with the Sells Brothers grew hot in Texas again in 1896, Ringling Brothers passed out handbills claiming that $5,000 had been deposited in City National bank to be donated to any charitable institution in the state of Texas "providing that the Ringling Brothers have not on this date, more horses, cars and cages of animals than any other show or alleged combination of two shows coming to Texas this year, providing that any other show or alleged combination of two shows shall make a like deposit."
The language used in the rat sheets of the early days of circus opposition, seldom resulted in a damage suit being filed, because all of the shows were engaging in similar practices, and the vituperative campaigns seemed to stimulate interest generally in the coming of the circuses and the rivalry often benefitted both shows locked in verbal combat.
Circus advertising has become more dignified with the passing of the years, and seldom is a rat sheet seen nowadays. However, in 1944, a motorized circus issued a rat sheet on the day of its appearance in a mid-western town, headed "Why Wait for the Big Show" put out by a competing railroad circus.
Referring to its rivals, the motorized show's handbill asserted: "They were here two years ago on five old trucks. Due to the shortage of gas and trucks they bought a few old box cars and called it a railroad circus. Beware of prowlers and short-change artists."
Furthermore, the days of railroad maneuvers to get ahead of a competitor are not gone. In 1944, one railroad circus, exhibiting in North Texas points, suddenly cancelled these dates, jumped from Ada, Okla., to Waco, Texas, losing one day en route. This maneuver was for the purpose of putting the show into Waco, and several succeeding choice spots, four or five days ahead of another railroad circus.
Incidents like these are few and far between nowadays, since fewer shows cover more territory and seldom are in close competition. Most of the interesting stories and documentary opposition advertising are history of the "golden age" of circuses, the 80's and 90's.
Therefore, rat sheets are prized possessions of collectors and the stories of hostile opposition have been recorded in a number of published books of circus history and reminiscences of early day troupers.
The motion picture short subject of today which appeals for audience participation in the singing of popular songs, and the street salesman who offers booklets containing the words of current song hits, had their counterparts in the circus of four score years ago.
In Civil War days, the circus in America was strictly a one-ring affair and seats were arranged to circle the hastily thrown up dirt ring.
Because of the intimacy of the arena, the singing clown was a popular circus figure and the musically inclined joey was much better paid for his services than the ordinary fun-maker who depended upon cracking jokes with the ringmaster and pantomime to provoke hilarity.
Many of these singing clowns composed their own songs, mostly of the comic variety, and they were advertised as outstanding features of the shows with which they traveled.
Some of these clowns made an important part of their routine, the leading of the audience in the singing of songs. And such a procedure provided an opportunity to sell little pamphlets known as songsters through the crowds, thus providing spectators with the words to be sung.
The songster contained the words of popular numbers of the day, just as the songsters sold on street corners by peddlers today contain the words of current song hits.
The songster concession in the circus in the early days was as valuable as the popcorn or lemonade sales, and often a clown received a commission on his sales as the only recompense for his services to the show.
By far the best known and most famous of the singing clowns was Dan Rice, who is said to have received $25,000 for a single season. He made his songs particularly popular wherever he made an appearance because of his knack of localizing the numbers, using the names of persons in the community for his comic verse and composing lyrics which had to do with national affairs of the day.
Most collectors of circusiana have a place for songsters, but they are among the scarcer items, despite the fact they were sold in quantities of many thousands annually over a long period of years. It is possible that the uniformly poor grade of paper on which they were printed, which deteriorated rapidly, caused them to drop out of souvenir collections and is the explanation of why more are not in circulation today.
These little booklets were in a variety of sizes, content and makeup.
One of the smallest we have seem was the W. W. Cole Circus Songster of the 80's, which measured 4x6 inches in size and contained 32 pages with approximately the same number of songs.
Its title was "W. W. Cole's Equestrian Songster," and it was said to contain "a choice selection from the best songs ever published, sentimental and humorous, also including a large number of new and original songs written and sung by Ernest, the famous English clown," whose picture appeared on the cover. Al Richards was proprietor of privileges, and had charge of the songster sales.
Most of the songs in the little volume were credited to W. T. Sears, while uncredited numbers were probably the work of Ernest. Others were listed as songs sung by Clowns Billy Andrews and Charley Adams, and the "original" Georgia Minstrels.
Contrasting with this booklet in size and date of issuance, is the Hagenbeck-Wallace Songster, published in 1915, measuring 10x13 inches in size and containing 16 pages. Typical of the sheet music of that day, the cover bore a bareback rider on a horse as the central figure of the design, and so arranged that titles of other shows could have been and probably were imprinted so that the booklet could be distributed generally in circus arenas. In this pamphlet were words and music of eight songs, the words of a number of others and jokes and conundrums, the booklet having been published by a popular music publishing company in New York.
Songsters continued in vogue through the middle 20's, and in the later years, some of the circuses had their programs printed in them, making them more valuable to the circusiana collector.
Some of the songsters, like the Forepaugh booklet of the late 70's contained the show owner's photograph on the cover and a biographical sketch of him in the introductory pages. In addition to the words of numerous songs, this booklet contained the advertisements of a patent medicine company, which probably financed the printing of the book.
Another songster, entitled "A Collection of Favorite Songs as Sung by Ben Maginley, the clown and jester of the Great Consolidation," also contained advertisements of a score of patent medicine companies, and was 64 pages in size, with words of 40 to 60 songs included.
Some of the circuses which sold songsters, did not employ singing clowns, but offered the booklets merely as another concession and to keep pace with their competitors in offering souvenirs.
So far as this writer knows, no attempt has been made to list all of the published circus songsters, which were particularly numerous in the "golden age of circuses," from 1880 to 1900, but among the shows, together with their singing clowns, are the following: Great London, Johnny Patterson; Adam Forepaugh, Sam Long; Walter L. Main, Fred Runnels; John Robinson, John Lowlow; Bamum & Bailey and Howes Great London. There was also a songster, published by a New York firm, known as "The Great Circus Royal Songster," which several circuses that did not issue booklets under their own title, sold to their patrons.
While the circus has happily preserved its peculiar type of entertainment in much the same form for generations, it has been forced by changing eras of development, to adopt new methods of transportation, and in so doing has sacrificed what was once one of its most colorful, interesting and important adjuncts - the baggage stock.
Baggage stock designates the handsome draft or work horses used to haul the circus wagons, as distinctive from the ring stock or performing horses.
When the circus, originating in this country in 1785, left the permanent buildings of such cities as New York and Philadelphia, at the turn of the century, to do some modest touring in New England and Atlantic seaboard states, no particular attention was given to the type of horses employed, inasmuch as equipment was light and scanty. It was often the practice of circus owners to contract with farm youths, eager for travel and adventure, for teams and wagons to move the shows from town to town.
As circuses grew in size and weight of equipment, the Percheron became established as the ideal baggage horse, weighing 1,600 to 1,800 pounds. Iron gray was the most popular color, but bay, black and white teams were also used, and matched teams of two, four, six and eight horses were the rule.
Older circus fans cannot but remember the clop-clop of the horses' hoofs and the rumble of the iron-tired baggage wagons traveling along the streets from the railroad runs to the lot and back, and big teams of upwards of 40 matched baggage horses hitched to elaborately carved band and tableau wagons in parade, their nodding heads waving the colorful plumes which adorned them, the monogram of the show embossed in brass on their bridles.
The parade vanished from the circus scene a decade ago as city traffic became more complex, and baggage horses are practically extinct in a circus caravan today as trucks and tractors have taken over their former duties.
There are, however, several collectors of circusiana, scattered over this country, whose love of the circus and fine horseflesh has made them determined that through their collections, they may perpetuate the traditions of the baggage horses and the contribution they made to the color of the circus scene and the transportation of shows for many years.
One of these is youthful Jerry Booker of San Francisco, back home from the war, specializing in the collection of pictures of baggage horses - in parade, on the lot, at the runs, in stock cars - wherever baggage horses might be photographed.
Booker is a model builder, too, and his pride and joy is his scale model reproduction of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey blacksmith departments, complete with tents, anvils, tongs, the blacksmiths themselves, a red baggage wagon into which all the equipment may be packed, and a handsome hand-carved eight horse team of dapple gray baggage horses to go with it.
C. P. Fox of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, is another devotee of circus horses, with emphasis on baggage stock, and in addition to photographs, he collects lithographed posters of circus horses. Still another is Will W. Brock of Boron, California, a long string driver himself years ago, and he is particularly interested in assembling a collection of circus bits, whips and trappings used by baggage horses, and saddles of circus hostlers.
Back in the days when circuses traveled overland, the boss hostler ranked next to the manager himself in importance among circus executives, because of the significance of getting the show over the road to assure success of a traveling enterprise of such magnitude.
The circus caravan was divided into two groups. The first group included wagons which carried tents, seats, wardrobe and properties, and it left a circus lot when loaded in the middle of the night, for the next town. The other group, including the lighter cage and band wagons, and buggies in which executives and performers rode, left at 3 or 4 a.m. after the people had obtained sleep at the hotel. Traveling lighter, this group often caught up with the first wagon train before it reached the next town.
The baggage wagons would proceed to the show grounds, but the second group would pause at the edge of town to prepare for a parade, which moved through the streets to the lot.
When the circuses went on rails, beginning in 1870, baggage stock became even more important, because the shows began using heavier wagons, larger tents, more seats and other equipment. Also vying with each other to produce the most elaborate parades, circus owners paid particular attention to matching teams to draw their parade wagons, and up to 40 horses, driven two or four abreast, were used.
When baggage stock was in greatest use with the largest of all circuses, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus, in the early 20's, some 350 head of stock constituted the department.
The show traveled on four trains of 22 to 25 cars each, the first three sections carrying wagons and the fourth section made up entirely of stock cars and coaches. There were four to five cars of baggage stock in each of the first three sections, the horses being loaded 25 to 30 to a car with harness on.
When the unloading process started at the railroad runs, pull-over teams of two horses were hooked on the wagons on the flat cars, and pulled them to the end of the train, where they were eased down the runs by trainmen. As soon as they were clear of the train, pull-away teams whisked them down the street, out of the way of the next wagon, and then the four, six or eight horse teams took them to the lot.
At night, the wagons were hauled back to the train by teams, the number of animals being determined by the weight of the wagon. Pull-up teams pulled them up the runs to the flat cars, and pull-over teams moved them down the string of flat cars to their proper places.
Typical of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey lineup of baggage stock were 14 eight-horse teams, 24 sixes, 16 fours, 14 twos and half a dozen saddle horses for bosses.
During rainy weather, there was extra duty for the baggage stock, when hook rope teams were needed to move exceptionally heavy wagons in the mud. On such an occasion, as many as five eight-horse teams might be hooked to a single wagon, with an elephant or two pushing, to move a wagon to its proper place on the lot, or to get it back to the street.
But now, tractors have been put into service in place of pull-over, pull-away and pull-up teams, and large trucks and tractors haul the wagons to the lot, sometimes with three or four wagons hooked together as trailers.
So has passed into history, a colorful phase of the circus scene of yesterday.
One of the outstanding phenomena of circusdom as this writer sees it, is the two-car show which flourished during the first three decades of the current century, demonstrating the remarkable ingenuity of operators in crowding complete circuses with parade equipment, sideshow, menagerie, big top, performing animals and personnel into two double-length railroad cars.
Every general collector of circusiana has memorabilia of two-car circuses represented in their collections, for such shows as Christy Brothers, Cole Brothers, Cooper Brothers, Mollie Bailey, Hugo Brothers, Cole and Rogers and many others, were two-or three-car shows at some time in their careers.
One would not realize from the extravagant terms cased in descriptive advertising material that these shows were transported in such small space. Neither would one who visited a two-car show on the lot and saw the tents in the air and the performing animals and personnel in action, be easily convinced that the entire establishment was loaded like proverbial sardines in the two undistinguished looking cars on a downtown siding.
The two-car circus, unlike its big brother of 25 cars and more, did not arrive in town with a flourish, decked out in red and yellow and blue paint with its title painted in large letters on each car. Nor did it make a big show of its unloading activities at the runs.
Rather, the two-car circus, attached to a regularly scheduled passenger train, occupied inconspicuously black cars, unlettered and not unlike the other coaches making up the train. Without evidence that the cars bore a circus troupe, townspeople were not so likely to be aware of the fact that the show in town was so small that it required so little transportation equipment.
Some shows like Christy Brothers, for instance, started as two-car shows and grew into great 25 and 30 car, five-ring circuses. But there were circus operators such as Elmer Jones, who specialized in two-car shows and would have as many as three or four on the road in a single season. These owners did not aspire to own larger shows, finding satisfaction in the successful operation of their two-car units.
There were advantages and disadvantages to these small railroad circuses, with the later more obvious, but the former often offsetting them.
The two-car show seldom required an expensive special railroad move, as it was small enough to be attached to almost any passenger train, and therefore traveled on regular passenger schedules. Most of the time, it was routed into towns which were never visited by the large circuses. And the two-car show required good railroad equipment that would meet the needs of fast passenger train schedules.
Most two-car shows carried their own dining sections where meals were prepared and served to the entire personnel, whether en route or on a siding. Thus, unlike a large railroad show which has late meals when there is a late arrival, the two-car show had its meals at the appointed time.
No two of these small shows were framed exactly alike. But here is a very good example. One of the two cars, seventy-foot length, would be a sleeping car and the other a baggage car. The sleeper would have a stateroom in one end for the manager and his family, the dining section in the other end, and the berths for performers and executives in the middle.
The second car would carry the lead stock, including horses, ponies, mules, and perhaps an elephant and a camel in one end, the cage wagons next, and finally the canvas, poles, seats and properties. Working men would sleep in this car wherever there was room to stretch out.
There was an end door in the baggage car in addition to the side doors to facilitate the unloading process. A couple of so-called gilly wagons were carried, built so they could be taken apart and packed in small space. Put together each morning, with stake bodies, one of these wagons would be loaded and the two-baggage horses carried, hitched to it for a haul to the lot. When the wagon returned empty, the second wagon would be loaded, the horses transferred and another trip made. Thus the entire show be taken to the lot in six or eight trips.
Such a show was capable of giving a representative parade. The band, of six or eight pieces afoot, would lead the procession. The four or five cages would be in the line of march, with two ponies hitched to each, and perhaps a performer or two atop the wagons in costume. A clown drove a mule to a cart and the elephant and camels would bring up the rear.
On the lot there would be the big top, perhaps as large as 90-170 feet, a sideshow tent, where the caged animals and live stock would be displayed in lieu of a menagerie tent, a pit show and an ample dressing room top.
In those days when performers were plentiful and there were many family acts, the two-car circus presented a creditable performance with a wide variety of acts and well trained animal performers. A free act which might be a footslide from the top of the tent to the ground, or a high trapeze act, was used before each performance to assist in getting a crowd on the lot. Some of these shows carried small steel arenas for the presentation of wild animal acts. Big show performers doubled in the side show and vice versa.
The two-car circus went out of the picture with the advent of the automobile and the coming of good roads. Automotive travel forced the railroads to gradually remove passenger trains from their main line schedules and eliminated many of the branch lines, leaving the two-car show with greatly reduced territory and without dependable transportation to carry out daily moves.
But the two-car circus was a colorful part of trouping in the three decades it toured this country and many present-day circus fans recall two-car circuses were the first they had opportunity to see in their small-town birthplaces.
And there are circusiana collectors who specialize in pictures, advertising material and lore of the two-car circus of other days.
One of the most interesting and apparently one of the scarcest items in the field of circusiana is the complaint book. In the 20 years I have been collecting, I have seen only two specimens, both of which are in my collection. Furthermore, I have shown them to many advanced collectors, none of whom had seen one before.
The two books were issued by Barnum & Bailey and Ringling Brothers Circuses for the season of 1917. They were confidential books intended only for the information of staff members of the respective shows and for that reason few copies were circulated outside the ranks of circus executives.
The complaint book is not very impressive in appearance. Each of the two I have is 5 ½ x 8 1/2 inches in size, containing about 100 pages of mimeographed text, cheaply bound in cardboard with the simple title, "Ringling Brothers Complaints, Season 1917," typed on the cover.
But the information contained in each of the books makes most interesting reading for the circusiana collector. The complaint book lists each city and town played during the season in order, with dates of showings. Under each date is given a digest of the difficulties encountered as regards advertising, publicity, distribution of complimentary tickets or passes, purchase of feed, hiring of transportation for country route bill-posting, meals for billing crews, obtaining lots and licenses, and other pertinent information.
Contributing to this digest are the press agents, advertising car managers, press agents and legal adjusters.
Purpose of the volume was to provide a ready reference for agents making the same cities and towns in following years of difficulties that might be encountered and suggestions for avoiding them.
At that time, the two circuses were owned by Ringling Brothers and it was their policy to alternate the shows over two general routes in successive years. Therefore, the complaint books were exchanged between the executives of the two shows for future guidance.
Among the most frequent entries in the complaint books were references to newspaper relations. For example, a Barnum & Bailey press agent, reporting upon a managing editor's demand for more complimentary tickets than were tendered, advised: "He (the managing editor) became abusive and said that I need never come into the office again, that he would put me on the black list in all (of his chain's) newspapers and made some remarks as to my lack of circus experience and to the fact that no circus press agent ever before had kicked about the number of tickets. . . . while I was waiting for my cuts, (the editors) joined in personal remarks as to the awfulness of my fate and the fate of the show in future years, and to my utter lack of ability as a press agent."
Another press agent, reporting on an engagement in a southern city warned to "look out for a girl reporter (whom he named). I assigned her to do a circus girl story and before she started on the job she demanded $100 which of course, she didn't get. She's a bold grafter, and when she can't get the money she begs for a new pair of shoes to take the place of those ruined on the lot. It will be best to stay away from her because she may decide to roast a show some time. Incidentally, she is a clever woman."
Agents didn't hesitate to criticize the contractors who obtained lots and made arrangements for foodstuffs required for the personnel of the shows.
In an Iowa city, the 24-hour man reported for one show that "If anyone ever looked at this lot they would know that we could not use it. Contractor contracted lot without seeing it, for had he seen it he or anybody with the show would know that no Barnum or Ringling could get their show on 531 x 272 foot space.
Another 24-hour man sarcastically suggested "Please notify agent that our cook house is open Sundays," after reporting that "we had to hire bakers to bake bread Saturday night, as Saturday is day off."
Trouble over other needs of the circus occurred during the season. On one occasion, it was reported "the man at the water plug burned off the water at 5 p. m. and took hose to corner saloon and refused to turn on water until he got four reserved seat tickets." And a 24-hour man recorded: "Two years ago I panned this feed man on the squawk sheet and again he was contracted for feed. Two years ago he was caught short eight bales and this time I had him put 102 bales of hay on a wagon and asked him the weight next A. M. I weighed the same and he was 600 pounds short."
How to handle individuals with whom the shows had to deal were suggested occasionally, A press agent reported that the business manager of a certain newspaper "handles all publicity and tickets and is inclined to be tight unless jogged up." And he added: "He is a hard boiled egg, but can easily be cracked if handed a little soft talk." Then a legal adjuster, reporting on the mayor of a midwest town, observed: "He is inclined to tell how much he personally advertises the show and how he is responsible for the closing of the schools, etc., etc., and then tries to get strong on tickets and tells of damages to streets, etc."
However, along with the complaints and "squawks," the agents often reported very satisfactory dealings. Of an Indiana newspaper, a press agent reported "the paper was very liberal and did not ask for any additional tickets. It was the most satisfactory agreement of its kind we have ever made." Sometimes there were such brief reports as "Everything O. K. here," and "Old lot, everything fine," from the 24-hour men.
Down through the day-by-day reports were chronicled accidents involving circus personnel, damages paid for injuries to spectators, for damage to streets, lots and buildings, and other information which make the complaint books as valuable as route books for the historical material which they contain.
It is probable that many shows have issued complaint books for their executives in past years, but if so, they have been carefully guarded and have not reached the hands of many collectors. Therefore, they are very desirable and rare items which collectors would cherish.
The dog and pony show which flourished from the early 90's to the 20's, was closely akin to the circus. It was an exhibition of skill in domestic animal training which delighted the youngsters. It was presented in a ring under a big top and offered a street parade in traditional circus fashion.
Some of the best known circus owners and managers of later years were graduates of the dog and pony shows, and some of the latter exhibitions were converted into full-fledged circuses as they flourished and expanded.
This type of entertainment was advertised in typical circus style with lithographed pictorial posters, heralds and couriers widely distributed, pieces that are now prized possessions of many collectors of circusiana.
The dog and pony show appears to have entered the amusement field in the early 80's. The oldest to our knowledge is Morris' Equine and Canine Paradoxes, which was on tour in 1883, while Hurlburt's Dog and Pony show was a similar attraction in the late 80's.
But this type of show came into its own principally as the result of the activities of an astute and aggressive showman's development of the highest type of dog and pony exhibition, which became exceedingly popular in the 90's and made his name a household word the country over.
He was Henry B. Gentry, who quit school in 1886 at the age of 17 to join Professor Morris, self-styled "world's greatest trained animal showman," and from him, Gentry learned the art of domestic animal training. After a few years, he picked up a troupe of dogs from the streets of his home town, Bloomington, Ind., and upon training them, made his debut in the Bloomington opera house.
Impressed with the enthusiastic manner in which his efforts to entertain were received, Gentry began his career with Prof. Gentry's Famous Dog and Pony Show, which he operated so successfully that by 1897, it was traveling on 14 cars.
Then in 1898, there were two Gentry shows on the road and by 1901 there were four, with Gentry's three brothers, Walter, Will and Frank as managers.
The Gentry shows followed much the same pattern. There were military ponies, the Schneider dog family, the monkey fire department, a dog that walked a high wire, a high diving simian, the monkey horse doctor, and trained pigs and goats. As the shows grew, trained elephants were added.
But only animal actors, assisted by trainers took part in the performance. The show parades were marked by small, pony-drawn wagons in which dogs rode on pedestals, and monkeys manned fire wagons and Roman chariots. Because the performances were presented in one ring, the shows could set up on comparatively small lots which were then often available in the hearts of the business sections of metropolitan areas. Therefore, the Gentry shows invaded the largest cities in the land, exhibiting on as many as a dozen lots in scattered sections over a period of several weeks, and while doing so, garnering much favorable comment from the press.
Gentry advertised his show as "the only moral exhibition in the world under canvas. An educational festival patronized and endorsed by the elite of the land."
Through 1906, there were two or more Gentry shows on the road, and thereafter the single show was expanded until it was a full-fledged circus that was directed by its founder until 1916, when he retired from business.
But retirement was short, for H. B. Gentry accepted the management of the Sells-Floto circus and was owner of Sparks circus for a brief period, before he revived his original dog and pony show in 1931, traveling on 14 trucks.
Associated with him were his son, Robert, and his remaining brother, Frank, and he gathered together a staff that included several executives who worked for him back in the heyday of the Gentry regime. But the resurrection was ill-timed, coming as it did as the country was sinking deep into the throes of the depression and in 1934, the show disbanded.
Among the dog and pony show owners who became later prominently identified with the circus was Andrew Downie. He started his show in 1891 traveling by wagons and in 1892 his dog and pony show moved by boat. He operated the Walter L. Main railroad circus for seven years and in 1926, established Downie Brothers motorized circus which was operated until 1939. Leon Washburn, who had a dog and pony show in 1902, was engaged in the circus business before and after that venture. And George Sipe, who was owner and operator of Sipe, Dolan and Blake's Dog and Pony show, which was absorbed by the Gentrys, had Sipe's New Modern Circus on the road in later years.
There were a few prominent dog and pony shows in the 90's, but it was at the turn of the century, when the Gentry name was prominent throughout the outdoor show world, that dog and pony shows sprang up on every side. One of the larger attractions was the Otto Floto show, started in Denver, Colorado, in 1902 by Tammen and Bonfils, publishers of the Denver Post, as a 10-car enterprise.
Other dog and pony shows en route that season include Miller, Fuller, Howard and Blake; C. E. Cannon, Craft's, W. W. Cole's, Darling's Dashing's Rice's, Hall and Long's, and Hough and Houston, as well as Sipe, Dolan and Blake and Washburn's.
Some of these shows were only two-car railroad outfits, some were wagon caravans, with as few as five wagons carrying the entire show. None equalled the Gentry aggregation in size or prestige.
As the Gentrys went into the circus field, leaving the dog and pony realm to lesser lights, there were new titles coined every season. By 1913, the dog and pony show roster included Capt. J. G. Irwin's, Mead's, Perrine's, Alderfer's J. H. Boyer's, Morrow Bros., Fowler and Clark's, LeClair's, Deuel's, H. W. Freed's, Stone's, Richard Brothers', E. P. Barlow's and DeVaux's.
Some of these shows were operated by showmen who had previously had Uncle Tom's Cabin, minstrels and other tented enterprises on the road. With tents, seats and rolling stock available, it was not difficult to hire animal trainers and invest in a few dogs and ponies, with the result that these attractions were quickly started, and in many cases, as quickly liquidated.
By the 20's, dog and pony shows were few and far between. Among the titles recalled during that decade are Meyers Brothers, Robinson and Schindler's and Benbar Brothers.
Not since the demise of H. B. Gentry's second excursion into the dog and pony field, do we recall such an attraction having toured the country, although it might be assumed small troupes of dog and pony actors are still active in the outdoor amusement field, perhaps operating under dog and pony titles, but confining their engagements to small areas.
It is safe to say, however, that the dog and pony show which flourished many years, has gone the way of the circus parade and the wildest show, leaving only collection pieces in circus enthusiasts' possession to arouse memories of those interesting little exhibitions of animal intelligence and training.
Foreign tours of American circuses have provided the collector of circusiana a number of choice items. But these tours were principally confined to the 19th century and the first decade of the present century, so the collection pieces accruing from these invasions of foreign lands, are quite scarce and highly sought after today.
Most outstanding of the foreign tours was the five-year stay of the Barnum & Bailey Circus in European countries from the fall of 1897 through the 1902 season.
Several fine route books were inspired by this tour. Most notable is "Four Years in Europe with Barnum & Bailey," by Harvey L. Watkins, a member of the staff. This book recorded the principal events of the four seasons, with maps showing the routes, photographs of staff members and performers, and the complete personnel for the tour. It is to be regretted that the 1902 season was omitted.
The circus was transported to England at the close of the tenting season in America in 1897 and played an indoor winter engagement at the Olympia in London. The show took to the road on 67 specially built railroad cars in the spring of 1898 and spent two years on tour in Great Britain. This tour inspired another route book entitled "Tour of United Kingdom" by J. Austin, for the 1897-98 season, and J. W. Potts issued a route book for 1899, also entitled "Tour of the United Kingdom."
In 1899, the show moved to the continent for engagements in Germany and Austria-Hungary, and in 1902 spent most of the year in France.
When the circus returned to this country, James A. Bailey, owner of the show, who also controlled the Buffalo Bill Wild West show at that time, sent the latter to Europe in 1903 to use the same railroad equipment the Barnum & Bailey circus had moved on. The wild west show remained in Europe until 1906, and Charles E. Griffin was the author of "Four Years in Europe With Buffalo Bill," which is not a route book in the exact sense of the word, since it leaves out many details a route book ordinarily contains, but it does give a running account of the tour.
Maps of the Buffalo Bill show's annual tours abroad were issued in fold-up form with cloth covers embossed with the show's title and date.
While the Barnum & Bailey Circus was in Europe, numerous photographs were made, which have found their way to this country and are highly prized by collectors. One of the outstanding sets was made by Strumper & Company in Hamburg, Germany, during the 1900 season, showing the railroad cars being unloaded from steamers, the show set up in the city, and other subjects.
From a historical standpoint, foreign circuses invaded America long before any American circuses went abroad. The first circus seen in this country was operated by John Bill Ricketts, an Englishman in the early 1790's and he was followed by Lailson's, and Pepin & Breschard, French troupes, several years later.
First American circus to invade Europe was Richard Sands circus, directed by L. B. Lent in the 1840's, followed by Van Amburgh's show, headed by I. B. Titus in 1842. Rufus Welch took his circus to Mediterranian ports in 1843, and it appears these three shows remained abroad at least until 1850.
The largest find finest early day circus to go abroad was Seth B. Howes and Joseph Cushing's show which toured Great Britain in 1857, opening at Liverpool April 30. This show remained in Europe seven years and was so popular that at one time there were three Howes and Cushings circuses on tour in Britain.
Other shows playing Europe prior to the Barnum & Bailey invasion included the Great American, at the World's Fair in Paris in 1867, and Harry Clark's North American Circus in 1880-81.
James A. Bailey took Barnum & Bailey's show to London for the first time during the 1889-90 winter season for an engagement in the Olympia building, where the spectacle "Rome Under Nero," directed by Imre Kiralfy was presented, but the show returned to this country for the outdoor season in 1890, the same spec being a feature of the performance.
Australia and the Orient were fertile fields for American circuses for a number of years. Joseph A. Rowe took his circus to Honolulu in the spring of 1851, and after playing in Hawaiian Islands and South Sea islands, he landed in New Zealand in 1852, and went on to Australia, where the show was a great success, returning to America in 1854. He again toured Australia in 1858 and 1859, but his show was inferior and the trip was unsuccessful.
Other early circuses on tour in the Pacific area included: Wilson, Zoyer and Cooke, Australia, 1863; Ross & Carlo, Australia 1865; Chiarini's, China, Japan, and Dutch Indies, 1865-70; Worrall and Gardner, Tasmania and Australia, 1861; Hart's American Show, Bombay, 1868; and Abell's American Circus, Ceylon, 1870.
Of the larger circuses, James A. Bailey took Cooper & Bailey show to Australia in 1876, and after two seasons, played South American Countries in 1878 before returning home. W. W. Cole's Circus played Australia and New Zealand in 1880, and Sells Brothers Circus was in Australia during the winter season of 1891-92.
Route books for Cooper & Bailey circus while abroad in 1877, were issued by W. G. Crowley and are rare items today.
Small American circuses which toured Pacific countries in later years included Hamilton's in the East Indies in 1885; Flying Jordans in the Far East from 1898 to 1906, and Bud Atkinson's in Australia in 1912-13.
Many American circuses have toured Cuba, the West Indies, Central and South American countries through the years with varying successes, issuing programs, heralds, couriers and other pieces of printed matter that collectors cherish.
For the sake of records, we append a list of these circuses as compiled by Col. C. G. Sturtevant, noted circus historian:
Cuba - Joseph D. Palmer Circus, 1837, Rowe & Perez, 1837; Frank J. Howes, 1864; Dockrill & Leon, 1881; Martinho Lowande, 1881-83; St. Julian, 1907.
West Indies - Peter Coty's, 1838; Joseph Andrew Rowe, 1839; Banks, Archer & Rockwell, 1848-50; Harry Whitby's, 1850; John H. Murray, 1876 and 1879; Courtney & Sanford, 1870; Bell, Baldwin & Decker 1880-81; Howes & Cushing, 1877, Hall & DeHaven, 1884-85; Martinho Lowande, 1892; New York Circus, 1901; Shipp & Feltus, 1911-23.
Central America - Banks & Archer, 1846-49; McMahon & Clifton, 1885; Hawley & Loyal, 1887; Siegrist & Silbon, 1894.
South America - Welch & Mann, 1844; Aymar Brothers, 1859-76; Spaulding & Rogers, 1862-64; Rollande Brothers, 1865; H. M. Smith, 1868-69; Great North American, 1873; New York Circus, 1894; John Nelson, 1894-97; Ducrow & McArdle, 1897; Gardner & Donovan, 1887-1897.
Mexico - Orrin Brothers, many years up to 1906; Pete Conklin, 1866; Cooper & Jackson, 1882-83; Valinburg & Co., 1882; Prof. Wallace, 1883; John S. Hester, 1896; G. W. Hall, 1897-98; Howes London, 1887; Gentry Bros. 1901; Norris & Rowe, 1904-06; Otto Floto 1903; Sells-Floto 1906; Hagenbeck 1906-7; Alfredo Codona, 1929.
Several wild west shows also took a fling at foreign tours. Dr. Carver's went to Germany in 1890; Pawnee Bill to France and the Netherlands in 1894; Col. Frederick Cummins in England, 1908; and Miller Bros. 101 Ranch Show had opened in London in 1914 when world war I broke out and the show returned to America. Arlington and Chandler took a wild west show to South America in 1914.
People generally are aware of the fact that movie-making runs in cycles. There will be a flurry of "Gay 90" films from Hollywood, followed by a series of crime pictures, then biographical features, followed by a series of glorified westerns. Let one studio make a feature picture on one subject, and there is a scramble by its competitors to follow suit.
Right now, the circus cycle has come around again in the movie colony, and, according to Sheilah Graham's syndicated column, "at least a dozen circus stories are now grinding in the Hollywood writing mills."
The circus collector looks forward with interest to this impending output, for it means additions to his memorabilia - stills from the motion pictures, advertisng cards and posters, and in some cases, collectors' miniature circuses will go on display to plug the appearance of circus pictures at theatres in their home towns.
Outstanding among these pictures in the making, or soon to go into production is the tentatively titled "Greatest Show on Earth," a David Selznick super production, which will feature Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus. This picture, it is planned, will be filmed partially in Madison Square Garden next Spring, and will include in the cast the entire performing personnel of the show as well as some top-notch Hollywood thespians.
Another is "Jumbo" which will feature Frank Sinatra, the singer, and Gene Kelly, the dancer, in their third major movie appearance together. "Jumbo," as most circus fans know, is the stage production which Billy Rose brought to Broadway in 1935, and a year later featured in the Texas Centennial exposition at Fort Worth, a round circus building being erected especially for the presentation.
Universal has obtained the rights to "The Great Gus," a novel by Thomas Duncan, which concerns a circus owner, although the story tells more about his private life than it does the operation of his circus.
And Clyde Beatty has signed a contract with Nassour Studios to do a picture for Spring release with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. The contract calls for Beatty to furnish 25 lions and tigers. It is the wild animal trainer's first movie since he made "The Big Cage," from his book of the same name, for Universal, back in 1932.
Photographing the performance of the Ringling-Barnum show is not an innovation, inasmuch as the filming of the entire performance of the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus was effected in the second decade of the present century, when feature length pictures began to make their appearance. The picture was handled as a road show and billed and advertised like a circus performance.
The first cycle of circus pictures followed the advent of the talking movie in 1929. Charlie Chaplin made "The Circus," with a continental one-ring show as the background. Poodles Hanneford, the bareback rider, made "The Circus Kid," in 1928, with Frankie Darro, Joe Brown and Helene Costello in the cast.
The Al G. Barnes circus was the locale in 1929 for "Three Ring Marriage," and Owner Barnes appeared in several of the sequences. About the same time, Clara Bow appeared as a bareback rider in "Dangerous Curves."
Joe Cook, the stage comedian of note, who was featured on Broadway in the musical "Rain or Shine," starred in the movie version for Columbia in 1930, with Frank Capra directing, and Louise Fazenda and Willie Collier, Jr. in supporting roles.
Beatty's "Big Cage" in 1932, had Anita Page, Andy Devine, Wallace Ford, and Mickey Rooney in the cast, with Kurt Neuman doing the direction. "Swing High," was another circus picture of the early 30's, produced by Pathe, with William Lagon, the giant, in the cast, which featured Fred Scott and Helen Twelvetrees. Chester Conklin was a clown.
Henry L. Gates' serial, "Here Comes the Band Wagon," which ran first in Woman's World, and was later published in book form, was a Paramount picture of the early 30's.
Mae Marsh was the heroine of an early-day silent version of "Polly of the Circus," which was remade as a sound picture in 1932 with Marion Davies featured. Clark Gable played the role of the parson, and the Flying Codonas, Alfredo, Lalo and Vera Bruce, made the aerial trapeze scenes.
The Al G. Barnes Circus provided the background for another circus picture, made in January, 1935, and titled "Charlie Chan at the Circus," one of the Chinese detective's series. The same year, British International released for distribution in this country, "Star of the Circus," from the stage play, "Star", produced in Budapest.
A picture which brought forth much comment in the public press, favorable and otherwise, was 20th Century's "The Mighty Barnum," with Wallace Beery in the title role. The picture had Bamum's partner, a "Bailey Walsh," a fictitious character, played by Adolphe Menjou, who was much unlike any of the partners associated with Barnum during his circus career.
The Marx Brothers devoted their talents to "A Day at the Circus," produced in 1939 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer with Mervyn Le Roy as director.
Still another circus picture, which had much atmosphere of the big tops of the early 1800's, was "Chad Hanna," produced in 1940 from the Saturday Evening Post serial, "Red Wagons Rolling," by Walter Edmonds. The book was also titled "Chad Hanna."
In addition to these and other feature pictures, there have been many movie shorts of outstanding circus acts and shows produced for general release. The motion picture camera's slow motion device has made such features especially interesting, due to the ability of the lens to capture in slow motion, the somersaults, pirouettes and other evolutions of the acrobat and aerialist, which the eye is unable to fully appreciate in normal motion.
The only disturbing factor in the production of circus movies is the frequent errors of direction and production in associating the circus with the carnival and other types of amusements, which are distinct and different from the circus, the exhibition in the movies of daredevil acts without nets, which circus fans know are never so presented in real life, and the violation of many circus codes for the benefit of an exaggerated plot.
Several West coast showmen have storehouses of circus wagon, tents and other equipment, maintained almost exclusively for motion picture rentals, so many circus scenes appear in the movies through the years and this equipment, for the most part is authentic.
Likewise, in many pictures, circus people are employed as technical advisors, and the trend seems to be among directors, toward the elimination of objectionable distortions of circus life in motion picture treatment of stories of the big tops.
The little city of Hugo, Oklahoma, (pop. 6,000) calls itself "the Sarasota of the Southwest" and well it may, for there is more circus equipment and animals assembled there during the winter months than in any city or town in the United States, with the exception of the Florida winter quarters of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Hugo became the home of four circuses because among its citizens was a banker-grocer, Yemen Pratt, whose hobby is the circus. And on March 16, Hugo observed its fourth annual Circus Roundup day with the customary festivities.
Pratt began training horses and ponies on his large cattle ranch, south of Hugo, 15 years ago, but it was not until 1944 that he realized his ambition to own his own circus, which he called Hugo Brothers after his home town.
In the meantime, however, he had trained many animals, participated in several amateur circuses, and became widely known to circus people throughout the country.
Near the end of one season, he induced the Al G. Kelly-Miller Bros. Circus, which had been wintering in Mena, Ark., to come to Hugo and that was the beginning of the building of a circus community.
Obert Miller and his sons, Kelly and Dores, owners of the show, purchased a farm east of Hugo, which has become the permanent home of their circus, and this winter, they framed a second show to be known as Cole and Walters Circus, with Herb Walters, a veteran showman, at the helm.
Meanwhile, Bob Stevens, who was concessions manager for the Al G. Kelly-Miller Bros. Circus, for a number of years, started his own circus, buying a winter quarters location south of Hugo near the Vernon Pratt farm.
Thus, Hugo has four circuses - Al G. Kelly-Miller Bros., Cole and Walters, Stevens Bros, and Hugo Bros. A carnival, a medicine show and a number of concessioners round oat the showmen's colony in Hugo.
Mrs. Gladys Brewer, newspaper woman, conceived the idea of a Circus Roundup patterned after a similar event in Gainesville, Texas, some four years ago, and it has since been held annually.
In the beginning, the Roundup was held in the fall to compliment the many showmen who call Hugo home, and who spend much money with Hugo merchants for equipment, supplies and repairs during the winter months.
Circus acts were assembled from all over the country for the event, and the circus owners and their employees were guests and witnessed the performances. Gene Autry was ringmaster for the first Roundup, and Joe E. Brown served in that capacity another year. This year, it was the Rev. William Alexander, noted Oklahoma City minister and candidate for the United States senator, who did the honorary ringmaster's chores.
Because the greater part of the personnel of each of the circuses leaves Hugo in the fall at the close of the season, the time of the Roundup was changed in 1949 to the Spring of the year, when people are assembling at the shows' winter quarters for the new season.
At the same time, it was decided that the circuses that winter in Hugo, should furnish the entertainment. Merchants last year bought out the Al G. Kelly-Miller Bros, circus for two free performances on Roundup day. This year, the Stevens Bros, circus gave the show and an admission was charged to benefit Hugo's $300,000 hospital.
A feature this year was an old-time medicine show which entertained the crowd awaiting the parade on downtown streets, the first time since 1916 that a medicine show had appeared downtown in Hugo.
In addition to the circus performances and the parade in which bands from numerous cities and towns participate, along with colorful circus wagons, cages and lead stock, a street dance is an annual feature.
Because so many show people winter in Hugo, a Hugo Showman's club was organized a couple of years ago, and it has down town club-rooms where the showfolks gather to entertain themselves and reminisce over their experience through the years.
This year's celebration, as has been the case in the past, was attended by scores of circus owners, executives and performers, from all over the Southwest, some 10 different circuses, or nearly half of the number touring the United States, being represented at the gathering.
Circus fans attend also, Paul Van Pool of Joplin, Mo., state chairman for the Circus Fans Association in his state, having been present for each of the four celebrations, armed with his motion picture and still cameras to record the event on film.
Hugo citizens, who were somewhat aloof when the circus folk first began to gather in their city some years ago, have warmed up to the show people amazingly in recent years. They have come to recognize that the showfolks not only spend a great deal of money in their midst, but they engage in civic affairs, make good citizens, and their winter quarters are a magnet which attracts hundreds of visitors to Hugo each season to view the animals and to see the circuses building for a new season to come.
Thus, it is not unusual nowadays to see a herd of elephants going down main street, en route to the railroad station for loading, as the 20-odd elephants of the various circuses wintering in Hugo, play many winter dates throughout the United States. Furthermore, garages spend a good part of their time in winter months working on circus trucks and wagons, while trailer camps spotted about the city house scores of house trailers in which the show-folk spend the winter.
Truly, Hugo is the "Sarasota of the Southwest."
CHS webmaster J. Griffin, last modified June 2006.