FROM THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE GLOBE

Jennifer Lemmer Posey, Assistant Curator, Circus Museum

JUN 3 – SEP 14, 2015

Tibbals Learning Center, Poster Gallery

“Come see what other lands produce!” boldly proclaimed an 1881 ad for W.W. Cole’s Tremendous Circus and Menagerie. The rich and varied collection of circus advertising that is housed in the collections of The Ringling Circus Museum offers a remarkable opportunity to explore the ways in which circuses have shaped their place in American culture. Among the most significant roles the circus played in the 19th and 20th centuries was that of transmitter of knowledge about the world beyond American shores. With bombastic bravado, circus impresarios like Cole and his contemporaries, P.T. Barnum and the Ringling brothers, promised audiences “a universal fair of gigantic wonders gathered from the four quarters of the Earth.”

The ad for the Cole show urged readers to “Read our bills! Take the map and trace up our travels!” In this single newspaper ad printed for the town of Chillicothe, Missouri, the significant connection that the American circus has always made between exoticism and advertising comes to life. Coincidentally, the ad’s reference to a map relates directly to a poster in the Tibbals Collection.

W.W. Cole’s Great Circus, Menagerie & Congress of Living Wonders, The Marvel of Many Nations documents for the curious public the route that the show traveled, circling the Pacific Ocean during the winter of 1880-1881. The show boasted “every land and clime searched for novelties,” implicitly promising audiences that it would share the wonders of the faraway lands it had visited. The images surrounding the globe illustrated such enticing wonders as the Devils’ Dance, Human Tigers, and other wonders from the Pacific region.

By the late 19th century, the rise of the photographic medium had already given Americans a revolutionary ability to see the world without ever leaving home. Travel photography illustrated the wonders of Greece, Egypt, India, and China, and could be quickly disseminated through a variety of publications. The circus could do one better – bring the sights, sounds, and smells of the exotic world to small-town America. “Genuine Bedouin Arabs,” Chang-Tu-Sing, the Chinese Giant, and other “Strange and Savage People” could be found under the billowing tents of the circus.

Along with people, circuses delivered lavish productions meant to portray the wonders of foreign lands. Spectacles like The Wizard Prince of Arabia and The Durbar of Delhi used Orientalist themes, draped in extravagant wardrobe and props to momentarily transport audiences beyond the big top to the exotic Far East. Even animal features played upon the show’s ability to offer fascinating new experiences, from Pawah, “the Sacred White Elephant of Burma” to John Daniel II, a gorilla from the “Wilds of Africa.”

In American circus posters the presentation of people as foreign and exotic was often a supplemental attraction to their act, like “Martinho Lowande, the Great Brazilian Rider.” It also could be the dominant feature that made them worth advertising like W.C. Coup’s “Japanese Equestrians and Gymnasts,” whose individual identities and talents seemed to be distractions from their exotic presence.

The printed advertising that was the dominant media for circuses of the 19th and early 20th centuries offers a fascinating glimpse at how American attitudes slowly evolved, becoming increasingly informed and interested in the cultures and experiences of people from around the globe.

Circus Celebrity Night

Jan 24

Historic Asolo Theater

The Ringling honors members of the circus world at the annual Circus Celebrity Night awards ceremony in The Historic Asolo Theater. The event recognizes the men and women who have shown extraordinary dedication and remarkable talent in the performance and production of the circus arts. Over the years such greats as Karl Wallenda, LaNorma Fox, Emmett Kelly, Lou Jacobs, Dolly Jacobs, Bello Nock, and Nik Wallenda have been honored as Circus Celebrities.