Item: 1926 Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey Circus Photo Album Depression
Sold For: $2,730.99
Bids: 31
Date: Jun 18, 2012
Auction: Ebay
Seller: walnutts
Description and Image By: walnutts
Exceptionally rare and simply amazing, 1926, Semi-Professional Snapshot Photograph Album of 62, 7” by 5” photographs documenting the 1926 Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus taken by a member of the cast or management featuring both behind the scenes and performances “under the big top”!!! This outstanding Photo Album measures approx. 11 1/2″ by 7″ and contains some of THE most wonderful, Depression Era Circus Photographs we have ever seen. Many of these Photos are not only outstanding Circus Images but cross over into the realm of Art Photography rivaling the work of such renowned artists as Margaret Bourke White, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, and Gordon Parks.
Each of the Photographs in this Album are mounted one to a page and are identified with beautiful, calligraphic text written in white ink below the Image on the black paper Album Page. The Album begins with an image of a Map of the United States on which has been marked the 1926 Route Map of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. This Image is titled “Season’s Route 1926”. The RB&B&B Circus began the 1926 season with performances at the New Madison Square Garden – the Garden had been completed in December of 1925 and the initial photographs in the Album depict the Garden under construction and the Grand Parade within the Garden that kicked off the Circus’s performance. What follows are a simply amazing collection of original 7” by 5” Photographs documenting the set up of the Circus Big Top, the cast of the Circus, the events and acts of the Circus performances under the Big Top and finally the breakdown of the Circus and the loading of the Circus train for the next stop on the Route. We are hard pressed to describe the content of each of these fantastic Images. The description would literally go on and on. Our first thought was that we should sell the Photos individually – many of these Images would sell in the $200 to $300 or more range. In the end we decided to keep the Album intact as it represents a one-of-a-kind, important historical record or the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus at the depth of the Great depression. Included here are Photographs of the crew setting up the Big Top, a portrait of the head of the Advance Crew and another of the Advance Railroad Car. There are numerous cast portraits taken on what appear to be special occasions including “Nelson’s Birthday Party” and “Con Colleano’s Wedding Party”. There are dozens of images of the great Circus Performers appearing with the RB&B&B Circus in 1926 including Con Colleano and his family, Frank Miller’s Dancing Horses, McCracken’s School Horses, The Siamese Juggler, Do Do the Clown, Los Alvarez, Miss Starks Horse Act, Christenson’s 24 Horses, Loyals’ Riding Dog, The Snake Charmer, “Statues” (mime troupe), Pallenberg’s Bears, The Meers, Bertha Beeson, The Boxing Kangaroo, Anderson’s Perch, the Picchiani Acrobatic Group, Miss Leitzel, loyals’ Miniature Horses, etc. The final pages of the Album depict the breakdown of the tent and the loading of the railroad cars. Of special artistic interest are the photographs of the Hart Brothers Clowns – in white face and as Jewish / Russian Dancers, the troupe of “Little People” known as Casino’s Midgets dressed as Ellis Island Immigrants and Pete Mardo’s “Sure Winners” – performers costumed as both jockey’s and race horses. There is a wonderful photograph of John Ringling with Grace Coolidge as well as a number of images of various Circus management folks. We have included scans of 30 or more of these fantastic Photographs below and ask that those interested in this fantastic Album please take the time to view this awesome collection of early 20th century Circus Images. The Album is disbound and when we acquired it it took a bit of work to reassemble the pages in the order that the photographer originally created it but we believe that we have reassembled it as it was originally put together. The Album is “as found“ and appears to be near complete lacking only a single Photograph that was titled “Feeding the snake” and appears to have been associated with the portrait of the Snake Charmer. All but 3 of the Photographs are in excellent condition – the Photo of the Snake Charmer has horizontal creases that have caused breaks in the sheet, a photo of the raising of the tent poles which has wear to the right hand edge and a photo of an editorial cartoon drawing dep[icting “Martian Astronomers” looking down on earth and viewing the RB&B&B Circus which has become detached from the album page causing chips at each of the four corners. Otherwise the remaining 59 photographs are very well preserved and in excellent condition. In addition to the 62, 7” by 5” Photographs, there are 6 smaller Photos which are mounted on a single album leaf. This exceptionally rare and simply fantastic 1926, Semi-Professional Snapshot Photograph Album of 62, 7” by 5” photographs documenting the 1926 Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus is offered here, as always, without reserve and with the confidence that it will attract the serious attention that it justly deserves