The cover was plain black with a tipped-on picture.

Searching for cross-collectibles can uncover interesting items for your circus collection. In my last article titled “Advertisers, Just Like the American Public, Loved the Circus,” I highlighted circus-themed advertising by General Electric, Ivory Soap, Kodak Film and other major American companies. It brought to mind an item in my own circus collection that is unknown to many collectors.

In 1963 the Champion Paper Company began producing a series of paper sample books in their Imagination Series. Paper companies provided paper sample books to printers, advertising agencies and others to demonstrate the various uses for their products. The Champion Imagination Series continued until 1986 with a total of 26 different books. Each book had a different theme—“The West,” “Fire,” “Boats,” “The Man in the Moon,” “Safari” . . . themes that would spark the imagination. Book No. 11 was titled “Circus” and contained many classic circus images.

Each spread in the booklet had words describing paper and printing techniques. As an example, the text inside the cover said: “The cover of Imagination 11 has a photographic album look that suggests the nostalgia of circus days past. It consists of Champion Papers Colorcast® Drum Finished Litho, Black-on-black, laminated to Champion Papers Carnival® Cover, Antique Finish, White/ 90lb. The tipped-on photograph is reproduced in two colors on Champion Papers Carnival® Cover, Antique Finish, White/65 lb.” Similar descriptions were on each spread.

The tiger image was taken from an early Ringling Bros. World’s Greatest Shows poster. The art was later used by the combined Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The black bars on the left were die-cut and folded open to reveal text that described the circus coming to town.

Text on this page told about the wide-eyed child in all of us and our love of the circus. The ticket reproduced on this page was for the Great National Circus which toured America in the mid to late 1800s.

This painting by Robert Weaver was titled “Madison Square Garden, 1967.” It was accompanied James Whitcomb Riley’s poem, “The Circus-Day Parade.”

The next two spreads were titled “It All Began With Barnum,” and in just a few paragraphs explained the metamorphosis from Barnum to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey.

Posters, artwork and photos of various attractions were included with the text.

Clowns were the subject of the next section. The first spread was die-cut on the right page with a laughing mouth in the opening. When the page was turned it revealed the mouth belonged to a laughing woman.

Opposite the woman were brief bios of four clowns—The Great Grimaldi, Dan Rice, Tom Belling and Emmett Kelly.

Circus motion pictures were in the next section. Two double-sided inserts slid up and down with still frames from circus films being revealed in the die-cut opening.

Circus artwork by Calder, Lautrec, Renoir and Chagall was in the next section.

A beautiful sunburst wagon wheel from a circus parade wagon dominated the left page. A circus toy was on the right.

Stunning images by famed photographer Richard Avedon were on the last two spreads.

The final blue page gave descriptions and credits for the images shown.

So how do you find a copy of the Champion Paper Imagination 11 book? It’s not easy, but if you are able to find one, the price isn’t unreasonable. In February 201,1 a set of eight different Champion Papers Imagination books, which included the Circus book, sold on eBay for $32.99. As I am writing this article, a single copy of the Circus book is being offered on Amazon for $35.

Larry Kellogg is a Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels as The Lone Ranger and Tonto. The Lone Ranger has been thrilling fans with his heroic exploits for nearly 80 years.

One of the most beloved of fictional western characters, the Lone Ranger has been thrilling fans with his heroic exploits for nearly 80 years. Created by radio station owner George W. Trendle and writer Fran Striker, the character made his debut via a radio program broadcast from Trendle’s Detroit, Mich., station WXYZ on Jan. 30, 1933. Conceived as a cowboy variation on vigilante characters like Zorro, the Lone Ranger is actually John Reid, the only survivor of a group of six Texas Rangers (of whom the captain was older brother Dan) ambushed by the outlaw Butch Cavendish gang. Shot and critically wounded, Reid is fortuitously found by a Native American man, Tonto, who realizing he is the same person who saved his own life years prior, tends to John’s injuries.

Upon regaining his health, Reid makes a vow to bring both the Cavendish band and any other lawbreakers he comes across to justice and dons a domino-like mask cut from the vest of his slain brother to prevent anyone from learning his true identity. After Tonto offers to aid him in his quest, the pair comes across a gored white stallion which they nurse back to health. Naming the steed Silver, the masked rider and his companion ride off to tackle Cavendish and help restore law and order to the Old West.

An immediate hit, “The Lone Ranger” captured the public’s imagination like few radio programs before it and managed to draw in listeners of all ages who anxiously awaited the next installment to hear the rousing strains of its theme music—the William Tell Overture—and the Ranger’s shout of “Hi-yo, Silver! Away!” On the airwaves for more than 20 years, the stalwart program ended its run in September of 1954 after more than 2,950 episodes. But the success of the character went much further than the radio show; it lead to the release of two late-1930s movie serials—the eponymously titled “The Lone Ranger” (1938) and “The Lone Ranger Rides Again” (1939), the fondly remembered 1949-57 television series starring Clayton Moore as the masked hero and Jay Silverheels as Tonto, two late-1950s spinoff feature films, “The Lone Ranger” (1956) and “The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold” (1958) also starring Moore and Silverheels, as well as various animated series, a 1981 big-budget film and even a 2003 WB TV movie.

With the success of these projects, a flurry of Lone Ranger-inspired collectibles would wind up flooding the market, helping to add to the character’s already immense popularity. From the 1930s to the present, hundreds of different items based upon (or adorned with images of) the Ranger, Tonto and their trusty steeds—Silver and Scout—have been released. These include rings, cap guns, badges, tin lunchboxes, wallets, clothing, statues, toy playsets, dolls, comic books, trading cards, children’s novels, action figures, colouring books, plastic model kits, puzzles, Halloween costumes, collector’s plates, Christmas tree ornaments and much more.

Gold Key Comics’ The Lone Ranger, No. 9 (January, 1968) and The Lone Ranger, No. 7 (2007), Dynamite Entertainment. Dynamite is currently running a new series of Lone Ranger comics.

Among some of the earliest items was a 1938 board game manufactured by Parker Brothers called, simply enough, The Lone Ranger Game. Featuring colorful box artwork of the Ranger wearing his very early outfit of red shirt and black pants, the game came with two spinners (one for number of spaces to move; the other for what direction to head in) and several mini Ranger-on-horse pieces that were needed to try and capture a bandit “hiding out in the mountains”—depicted by colorful illustrations on the board. Also available that year was the Hi-Yo Silver The Lone Ranger Target Game by Louis Marx & Company. Featuring a gun with suction-cup darts, it also included a 16-by-27-inch tin target board with beautifully lithographed images of the Lone Ranger and Silver and various targets framed within his lasso.

Other items, like a pair of Lone Ranger and Tonto stuffed dolls by the Dollcraft Novelty Company, were marketed in 1938. With their beautifully-made composition heads, hands and feet, and highly-detailed cloth costumes and weapons, these dolls remain highly sought-after collectables. The late-1930s and early ’40s would also see the release of several children’s novels in Whitman Publishing’s beloved Big Little Books line; and in 1947, the Esquire Novelty Company would put out a Lone Ranger Cap Gun and Holster Set.

Tonto and Lone Ranger action figures, made by Gabriel following the release of “Legend of the Lone Ranger” (1980).

Promotional items or “premiums” were also big throughout this period, with rings, “pocket-sized” comic books and small toys given away or offered as mail-away items in boxes of cereal and other products. Cheerios offered especially nice premiums like a Lone Ranger Movie Film Ring (shaped to somewhat resemble one of the masked man’s silver bullets) which came with a tiny strip of 8-millimeter film that was viewable by looking through a small lens on the end of the ring. Another great Cheerios item (or, in this case, items) was a set of nine different “Frontier Town” cardboard buildings, issued in 1947. The buildings were printed separately on the backs of the cereal boxes and could be cut out and constructed to make an elaborate playset. Kids could also mail away 10 cents to get four different maps for use with the set.

During the 1950s, Lone Ranger dress-up costumes, cap guns and toy rifles were very popular items for boys, with numerous versions made available for sale. Meanwhile, Whitman continued to release various items, such as coloring books and frame-tray puzzles, while Dell Comics would put out comic books featuring colorful photo covers of Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels. In the ’60s, Gold Key released its own line of Lone Ranger comics (though many were merely reprints of stories from the Dell series). Among the most desirable items from this era, however, were the Ideal Toy Company’s two Captain Action Lone Ranger Uniform costume sets: one featured the red shirt and black pants; the other, his more familiar blue outfit, as well as a costume set of Tonto. For those unfamiliar with the line, Captain Action was a 12-inch action figure whose identity could be altered by re-dressing it with other costume sets (consisting of a mask, highly detailed outfit, weapons and other accessories) that were sold separately. Extremely rare, the Lone Ranger sets, along with the uniforms produced for TV and comic book characters like Batman, Spider-Man, the Green Hornet, Captain America and The Phantom, can command hundreds of dollars apiece nowadays when found in complete, mint condition.

The Lone Ranger Reissue Uniform and Equipment Set for a Captain Action doll, produced by Playing Mantis (2000).

A 3-inch Tonto PVC figurine, made by Palladium, 1990.

Throughout the 1970s, numerous products would continue to make their way to store shelves—most of it courtesy of Gabriel Toys. The company, which began putting out Lone Ranger toys in 1973, would become closely identified with the property by producing a plethora of high-quality 10-inch figures, plus scale horses and playsets for use with them. Along with figures of the Ranger, Tonto and Butch Cavendish, kids were also offered such characters as Sheriff Tex Dawson and the villainous El Lobo, as well as “disguise” sets for them. Other memorable ’70s items included two plush dolls (one being a 24-inch talking version; the other a 19-inch non-talking one) released by the famed Mego Corporation in 1974; a set of Lone Ranger and Tonto water guns also put out that same year by Durham Industries; and a 45 RPM Book-and-Record set released by Peter Pan Records in 1977.

With the release of the 1981 film, “The Legend of the Lone Ranger” starring Klinton Spilsbury as the Lone Ranger and Michael Horse as Tonto, Gabriel once again put out a slew of figures (but this time in the 3 ¾-inch scale and made popular by Kenner’s phenomenally successful “Star Wars” toy line) as well as several horses. As a nod perhaps to old-time cereal promotions, Gabriel offered their own premium—a free cardboard “Western Town” playset—when kids mailed away the proof-of-purchase for any four figures or horses. Other collectables from the film included a board game from Milton Bradley, a set of Viewmaster reels from GAFF, a soundtrack album of composer John Barry’s score from MCA Records, a storybook from Random House and a tie-in novelization by Ballantine Books. Cheerios was even back with another free mail-away promotion obtainable with three proofs-of-purchase: the “Deputy Kit” which included a mask, badge, poster, booklet and “Deputy Certificate.”

The Lone Ranger Keepsake Christmas Ornament, produced by Hallmark Cards, Inc., 2000.

Since the early 1980s, Lone Ranger items have appeared with much less frequency; but every so often, a new toy, comic book series or collectible is produced. Some of the more recent examples include a reissue of the Captain Action costume by Playing Mantis in 2000, Christmas ornaments from Hallmark in 2000 and Carlton Cards in 2003, a Lone Ranger and Silver Bobber figure and cookie jar by Vandor in 2003, both a 2006 and 2008 comic book line from Dynamite Entertainment and just released this year: a 14-inch high 75th Anniversary Statue from Dynamic Forces.

Through eight decades of radio, television, film and a mountain of merchandise, the Lone Ranger and Tonto have gained millions of fans worldwide and the characters have become revered icons of popular culture. There is currently another Long Ranger comic being published by Dynamite and, if the planned big-budget, Disney-backed film starring Johnny Depp indeed comes to pass, there’s sure to be renewed interest in both the characters and collectables inspired by them for many more years to come.

James Burrell writes about film, pop culture and collectibles for a variety of publications and online sites, including Rue Morgue and Canuxploitation! A life-long collector of vintage science-fiction, fantasy and monster-themed toys and movie memorabilia, he resides in Toronto, Canada.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Adding circus advertising to your searches is an easy way to bulk up collection.

A heated Big Top was touted in this ad as a major feature of the 1939 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. General Electric Oil Furnaces provided heat through overhead ducts. These were obviously the same ducts that were used to air cool the tent in the summer. The clown in the ad was Gigon Polidor.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s famous sad-faced clown Emmett Kelly was featured in a 1949 advertisement for Bell Telephone Company. Kelly was so famous that he also appeared in ads for B.F. Goodrich, Union Carbide, Pan American Coffee, Ansco Film and Kodak Film.

Cigarette advertisements often featured movie and music personalities and equally famous circus performers. Ringling’s Norma Fox, better known as La Norma, is seen in this 1950s ad for Camels. The ad appeared in the Ringling’s souvenir program as well as national magazines. Aerialist Antoinette Concello, Mario & Hugo Zacchini and Equestrienne Dorothy Herbert also appeared in Camel ads.

Merle Evans was bandmaster for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey for almost 40 years. His picture wasn’t used in this ad, only his famous name. The photo shows trombonist Andrew Grainger who was one of the nearly 30 musicians in the 1951 Big Show Band.

Even images of circus entrepreneurs have been used to advertise products. John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company illustrated their 1950s advertisement with P.T. Barnum and the headline “He appealed to the kid in all of us.” When I started my circus collection as a boy, this was the first item I pasted in my scrapbook.

Charles Ringling’s yacht, Zumbrota, was the subject of this 1919 magazine advertisement. Charles was one of the five Ringling Brothers. The ad said: “The Zumbrota was built by Charles L. Seabury & Company for Charles Ringling, of circus fame.” The Zumbrota yacht is still being used today by Adventures at Sea in Marina del Rey, California.

John Ringling North, nephew of the five Ringling Brothers, appeared in many advertisements in the 1940s and 1950s. Products using his image included Alfred of New York Shirts, Bromo Seltzer, Rolex Watches, Thom McAn Shoes and this ad for Rheingold Beer.

Advertisements with circus subject matter fall in to two broad topics. There are those that feature actual circus performers or circuses as seen above. Of course, they are the most popular, but those with generic circus graphics are also collectible.

In the 1930s Beech-Nut Gum and Candies toured the country with six miniature circuses housed in custom-built busses. These two magazines promoted the traveling exhibit. Illustrator Frederic Stanley created the artwork on the ad to the left which featured Rosie Rieffenach, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey bareback rider. The ad on the right uses generic circus art and is not as desirable.

This close-up view of a portion of the ad shows the Beech-Nut Bus. My sister made a note in her diary that on May 4, 1939 she went uptown (Council Grove, Kansas) to spend the evening watching the Beech-Nut Circus. Unfortunately I wasn’t born yet so I missed it! The last remaining bus is owned by the New York State Museum. The Summer 2006 museum magazine, Legacy, published an article about the bus.

This is one of the better advertisements featuring generic circus artwork. The Ivory Soap ad was published in 1913.

Some of these ads ran in the souvenir programs printed by the circuses, but the same ads were often seen in the popular magazines of the day—Saturday Evening Post, Life, Look, and Colliers—to name a few. Most of these ads can be found for $5 to $10. A few bring higher prices.

Larry Kellogg is a Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Christie’s will be holding an exclusive sale of Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry from Dec. 3 to Dec. 17. Some 950 pieces will be available for bidding on its online gallery.

A selection of 2,000 items from what some call “The Crown Jewels of Hollywood,” Elizabeth Taylor’s incredible collection, will hit the Christie’s auction block this December. A special, online-only component of the sale includes more than 500 pieces of fine and costume jewelry for the online-only sale, including exceptional Art Deco-era jewelry and an array of signed jewels by Cartier, Chanel, Christian Dior, and Ruser, among others.

The sale will run from Dec. 3 to Dec. 17. While Christie’s has offered bidding online since 2006, this is the first time the auction house will host an exclusive online addition to a private collection sale.

The entire Collection of Elizabeth Taylor sale mirrors the incredible offering of top designer gowns, coats, capes, handbags and designer goods that will be featured in the live auction.

The 33.19-carat Krupp Diamond set in a ring.

The pear-shaped, 69.41-carat Taylor-Burton Diamond.

I met Elizabeth Taylor twice, once at an event in Roanoke, Va., where she spoke about her film, the children’s fantasy, “The Blue Bird,” from 1971. The second time was when she spoke at a Belk’s store in Charlotte, N.C., which still sells an Elizabeth Taylor “White Diamonds” line of cosmetics.

Both times she was impeccably dressed, although not quite so lavishly at the Virginia event, which she attended with then-husband and U.S. Senator from Virginia, John Warner.

She traveled to the Belk promotions with her small white dog, which she petted while responding with quick wit to audience questions. She wore a necklace with a diamond big enough to sink a canoe.

The 50-carat La Peregrina Pearl had once been owned by Queen Mary I of England.

Richard Burton—her fourth and fifth husband—said when he met her in 1952, “She was unquestionably gorgeous. I can think of no other word to describe a combination of plentitude, frugality, abundance, tightness. She was lavish. She was a dark unyielding largesse.”

Taylor loved jewelry passionately. At her death, her jewelry collection was estimated to be worth $150 million. Burton gave her three of her most famous jewels, including the 33.19-carat Krupp Diamond, which she wore every day as a ring. He also gave her the pear-shaped Taylor-Burton Diamond, a whopping 69.41-carat gem.

Burton presented her with the 50-carat La Peregrina Pearl as a Valentine’s gift in 1969. The pearl had once been owned by Queen Mary I of England, who ruled from 1553-1558.

Taylor wrote a book about her jewelry collection, “My Love Affair with Jewelry,” published in 2002

The Elizabeth Taylor diamond (33.19 carats, D color, potentially internally flawless) has an estimated value of $2,500,000-$3,500,000.

Taylor wrote a book about her jewelry collection, “My Love Affair with Jewelry,” published in 2002 with photographs by John Bigelow Taylor (no relation to Elizabeth, but a specialist in jewelry photography).

In addition to jewelry, Taylor’s gowns and accessories always commanded attention. She gave some of the gowns and costumes from her film career to Debbie Reynolds, and some were sold during the recent auction of items from Reynold’s extensive collection.

Items up for bid in the online-only collection that starts Dec. 3, include:

• A gold, sapphire and Mississippi pearl hummingbird brooch by Ruser, valued at between $2,000 and $3,000.
• A multi-gem ring by Chaumet valued at up to $500.
• A coral and tigers eye fish bracelet by Van Cleef & Arpels valued at from $1,000 to $1,500.

Costume jewelry up for sale includes:

• A Navajo silver and turquoise squash blossom necklace valued at $400 to $600.
• An Art Deco Bracelet by Jac expected to bring from $100 to $200.

Considering the way prices have exceeded estimates at auctions of celebrity related items in the last few years, some of these prices are sure to be exceeded.

On the other hand, the really expensive jewels up for sale offline include The Elizabeth Taylor diamond, rectangular-cut diamond ring of 33.19 carats, D color, potentially internally flawless, with an estimated value of $2,500,000-$3,500,000.

Allan Maurer is a Worthologist who specializes in Hollywood and movie memorabilia and the publisher of the web site BestFilmFests.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

This Estey Eastlake-style organ was made circa 1890 and is of a type generic to the North Eastern U.S. and Canada. While why may be loved, and this isn’t even taking its sound into account, they don’t sell for more than $200.

The next item in this series of Unloved Antiques is the 19th-century “pump” or “reed” organ, or the Estey “Eastlake-style”* organ, to be more precise. The reed organ was once an important domestic instrument, offering a cheap alternative to the ever-popular family piano while, at the same time, providing a suitable instrument for accompanying family hymns on a Sunday. It was the product of a world-wide industry that turned out hundreds of thousands of organs a year at its peak.

According to old catalogs produced by the Estey company, it was founded in 1846—located in Brattleboro, Vt.—and was one of the best-known and longest-lasting of these organ companies, remaining in production until 1960. It was also one of the most prodigious, as in its 114-year existence, Estey produced some 520,000 reed organs. Like piano makers of the time, Estey numbered its products with serial numbers—either stamped on the back of the organ or on an internal sticker—so if you have one of these Esteys, you can get a rough idea about when it was made. For example, an organ from 1850 was stamped “400,” and by 1870, the numbers were up to 24,000. In 1880 it produced its 100,000th organ and in 1890 it turned out No. 221,000.

Demand for reed or pump organs dropped off after the First World War, and most ended up stored in back rooms and barns. Demand for them for is still very modest, and many were often converted into desks or bars by antique dealers looking to make them a more marketable item.

In the current market, values for them in “as is” condition at auction is still very modest and depends on who wants one and how bad. Of the 55 Estey Eastlake organs I’ve seen come up for auction over the last couple of years, 17 failed to even meet their modest reserves, while the remaining 35 sold for less than $200. Only three sold for more than $200.

———————————

*Charles Eastlake was an English Designer who wrote a design book entitled “Hints on Household Taste” in 1868. In this influential book, he rejected the ornate decorations favored in earlier Victorian furniture and espoused a more simple design featuring incised rectangular lines sparingly accented with machined forms and varying wood types for decoration.

———————————

Previous “Unloved Antiques” articles:

• Unloved Antiques: ‘Limited Edition’ Collectors Plates
• Unloved Antiques: Singer Sewing Machines
• Unloved Antiques: Decorator Prints
• Unloved Antiques: Commemorative Whiskey Decanters
• Unloved Antiques: ‘Bronze’ Flatware
• Unloved Antiques: 1847 Rogers Brothers Flatware
• Unloved Antiques: Hummel Knockoffs
• Unloved Antiques: National Geographic Magazines
• Unloved Antiques: Dragonware
• Unloved Antiques: 19th Century Religious Prints
• Unloved Antiques: Depression Glass
• Unloved Antiques: Stradivarius-Style Violins

Mike Wilcox, of Wilcox & Hall Appraisers, is a Worthologist who specializes in Art Nouveau and the Arts and Craft movement.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

A violin with a label stating: “Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno, which was used a part of a marketing strategy, indicating the violin was designed after originals by Antonio Stradivari. It is worth, usually, around $75.

The twelfth item in this series of “Unloved Antiques” is the world-famous “Stradivarius Violins.” Nothing hits the popular-culture’s buttons better than the idea of a found treasure, which shows like “American Pickers, “Storage Wars,” “Auction Hunters” and the venerable “Antiques Roadshow” highlight on a weekly basis. The rarer the item, the more a collector’s heart goes pitapat, and nothing makes it beat faster than finding the name “Stradivarius” on a violin.

If genuine it’s—the rarest of the rare—it’s a ticket to early retirement to the south of France or wherever your fancy may take you.* The name is so ingrained with “treasure” in popular culture that even those who haven’t collected anything but shiny shells on the beach as a child know it means a rare violin of huge value, made by a master craftsman.

The legend of the Stradivarius is an old one regarding an Italian luthier (a maker of stringed instruments), one Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737). While his legendary violins are best known, he also is said to have produced cellos, guitars, violas and harps. In all, it’s been estimated that Antonio Stradivari was responsible for 1,000 to 1,100 instruments, of which some 650 have been identified to have survived. Of this 650, references claim that 450 to 512 of these survivors are violins, of which the whereabouts are well recorded. But this important piece of knowledge is not as common as the stories of their value.

In the course of my career, I’ve probably had dozen “Stradivarius” violins a year lovingly placed in my hands at antique appraisal events, all of them glued inside with the immortal label “Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno” (with the date printed or hand written). These labels were not really meant to deceive the buyer when originally used; it was more of a market strategy to indicate the violin was designed after originals by Antonio Stradivari.

The quality of these bogus “Strads” varies tremendously, from terrible to quite good. Nearly all these examples were made in Germany or Czechoslovakia from the turn of the 19th century through the 1920s. Some, those made before 1891, will have country-of-origin marks, such as “Germany” or “Made In Germany” clearly visible, a practice necessary to comply with America Trade tariff laws. As the American market was the largest one at the time, most musical instrument manufacturers were very quick to comply, producing tens of thousands of these Stradivarius copies during the closing years of the 19th century.

In the current market values for these late 19th to early 20th-century Strads vary, depending on the quality of construction, condition and sound; something that would have to be determined by a specialist who deals with stringed instruments. That said, one often see these German or Czechoslovakian copies selling for less than $75 at auction.

*Today, a genuine Stradivarius can sell for enormous sums. One of the most recent and famous of his pieces is a violin he completed in 1721, which is known as “Lady Blunt.” It was named for Lord Byron’s granddaughter, Lady Anne Blunt, who owned it for 30 years. The “Lady Blunt” sold for on July 21, 2011for a sum of $15,932,115.

. ———————————

Previous “Unloved Antiques” articles:

• Unloved Antiques: ‘Limited Edition’ Collectors Plates
• Unloved Antiques: Singer Sewing Machines
• Unloved Antiques: Decorator Prints
• Unloved Antiques: Commemorative Whiskey Decanters
• Unloved Antiques: ‘Bronze’ Flatware
• Unloved Antiques: 1847 Rogers Brothers Flatware
• Unloved Antiques: Hummel Knockoffs
• Unloved Antiques: National Geographic Magazines
• Unloved Antiques: Dragonware
• Unloved Antiques: 19th Century Religious Prints
• Unloved Antiques: Depression Glass

Mike Wilcox, of Wilcox & Hall Appraisers, is a Worthologist who specializes in Art Nouveau and the Arts and Craft movement.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Two historic circus wagons dominate the entrance to the new wing of the Tibbals Learning Center. The Five Graces bandwagon was built in 1878 for the Adam Forepaugh show. Later it toured Europe with Barnum & Bailey, pulled by a team of 40 horses. It is the oldest American circus wagon in existence. The Two Jesters Calliope wagon was originally built for Sells-Floto Circus and houses a 36-whistle steam instrument, the largest in the world.

SARASOTA, Fla. — With the recent opening of the New Wing of the Tibbals Learning Center, the Ringling Circus Museum at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is now the most significant circus archival and interactive space in the United States. Public exhibit space in the Tibbals Learning Center includes Howard Bros. Circus, which is the world’s largest miniature circus, the Circus in America panoramic display, featuring a historical timeline, plus circus ephemera from the legendary huckster, P.T. Barnum and General Tom Thumb. The newly added 11,000 square-foot Interactive Circus Space is where “children of all ages” can learn firsthand about the past, present and future of the American circus.

In addition to the public exhibits, the New Wing’s second floor houses the Tibbals Center for the Study of the American Circus. This is an educational facility for circus research by scholars, historians and curators with 12,475 square feet of climate controlled archival storage space. The new state-of-the-art storage facility, complete with LED lighting and computer-monitored climate control, provides space for one of the world’s largest circus paper collections, including more than 5,700 distinct historical circus posters.

The Tibbals Center for the Study of the American Circus features high density, storage shelving units in a room with more than 12,000 square feet of storage space.

The Howard Bros. Circus—a miniature with 50,000 pieces, including eight main tents, 55 railroad cars, 152 circus wagons, 1,500 performers and circus personnel, plus more than 700 circus animals—was created over a 50-year time span by master model builder, Howard C. Tibbals. The huge, yet tiny miniature circus occupies 3,800 sq. ft. and is on permanent display. It is enclosed within a hermetically sealed and climate-controlled 75,000 cubic foot encasement. One of my previous articles, titled “You Too Can Be a Circus Owner,” takes a look at Howard Bros Miniature Circus.

The Circus in America exhibit features a timeline that traces the history of the circus from antiquity to the modern-day Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, Big Apple Circus, Cirque du Soleil and other shows. Noted pieces of circus ephemera on display include paintings, figurines, a silver tea service set from the home of P.T. Barnum, a diminutive chair, a tiny tuxedo, walking cane and sword belonging to General Tom Thumb, plus a circus chariot used in hippodrome races in the 1920s and a 150-foot miniature circus street parade featuring more than 500 hand-carved animals.

The ground floor of the new wing of the Tibbals Learning Center features interactive displays which include videos of circus performers past and present.

The new wing also includes a family-friendly Interactive Circus Space that focuses on the circus performance and is divided into different performance areas: acrobats and aerialists: performing animals and their trainers: clowns: daredevils: the ringmaster: and circus spectacles. There is also a hands-on circus family area, a theater and an education space. The exhibits explore the common ties linking all circuses past and present.

Photos courtesy of the Ringling Circus Museum.

Larry Kellogg is a Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

This was happening in the early 1970s when our family had become friends with John Hurdle, the new curator of the Ringling Museum of the Circus in Sarasota, Fla. John gave me an overview of how the museum filed its collection. I was particularly interested in paper collectibles (ephemera). Paper items associated with a particular circus were grouped by the museum into categories and filed by show title in each of those categories: e.g. Booklets, Business Forms, Couriers, Heralds, Magazine Articles, Photographs, Postcards, Posters, Programs, Route Books, Route Sheets and Cards, Tickets, Trade Cards and others.

I decided to use a similar system for my own growing collection. Books, of course would be stored on bookshelves by subject matter. The majority of my collection consisted of reference material, so I didn’t concentrate on collecting posters. The few that I had were framed and displayed in my office and the living room.

My circus books fill one wall of shelves in the living room.

Several years later I became friends with Charles Phillip “Chappie” Fox when he moved to Florida to accept a key position at the new theme park, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus World. Chappie was a well-known circus historian and the author of more than 30 books. In 1983, he was instrumental in having me hired by the Circus World park as communications manager. In one of my visits to Chappie’s home, I discovered he had a different filing system for his collection that I later adopted for my own.

Using Chappie’s system—which can be used for any collectible subject, not just circus memorabilia—all ephemera that can be stored in filing cabinets has been organized into two sections. First are the file folders for various circuses, filed in alphabetical order by show name. In each folder are all items associated with that show. Of course, for larger circuses it is necessary to have multiple file folders, breaking down the items by sub-categories. For example, the single file folder I made for Campbell Bros. Circus contains a booklet with a history of the show, a couple of newspaper advertisements, a photograph, a 1939 route card and a hand-written diary compiled by a performer who was on the show in 1910. The file folders for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey fill several file drawers with folders for several hundred sub-categories. Under Ringling-Barnum there are file folders for programs, couriers, route books, etc., as well as folders for specific events like the 1944 fire and the final performance under canvas on July 16, 1956.

———————————

The second section of file folders contains categories that are not related to a specific circus. Avid collectors uncover many odd and unusual items along with those that are common and easy to find. Keeping organized requires finding a place to file everything so you can find it easily when you need it. Here are just a few examples of the hundreds of file folders in the second section within my own collection:

Advertising – Circus Theme – Non-Circus Products: The title of this folder is self-explanatory. It contains advertisements, brochures, annual reports, etc. with a circus theme, but for a non-circus product. The circus has always been poplar in America and many companies use colorful circus artwork to promote their products and services.

AGVA vs. Ringling: A single flyer from the 1950s is filed in this folder printed by the American Guild of Variety Artists (AFL-CIO) explaining their dispute with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. A copy of this flyer is also filed in the first section of files under Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – AGVA vs. Ringling.

Al Ringling Theatre: Al Ringling was one of the five Ringling Brothers. The Al Ringling Theatre opened in Ringling’s home town of Baraboo, Wis. in November 1915 and has been in continuous operation since that date. This folder contains programs, brochures, letterhead and other information about the theatre.

Animals: Within this category are files for animals from bears to zebras. Within each animal category there are individual folders for specific animals where necessary. For instance the Animals – Elephants General folder is followed by Animals – Elephants – Jumbo; Animals – Elephants – King Tusk; Animals – Elephants – Romeo & Juliette; Animals – Elephants – Ringling Elephant Center; and Animals – Elephants – White Elephant. Following the Animals – Gorilla General folder there’s a file titled Animals – Gorillas – Gargantua. And of course there’s a folder for Animals – The Living Unicorn.

Artwork: This folder contains original artwork and prints as well as circus art that has appeared in magazines and other printed pieces. Because all of these folders are in a standard sized file cabinet there are items that are too large to file here. As with some other folders, there is a sheet that lists other artwork and where it can be found (large flat folder, etc.)

Beggs Wagon Co.: Beggs was located in Kansas City, Mo. and manufactured show wagons. One of its early catalogs (1910) was reproduced in 1973 and widely circulated. This file contains one of those catalogues and an original letterhead.

Celebrities and the Circus: In 1955 Marilyn Monroe visited Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus when it was appearing at Madison Square Garden. This folder has information about that visit and photos and magazine articles about other celebrities at the circus from the 1930s to present day.

Circus Fan Organizations: There are separate files for the various fan organizations. Circus Historical Society, Circus Fans of America, Circus Model Builders and Windjammers. For more information about these organizations see one of my previous articles Circus Collector Fan Organizations.

Executives: The Executives section includes file folders for many well-known names—Barnum, Ringling, North and Feld, all circus owners, as well as managers like PR man Dexter Fellows, Circus Veterinarian J. Y. Henderson and General Manager Art Concello. It should be noted that photos and information about Art Concello as General Manager are filed here, but photos and information about Art Concello as a performer are filed under Performers – Aerial Acts.

Motion Pictures – TV Shows and Series: There are individual file folders within these categories with photos, press kits and a variety of advertising materials for individual motion pictures and television shows with a circus theme.

Performers: This section is broken down into types of acts with sub-folders for specific performers. The Performers – Clowns General folder is followed by Performers – Clowns – Jacobs, Lou; Performers – Clowns – Kelly, Emmett; and folders for other clowns by name.

Side Shows: Within this folder are examples of the many souvenir items sold by those appearing in the circus side show. The file also has photos of side show tents and banner lines and magazine articles about side shows.

———————————

I’ve given you a couple of methods to sort and file your circus memorabilia collection, but how should the collection be preserved? The general rule is to place paper items in archival quality sleeves when filing. These are available in various sizes and with a quick Internet search you will find many companies that sell a variety of products.

Circus posters should be linen-backed and stored in a flat file or individually rolled. My preferred way to store them is to display them, properly framed with UV-resistant glass or Plexiglas with acid-free matting and backing—always out of direct sunlight. There are many sites on the Internet with detailed information about backing, storing and framing posters.

Larry Kellogg is a Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

The Jumbo pull toy is approximately 4-inches high. Estimated value is $30 to $40, but some have sold on Internet auctions for as much as $100.

Jumbo the Elephant arrived in 1882 from England to appear as a feature attraction in The Greatest Show On Earth. But, P.T. Barnum wasn’t the only businessman to benefit financially from the huge elephant. For decades, entrepreneurs capitalized on Jumbo’s likeness and name.

Barnum’s Jumbo was the subject of many advertising trade cards. Kazine Laundry Soap, Bell Soap, Willimantic Thread, Clark’s Cotton Thread, Castoria Laxative and Hartford Sewing Machine Co. were just some of the businesses who used Jumbo’s image on their advertising cards. Jigsaw puzzles, books, paper weights, peanut butter jars, children’s plates, buckets, toys and banks were also sold to capitalize on the Jumbo craze. And that brings me to the subject of this article.

The Hubley Manufacturing Company of Lancaster, Pennsylvania developed a new, wood composite material in the 1940s they named Huboid. One of the many toys they created out of Huboid was a Jumbo the Elephant pull toy, and this was more than 50 years after Jumbo’s death.

An original box for the Hubley toy sells for $15 to $20, if you can find one. Toy Tent sells reproduction boxes for $49.

This colorful graphic appears on the side of the Hubley Jumbo box.

The same design used for the composite pull-toy was also seen in a cast iron bank. Some claim the bank was also made by Hubley. I assume this is correct, but so far, I have not been able to confirm it.

This Jumbo cast iron bank sold on eBay in March of 2011 for $79.99.

A cast iron bank that appears to be newer has been turning up on eBay and other Internet auction sites recently and usually brings $15 to $20.

The manufacturers of these Jumbo toys didn’t worry about authenticity or accuracy. Their elephants were Asian, while Barnum’s Jumbo was an African elephant.

To read more about Jumbo collectibles see my two previous articles, Elephants—the Wonder of the Circus—Make for Specialized Collectible Category and There Was Only One P.T. Barnum.

Larry Kellogg is a Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Marilyn Monroe's iconic subway grate scene from “the Seven Year Itch” that made this dress a must-have item, as an unidentified phone bidder won the prized piece of Hollywood memorabilia at $4.5 million.

The dress was one of several hundred lots from longtime actress Debbie Reynolds’ collection. The pre-sale estimate for the dress was $2-$3 million.

An unidentified person bidding by phone snatched up the iconic “subway grate” dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in “The Seven Year Itch,” paying $4.5 million—more than double the amount expected—proving that movie collectibles are right up there with classic art and other collectibles in terms of their increasing value.

Several of the lots in the June 18 auction of one-of-a-kind cinema costumes and props from the Debbie Reynolds collection soared past pre-sale estimates (the auction catalog can be viewed here). The sale was held at the Le Meridien Hotel in Beverly Hills.

• Charlie Chaplin’s bowler hat, an iconic part of his “Little Tramp” costume, went to a bidder for $135,300.

Previously, the highest amount paid for a Monroe garment was the $1.26 million a collector paid for the sheer dress she wore (after they sewed her into it) to sing “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy in 1962. The auction house handling the Reynolds sale, Profiles in History, will add a $1-million commission to the sale, which is a fund-raiser for the planned Hollywood Motion Picture Museum.

Three other Monroe-worn dresses in the Reynolds auction went for pretty prices: the red sequined dress and feathered headdress she sported in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” went for $1.47 million; her saloon girl costume from “River of No Return” brought $510,000; and the dress Monroe wore while singing “Heat Wave” in “There’s no Business Like Show Business” made $500,000.

Just for comparison: A one-sheet movie poster showing that famous white dress from “The Seven Year Itch,” flying up around her waist, sold for $1,688 in an auction on June 12, 2011, compared with $1,405.99 for a similar one-sheet from the film bought in 2004.

Other Auction Highlights

Monroe's red sequined dress and feathered headdress that she sported in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” went for $1.47 million.

Audrey Hepburn’s “My Fair Lady” Ascot dress and hat brought in $3.7 million.

Elizabeth Taylor’s racing costume from “National Velvet” garnered for $73,000.

The jumper Julie Andrews wore in “The Sound of Music” strummed someone’s chords to the tune of $550,000.

Among the other items bringing some of the highest prices at the auction were:

• Charlie Chaplin’s bowler hat, an iconic part of his “Little Tramp” costume, went to a bidder for $135,300.
• The pointy-toed ruby slippers Judy Garland wore during early shots in “The Wizard of Oz” were eventually replaced with less flamboyant red shoes, so they never appeared on screen in the actual film. They sold, along with one of her costumes from the film, for $1.75 million.
• Audrey Hepburn’s “My Fair Lady” Ascot dress and hat, which Cecil Beaton designed, rivaled Monroe’s costumes, bringing in $3,700,000.
• Elizabeth Taylor’s racing costume from “National Velvet” sold for $73,000. A number of the costumes were given to Reynolds by Taylor, who died earlier this year. The women were close friends in the 1950s until Reynolds’ then-husband Eddie Fischer left her for Taylor. Looks like they got over it.
• Grace Kelly’s two-piece rose and ivory costume from Hitchcock’s “To Catch a Thief” sold at $450,000.
• The jumper Julie Andrews wore in “The Sound of Music” strummed someone’s chords to the tune of $550,000.

CNN reported that Reynolds, 79, was in tears during the auction. But the mounting expenses of caring for the collection of 3,500 items she had collected since 1970 had grown overwhelming.

By selling them, she said, “I won’t have quite so much responsibility and I can rest a little more.”

Allan Maurer is a Worthologist who specializes in Hollywood and movie memorabilia and the publisher of the web site BestFilmFests.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Monroe’s “Seven Year Itch” dress is expected to rake in between $1 million and $2 million.

Actress and longtime movie memorabilia collector Debbie Reynolds is selling more than 300 costumes and props in the largest such auction in 30 years, beginning June 18, to raise money for the planned Hollywood Motion Picture Museum.

“My lifetime dream has been to assemble and preserve the history of the Hollywood film industry,” Reynolds said. “Hollywood has been an enormous part of my life, as I know it has been for countless fans all over the world.

“This collection represents a lifetime of collecting Hollywood artifacts and this is a rare opportunity to own a piece of Hollywood History for those who love the movies as much as I do.”

Reynolds acquired many of the items after MGM consigned them to an auction house decades ago, sorting through 300,000 costumes and props.

Marilyn Monroe’s white dress from the subway grate scene in “The Seven Year Itch” is expected to bring between $2 and $3 million.

The iconic scene that makes this dress a must-have item for serious collectors of Hollywood memorabilia.

Reynolds labored for years trying to establish a museum to house her extensive collection, but debts mounted, forcing her to sell the collection. She has said “it is the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” but expressed the hope that some who purchase movie treasures will loan them to the museum for display afterward.

If you’re in Beverly Hills, you have until June 17 to see most of the costumes for free at the Paley Center for Media on the corner of North Beverly Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills.

Reynold’s Handpicked Collection:

Richard Burton's costume from "Cleopatra."

Charleton Heston's costume from "Ben Hur."

Claude Raines' costume from "Casablanca."

Among the items that will be crossing the block are from some of the most iconic movies in Hollywood history, including a pair of Judy Garland’s red slippers and cotton dress from “The Wizard of Oz,” Charlie Chaplin’s bowler, the hat that matched the gown Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) made from green draperies in “Gone With the Wind,” Richard Burton’s costume from “Cleopatra,” Marilyn Monroe costumes from “River of No Return” and “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” Charlton Heston’s costume from “Ben-Hur,” Marlon Brando’s costume from “Desiree,” not to mention Monroe’s famed “subway grate” dress from “The Seven Year Itch.”

Judy Garland's costume from "The Wizard of Oz."

Julie Andrews costume from "The Sound of Music."

Elizabeth Taylor's costume from "National Velvet."

Other costumes and props in the auction were used by:

• Julie Andrews in “Star”;
• Fred Astaire “Belle of New York”;
• James Cagney in”Yankee Doodle Dandy” and “Strawberry Blonde”;
• Judy Garland in”Ziegfeld Follies” and “Presenting Lilly Mars”;
• Rita Hayworth in “Loves of Carmen”;
• Katherine Hepburn in”Little Minister”;
• Marilyn Monroe in”Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” “Don’t Bother to Knock,” and “Ticket to Tomahawk”;
• Mary Pickford in”Rosita” and “Secrets”;
• Ginger Rogers in “Roxie Hart” and “Black Widow”;
• Jane Russell in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”;
• Lana Turner in “Weekend at the Waldorf”;
• Mae West in “Every Day’s a Holiday”

The auction will also include arm chairs and a hardware store display form “Gone with the Wind,” paintings of Garbo and Marion Davies, and more. Historical memorabilia dealer Profiles in History will auction items starting June 18, with two more auctions to follow on Dec. 6, and next spring. The December sale, “Selections from the Collection of the Debbie Reynolds Hollywood Motion Picture Museum,” will be conducted at the Le Meridien Hotel, 465 S La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills, Ca. Reynolds will attend an auction preview, from 6 to 9 p.m., Friday, Dec. 5, at the Le Meridien Hotel.

Online bidding for these auctions also will be conducted through Julian Entertainment. Printed catalogs are available for $15 each through Autrographs.com. Free digital catalogs are also available by calling 800.996.3977.

Allan Maurer is a Worthologist who specializes in Hollywood and movie memorabilia and is the publisher of the web site BestFilmFests.

——————————–

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

This 264-page book has a catalogue of the 80 posters in The Amazing American Circus Poster exhibit.

Circus posters are highly prized by collectors. They have always been the lifeblood of circus advertising. Among the most treasured are those posters created by the Strobridge Lithographing Company.

The Amazing American Circus Poster exhibit, features posters printed by Strobridge from 1878 to 1939 and is now on display at the Cincinnati Art Museum through July 10, 2011. Cincinnati was the home of Strobridge from the mid-1800s until 1961 when it was sold to H.S. Crocker printing company.

The exhibit will move to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Fla. for a Sept. 17 opening and runs through Jan. 29, 2012. Kristin L. Spangenberg, curator of prints at the Cincinnati Art Museum, and Deborah W. Walk, Tibbals curator of the Circus Museum at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, organized this new and exciting exhibit that has been 10 years in the planning.

Produced in conjunction with the exhibit is a spectacular book, “The Amazing American Circus Poster, The Strobridge Lithographing Company,” available at the museum gift shops for $29.95. The catalog portion of the book illustrates the 80 posters in the exhibit. In addition, there are 12 articles, illustrated with additional posters and photographs, that cover a wide range of related topics:

• “The Steamboat, the Circus and Cincinnati” by Stuart L. Thayer
• “The Gilded Legacy of the Circus Kings” by Deborah W. Walk
• “The Strobridge Lithographing Company, the Tiffany of Printers” by Kristin L. Spangenberg
• “A Picture is Worth 757 Words: Circus & Culture, Language & Perception” by David Carlyon
• “The Strobridge Lithographing Company, the Ringling Brothers, and Their Circuses” by Fred D. Pfening III
• “After the Posters, the Daily Free Street Parade” by Fred Dahlinger, Jr.
• “Promoting Peerless Prodigies ‘To the Curious’” by Richard W. Flint
• “The Menagerie” by Richard J. Reynolds III
• “The Circus Clown as Social Commentator” by Rodney A. Huey
• “Magnificent Entrée’s: The Role of the Spectacle During the Golden Age of the Circus” by Jennifer Lemmer Posey
• “Bearded Ladies, Dainty Amazons, Hindoo Fakirs, and Lady Savages: Circus Representations of Gender and Race in Victorian America” by Janet M. Davis
• “Strobridge Pictorial Posters: Design, Printing, and Posting” by Kristin L. Spangenberg

The Oriental spectacle “Nepal,” illustrated in this poster, also featured Frank Buck. The one-sheet Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey poster is just one of the 80 Strobridge lithographs in the exhibit.

P.T. Barnum’s famous elephant, Jumbo, was the center of interest in this extremely rare poster.

Numerous show names are included in the poster exhibit. This little known circus was titled Big United States Circus and Great Eastern Menagerie and is dated 1886.

The three poster illustrations used in this blog are courtesy of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Howard Tibbals Collection.

Larry Kellogg is a Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

I own several pieces of original, circus art. One of my favorites is a block print of a performing elephant, received as a gift in the early 1960s. At the time I was the TV editor at the St. Petersburg Times. At Christmastime, we had a “white elephant” gift exchange. My name happened to be drawn by feature writer, Lorna Carroll. Knowing my love for the circus, she decided to give me an elephant print. It had been a wedding present to her from the artist Beryl Garrett. Lorna laughingly said she hated the print, but thought I would enjoy it. Recently, I’ve tried to find information about the artist—with no success. I seem to recall Beryl Garrett being a local St. Petersburg artist who was the wife of George Garrett, a news editor at the St. Petersburg Times.

This wood block print is untitled. It’s signed by the artist Beryl Garrett.

But what about famous paintings? How can we see and enjoy them? Aside from traveling all over the world to museums, we can usually find them on the printed pages of books and magazines. Circus-themed paintings are often used as the focus for books and magazine articles. Below are some of the books featuring the circus in art:

“Toulouse-Lautrec’s The Circus” was published in 2006 by Dover Publishers, Inc. The cover indicates it contains 39 colored, crayon drawings. A four-page introduction was written by Charles Perussaux, Attache au Cabinet des Estampes de la Bibliotheque Nationale.

“Toulouse-Lautrec at the Circus,” by Edouard Julien. It was copyrighted in 1956 by Tudor Publishing. There are 15 color plates and several black and white illustrations. Both Toulouse-Lautrec books can be found on the Internet for under $10 each.

“Looking at Paintings,” by Peggy Roalf. Copyright in 1993 by Hyperion Books for Children. This book features more than 30 illustrations. Included are works by Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edward Hopper, Marc Chagall, John Steuart Curry and others. The book was published in hardback and paperback. Many copies are available on the Internet for under $10.

“Circus In Art.” Published by the Boston Public Library in 1985. The Boston Public Library has a large collection of circus-related art and this catalog illustrates two talks about the collection given by Richard Dale McMullan and Kneeland McNullty on May 3, 1974. The book has 85 black and white illustrations of circus related art and a bibliography of the circus in art. The book has a soft cover and a value of $20 to $30.

“Circuses and Fairs in Art,” by Helen B. Harkonen, copyrighted in 1965 by Lerner Publications Co. The hard cover book was issued without a dust jacket. The book is divided into five main sections: In the Ring; Trained Animals; Acrobats and Aerialists; Circus People; and Sideshows, Fairs and Carnivals. Copies can be found on the Internet for less than $10.

More than 20 years ago, I began compiling a computerized index of magazine articles about the circus. One of my early WorthPoint stories, “Magazine Articles Chronicle Circus Life of Yesterday and Today,” was about that list. The list revealed a number of articles on circus themed artwork:

American Artist – Apr 1958 – Mostly Under Canvas (Bill Ballantine)
American Artist – Jan 1968 – Donald Putnam’s wild west and circus scenes
American Artist – Jul 1989 – The Evolution of a Painting . . . (Milwaukee Parade)
American Artist – Mar 1992 – Coming Soon (RBBB Mural)
Antiquarian, The – Jan 1932 – An Artist At The Circus
Art Digest – Mar 15, 1946 – Exhibition of Circus Paintings at Kootz Gallery
Art Digest – Nov 1, 1947 – Kosa Clowns at Cowie Galleries
Art Digest – Feb 15, 1948 – Circus In Art
Art Digest – Nov 1, 1950 – Sport and Circus at Michigan University
Art In America – Oct 1964 – Calder’s Circus
Art In America – Jul 1969 – Buffalo Bill Museum In Cody, Wy
ARTnews – Jun 1948 – The Greatest Show Down South
Art News – Dec 15, 1941 – Kuhn Under the Big Top
Art News – Apr 15, 1942 – San Francisco: A Circus Show
Art News – May 1, 1943 – Walt Kuhn Clowns in a Great Tradition
Art News – Mar 1946 – Circus Paintings at Kootz Gallery
Art News – Mar 1992 – It’s Stupendous! It’s Sensational! It’s Calder’s Circus
Artforum – Oct 1971 – Harlequins, Saltimbanques, Clowns and Fools (Picasso)
Life – Nov 23, 1936 – Curry Of Kansas (Circus Paintings)
Life – Jun 15, 1942 – Paintings at Andover (Painting “Outside the Big Tent”)
Life – Nov 29, 1943 – Speaking of Pictures (Paintings of John Steuart Curry)
Life – Feb 3, 1958 – High Cost of a Clown (Painting The White Clown by Walt Kuhn)
Theatre Arts – May 1946 – Circus Paintings

You can purchase the entire 51-page Circus Article Index, listing nearly 3,000 articles through WorthPoint.

The circus, world-wide, will always be a subject for artists of all ages, giving the rest of us enjoyment as we pursue our individual collections.

Larry Kellogg is a Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Coloring Book has a colorful cover, but is filled with inconsistencies.

Most kids enjoy spending time coloring inside the lines of images in simple, inexpensive coloring books. Circus coloring books may be big sellers at the concession stand, but they are not high on the list of circus memorabilia sought by serious collectors. Many of them are generic, often printed on newsprint, with a few pages of clowns, wild animals and circus acts. The small circuses seldom had the name of their show printed on the coloring book. You could find the same book on any one of a dozen different shows.

There are a few collectible circus coloring books worth mentioning, however. Perhaps that will be the subject of a future article. For now I’d like to tell you about an extremely unusual circus coloring book—one that has generated a lot of questions. In more than 50 years of collecting circus memorabilia I had never seen this coloring book until recently, when one turned up on eBay. It turns out I was the only serious bidder, winning the auction for less than $10.

According to the book’s title page, it’s “A Youth’s History of the American Circus From 50 B.C. in Rome to Now.” Copyrighted by Sid Holmes in 1950, it claims to be “Compiled, Published and Distributed Under Special Permission” of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows, Inc. When I read that, that’s when my questions started. Was the coloring book really authorized by Ringling and was it actually sold on the show? I had considerable doubt.

When the book arrived, I took it to my contacts at the Ringling Circus Museum in Sarasota, Fla. to see if they knew anything about it. Surprise! They had never seen the book. A similar response came from another long-time collector and circus historian in the area. So, what made me so skeptical? Errors. Inconsistencies. Things that just didn’t add up:

The title page says there are “36 pages of Circus Episodes to be Painted by you.” But the cover says there are 35 drawings to paint or color. Was it 36 or 35? The correct answer is 36.

• On the title page, the show’s name is spelled “Ringling Brothers’ & Barnum & Bailey’s Combined Shows, Inc.” The official title never included apostrophes after Brothers and Bailey. This error was made throughout book, including the cover with the apostrophe sometimes appearing only after Bailey.
• On the page with illustrations of clowns, Emmett Kelly is incorrectly spelled Kelley. Paul Jung is spelled Yung.
• The price of the coloring book is shown as 50 cents on the cover. However the Ringling Souvenir Program for the same year (1950) cost only 25 cents.
• The cover says “This special circus edition may be had at the regular performances only.” But the cover also says “Deluxe Editions of this amazing book on sale wherever books are sold or from publishers direct. See Title Page inside.” The implication suggests that a “better,” maybe a hardback version is also available. When you look at the title page there’s no information on how to contact the publisher.

The text in the coloring book tries to tell the story of the circus beginning in Rome up to 1950. It’s filled with facts but rambles. The 56 amateurish drawings help illustrate the story but some of the drawings are laughable.

Two pages in the book are devoted to the Great Gargantua. This one shows the gorilla, dead in his cage.

Young boys carrying water to the elephants is an oft told myth. It would take an army of boys to carry enough water to satisfy the Ringling herd. In 1950 the show had 28 elephants.

This drawing shows John Ringling North, his brother Henry Ringling North and their "mother" Ida Ringling North. Ida was the sister of the Ringling Brothers.

My speculation is that Sid Holmes had this idea and printed a limited number as a proposal for Ringling but the deal was never completed. If this coloring book had been sold on the show in 1950 it should be a common item. Programs from that year are easy to find and other printed Ringling material from the same time period is plentiful. This 1950 coloring book seems to be nonexistent. The copy I have was not purchased on the show. An inscription on the inside cover shows that it was a gift of Sid Holmes to a friend.

If anyone has any information about the coloring book, I would be grateful to hear from you.

Larry Kellogg is a WorthPoint Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

The first elephant in America was advertised simply as “The Elephant.” The front page advertisement in the Aurora, N.Y., newspaper says “Lately arrived from INDIA, and the first that was ever upon this continent.” Admission to see “The Elephant” was half-a-dollar for grown persons and a quarter of a dollar for children. The value of this newspaper is $40 to $50.

The “Golden Age of the Circus” is a perplexing period of time that historians have difficulty pinpointing. One historian identified 1880 to 1918 as the Golden Age and linked the decline of the railroad circus with its end.¹ But other historians have a range of opinions: 1880-1900,² 1860-1930,³ 1840-1940,⁴ beginning in the 1850s,⁵ or ending between 1900 and 1910.⁶

Regardless of what dates you specify, there was, without doubt, a “Golden Age”—a time when circus was king. However, that wasn’t the beginning of the circus in America.

John Bill Ricketts is credited with presenting the first complete circus performance on American soil on April 3, 1793. This performance debuted in an amphitheatre he erected in Philadelphia. President George Washington and First Lady Martha attended performances at Ricketts later in the same month.

Individual circus acts were performed in larger towns prior to Ricketts, and entrepreneurs traveled to rural America exhibiting wild animals. The first lion displayed in America was in 1716. In 1796, one of the most noteworthy events in circus history occurred when Captain Jacob Crowninshield arrived in New York harbor with the first living elephant in North America. The earliest item of circus memorabilia in my collection is a complete newspaper dated July 25, 1796, which has an advertisement promoting that elephant.

Early American circus memorabilia is scarce, especially items from the late 1700s and early 1800s. Some of the easiest items to find from the mid-1800s are articles in weekly news magazines like “Harper’s Weekly,” “Gleason’s Pictorial” and “Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper.” Prices on these publications vary widely depending on content. Civil War issues bring the highest prices. The three engravings shown below can usually be found for $10 to $25 each.

This engraving depicts William Hanlon on the flying trapeze in New York City’s Academy of Music. It appeared in “Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper” in 1861. In 1891, while performing with Forepaugh’s Circus in Lyons, Iowa, William Hanlon’s trapeze bar broke. He plunged to the ground and died on the spot.

On July 13, 1865, P.T. Barnum’s first American Museum burned to the ground. This is one of two engravings published by Harper’s Weekly to illustrate the story inside. Barnum quickly re-opened the museum in a new location. Unfortunately, that museum also burned to the ground in 1888.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Stratton (General Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren Stratton) were front-page news when they married in 1863. This “Harper’s Weekly” engraving is from a photograph by renowned photographer Matthew Brady.

Below are a few items from the mid-1800s. Generally, items from this era are more in the “circus-related” category than items actually from circuses.

This CDV (Carte de Visite) was published by E. & H.T. Anthony from a photographic negative by Matthew Brady. On the back are printed signatures of Charles S. Stratton (Tom Thumb) and Lavinia Warren Stratton. CDVs of Tom Thumb are fairly easy to find. I purchased this CDV for $7.50 while visiting Goodspeed’s Book Shop in Boston, Mass., in the early 1970s. In recent years, others like it have been selling for $30 to $50.

Chang & Eng were the original Siamese Twins. They arrived in America in 1829 and were exhibited around the country, including in Barnum’s American Museum. This early broadside advertising the pair sold on eBay in 2007 for $412.77.

This booklet was sold at Barnum & Van Amburgh’s Museum in 1866. It was Barnum’s second museum. The 70-page booklet had illustrated stories about the animals in the museum and the biographies of P.T. Barnum & Isaac A. Van Amburgh. A fascinating addendum featured a couple of pages documenting the amount of ticket sales for individual cities hosting the Jenny Lind tour, promoted by P.T. Barnum. Value is $80 to $120.

During the American tour of the Swedish Nightingale, Jenny Lind, which began in September 1850, the singer gave 93 concerts, netting P.T. Barnum approximately $500,000. This 1853 sheet music featuring the singer on the cover was published after Jenny Lind returned to England. It sold on eBay in 2007 for $45.

Books on the subject of the early American circus are sought after by every serious collector of circus. Almost all general history circus books have a section on the roots of the circus, particularly the American circus. However, there are a few books that really stand out because they provide special emphasis to the early years.

“Annals of the American Circus 1793-1829,” by Stuart Thayer, was published by Rymack Printing Company in 1976. It is almost impossible to find today. I was fortunate to locate my copy on eBay this year for less than $20. It was a stroke of luck, not likely to happen again. In the past year, searching the top-25 Internet out-of-print book sites—which include 40 large bookstores and 20,000 individual dealers—I have not found any other copies of this book. Estimated value is $200-$300.

“Annals of the American Circus 1830-1847 Volume II,” by Stuart Thayer, was published by Peanut Butter Publishing, Inc. in 1986. This Volume II of the “Annals of the American Circus” is also scarce. In 2008 a copy of this book sold on eBay for $62.21. Today, I can find just a handful of copies on the Internet, sold by only two dealers. One dealer’s price is $167 the other is $698.

“Traveling Showmen—The American Circus Before the Civil War,” by Stuart Thayer, was published by Astley & Ricketts, Ltd. in 1997. Prices range from $75.00 to 137.

“Pioneer Circuses of the West,” by Chang Reynolds, was published by Westernlore Press in 1966. Copies of this book can be found for $25 or less.

“Elephants and Quaker Guns—A History of Civil War and Circus Days,” by Jane Chapman Whitt, was published by Vantage Press in 1966. Value of this book is $15 or less.

“California’s Pioneer Circus,” by Joseph Andrew Rowe, edited by Albert Dressler, was published by H.S. Crocker Company, Inc. in 1926. These are the memoirs and personal correspondence of the circus businesses owned by Joseph Andrew Rowe in the 1850s gold rush country. The printing of this book was limited to 1,250 numbered copies and the one shown here is Number 894. Some copies of the book can be found on the Internet from $10 to $25.

———————————

¹ “Bandwagon” – July-August 1972 – “A Note on the Decline of the Circus,” by Stuart Thayer.

² “Bandwagon” – March-April 1977 – “Kicking Sawdust in the Center Ring of Memories, The Story of J. Augustus Jones and His Circuses,” by John C. Kunzog. Also in “Hobbies” – January 1947 – “Circus Songsters,” by A. Morton Smith.

³ “Bandwagon” – May-June 2004 – “Strong Women and Crossed-Dressed Men: Representation of Gender by Circus Performers During the Golden Age of the American Circus—1860-1930,” by Marcy W. Murray.

⁴ “Back Yard” – June 30, 1998 – “Hertzberg Museum, San Antonio, Tx. – Circus Posters and Memorabilia from the Golden Age of the Circus, 1840-1940.”

⁵ “History Magazine” – October-November 2001 – “Step Right Up,” by Bob Brooke.
⁶ “Bandwagon” – September-October 1971 – “The Frontier and the Circus,” by Fred D. Pfening, III.

Larry Kellogg is a WorthPoint Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

A view of the 30th Annual Florida Antiquarian Book Fair which was held March 11-13, 2011 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Each March, I spend a three days at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, hunting circus memorabilia for my collection. Last March, I wrote an article for WorthPoint describing this annual event titled Searching For Circus Collectibles. Another year has flown by and I just finished another busy weekend hunt at the 2011 Book Fair.

The Florida Antiquarian Book Fair in St. Petersburg, Fla., has an outstanding reputation as one of the leading regional book fairs in the country. This year was the fair’s 30th anniversary. More than 115 dealers came to exhibit, buy and sell rare and out-of-print books, prints, maps, autographs, documents and ephemera.

This year dealers brought numerous circus items. Most I already had in my collection and a few were out of my price range, but I found quite a few items. Below I’ve listed some of the circus collectibles that were offered at the 2011 Florida Antiquarian Book Fair (prices listed in this article are the “asking” prices of the dealers exhibiting at the fair. They do not always represent the actual value of the item).

Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 1930 souvenir program.

Read ’em Again Books of Montclair, Va., brought several circus items. An 1846 edition of “Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi” edited by “Boz” with illustrations by George Cruikshank was priced at $150. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey souvenir programs, especially the early years from 1919 through the 1930s are always popular and Read ’em Again Books had several, including the 1930 edition shown above for $100.

One section of a Spalding & Rogers’ North American Circus herald

Another section of a Spalding & Rogers’ North American Circus herald

Circus heralds are advertising sheets printed on both sides and usually measure about 10 by 18 inches. The Spalding & Rogers’ North American Circus herald brought by Bartleby’s Books from Washington, DC, was quite unusual because of its size—12 by 32 inches. It was tricky to photograph, but images of couple of sections are shown above. The herald was being offered for $3,500. Traveling shows, owned by Gilbert R. Spalding and Charles Rogers, were on the road from 1849 through 1865, which makes this herald one of the earliest heralds promoting this circus.

Seth B. Howes Broadside dated 1865.

Bartleby’s Books also brought a broadside advertising the S.B. Howes Circus for $850. Broadsides are similar to heralds but are printed on only one side. Seth B. Howes was the owner of several circuses between 1840 and 1867.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey hippo poster – 1951.

Clyde Beatty poster – 1954.

Several 20th-century circus posters were also displayed by Bartleby’s Books. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey poster featuring hippos was $175. Determining the year for a poster like this is easy since the date sheet was still attached—1951 was the only year Ringling appeared in Long Beach, Ca., on Sept. 6. The Clyde Beatty poster was priced at $225. Clyde Beatty Circus appeared in Long Beach on April 3-4, 1954.

Fame and Fortune Weekly.

Buffalo Bill Weekly.

Sleuth Books Books from Palm Coast, Fla., specializes in Juvenile Series and several other topics. The owner, Steve Bolter, brought dozens of issues of Fame and Fortune Weekly and I was able to find one with a circus topic. The cover story was titled “A Sure Winner; or The Boy Who Went Out With the Circus.” The price was $10. Bolter also had many copies of “The Buffalo Bill Weekly.” First edition copies were $20 each. Others were $10 each.

“Merveilleuse Histoire du Cirque” published in Paris in 1947.

A two-volume set of “Merveilleuse Histoire du Cirque” published in Paris in 1947 was in the booth of Bookworm & Silverfish from Wytheville, Va. It was a limited edition set—this being 2,293 of 2,500 copies. The books included five-color plates. Price was $185.

“Singing Wheels and Circus Wagons.”

A-Book-A-Brac Shop from Miami Beach, Fla., brought a paperback copy of “Singing Wheels and Circus Wagons” by Gene Plowden, published in 1977. Gene Plowden was a former Associated Press writer who loved the circus and wrote other books on that topic including “Those Amazing Ringlings and Their Circus,” “Merle Evans, Maestro of the Circus,” and “Gargantua, Circus Star of the Century.” The “Singing Wheels . . .” book was priced at $10.

Gunther Gebel-Williams Farewell Tour Program.

A Kaleidoscape Program.

Two souvenir programs by Ringling were brought to the Book Fair by Vivian Moore, Bookseller from Alpharetta, Ga. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey premiered the Gunther Gebel-Williams Farewell Tour in January 1989. A souvenir program book for that show was priced at $24. Barnum’s Kaleidoscape was a one-ring tented circus produced by Feld Entertainment, owners of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. The show toured in 1999 and 2000. The hard-cover program with signatures of many of the performers was priced $48.

“Struggles and Triumphs” – P.T. Barnum autobiography.

The Philosophy Store is located in Gainesville, Fla. [phone 352.378.6370]. Owner Jon Asfour brought an 1869 edition of “Struggles and Triumphs or Forty Years’ Recollections of P.T. Barnum.” The asking price was $75.

Buffalo Bill cabinet photo.

A cabinet photo of a young William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody was brought to the Book Fair by Old New York Book Shop located in Atlanta. The photo was taken by Mora and was dated on the back Nov. 6, 1875. Price was $2,500.

Cole Bros. Circus poster.

Buckingham Books from Greencastle, Pa., displayed a colorful half-sheet poster from Cole Bros. Circus featuring Ken Maynard, motion picture cowboy star. Ken Maynard appeared with Cole Bros. in 1937 and 1938. The price of the poster was $1,500.

Circus Bilder engraved plates.

On Saturday morning of the Book Fair I came across a set of engravings by Heinrich Lang from Munich, Germany. The title on the cover was Circus Bilder. The dealer, Everglades Books, Inc. from Fort Myers, Fla., gave this description: “. . . around 1880. Folio, 25 original mounts with a total of 28 helio-engraved plates . . . renderings of clowns, trapeze acts, cowboys and Indians, trained horses, elephants and circus life.” The price was $135. Within a couple of hours of photographing the item, I wanted another look, but it had already been sold.

Real photo circus postcard.

Every year Country Lane Books from New Hartford, Conn. [phone 860.489.8852] brings several albums of quality postcards. Searching through an album of real-photo postcards, I discovered an image of unidentified little people with a circus tent visible in the background. The card was postmarked in 1907. Price was $35.

King Bros. Circus program.

Yesterday’s Books from Richmond, Ind., brought a King Bros. Circus souvenir program from the 1954 season. The King Bros. toured under many managers, off and on from 1937 to 1980. Floyd King and Arnold Maley were managers from 1954 to 1956. The program was priced $25.

“We Fell in Love With the Circus.”

“We Fell in Love with the Circus,” by Claire Hallard Fawcett, was published in 1949 and included pen sketches by the author. The book is popular with circus collectors because of the more than 100 performance and behind-the-scenes photographs by the author’s uncle, Arthur Fawcett. Lighthouse Books located in St. Petersburg, Fla., had a copy of the book for $7.50.

“The Big Top . . .” by Fred Bradna.

Back In The Day Books from Tarpon Springs, Fla., had a 1952 first-edition of Fred Bradna’s biography, “The Big Top – My 40 Years With The Greatest Show On Earth” for $25. Fred Bradna was born Frederick Ferbere. He met famous equestrienne, Ella Bradna, and when they married, he took her last name. He was the 10th ringmaster with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey and was with the show for more than 40 years.

Amusement Devices trade catalogue.

another page in the Amusement Devices trade catalogue.

A Book Legacy from Palm Harbor, Fla., brought a unique catalog for those in the circus and carnival business. The catalog, published by O.C. Taylor Amusement Devices, featured punk dolls, milk bottles and tents for midway game concessions. The 38-page catalog was priced at $114.97.

“Those Amazing Ringlings and Their Circus.”

The Book Cellar/Past Perfect, Fla., History from Deerfield Beach, Fla., [phone 561.742.7822] brought a copy of “Those Amazing Ringlings and Their Circus,” by Gene Plowden. The book was copyrighted in 1967. The asking price was $9.50.

Photograph of Dolan Bros. Miniature Circus.

Circus Model Builders Exhibition Program.

Hand-painted cloth, side show banners.

The owner of Four Winds Books in Washington, DC, said she had recently purchased a small collection of circus items before leaving for the Book Fair. It was obvious they were from a circus model builder. A photo showing a miniature circus was priced at $10. On the back of the photo there was a taped business card for Dolan Bros. Circus with the name Howard Dolan, a member of Circus Model Builders. Also from the collection was an undated program for the Second Exhibition of Model Circus Builders. Price of the program was $35. And finally there was a set of hand-painted, cloth, side show banners priced at $400. These banners had probably been used in a miniature circus, perhaps the one built by Howard Dolan. The images on the banners represented actual attractions that had appeared with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Side Show including Percy Pape, the thin man, Mr. & Mrs. Fischer, the world’s tallest married couple, Freda Pusnik, the armless and legless girl and others.

A book by David Jamieson and Sandy Davidson.

Another book by David Jamieson and Sandy Davidson.

Sheppard’s Books in Arcadia, Florida [phone 863.933.1445] brought a curious book priced at $4.. The book was titled “The Love of the Circus,” by David Jamieson and Sandy Davidson, copyrighted in 1980 by Octopus Books in London. The forward was written by Mary Chipperfield. This book is the same as another book by the same authors with the same copyright, but the other book is titled “The Colorful World of the Circus,” and the forward is by Helen Wallenda. Aside from those variations, all text and photos in the 96-page books are identical.

For more information about the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair check their webpage: Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. You can also find the Book Fair on Facebook.

Larry Kellogg is a WorthPoint Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Paul Anka signed a contract with RCA Records in 1960 which would date this postcard in the early 1960s

Totally unexpected, there in the middle of a shoebox full of postcards, were several promotional postcards for pop singer Paul Anka. I was at an antique auction preview and the other browsers gathered around couldn’t understand why I was so excited. It’s doubtful anyone—other than me—understood the importance of my find and how a postcard of a teen idol could be of interest to a collector of circus memorabilia.

Clarification was in the text under the photo:

Paul Anka
Recording Exclusively for RCA-Victor
Personal Management – Irvin Feld

Who was Irvin Feld? On the card he was listed as Paul’s manager and he played a major role in Paul Anka’s early career. In the 1950s and early ’60s, Irvin Feld produced and promoted rock ʹnʹ roll shows featuring some of the biggest recording stars of the day. The circus connection comes in 1967, when Irvin and his brother, Israel Feld, bought Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. The New York Times dubbed Irvin Feld “The Man Who Saved the Circus.” Irvin’s son, Kenneth, took control when his father died in 1984.

The legend goes that Paul Anka sneaked backstage when the touring rock ʹnʹ roll show featuring Fats Domino, the Platters and Chuck Berry was in Anka’s hometown of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Irvin Feld caught him and told him to get out, but Anka made sure Irvin took down his name “because one day, Feld would have to hire him to be on one of his shows.”

Irvin Feld in the backyard of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

In a previous article about the Feld-rock ‘n’ roll connection, you’ll see a souvenir program for The Biggest Show of Stars of ʹ57, which featured Paul Anka, along with more than a dozen other stars. Anka was then part of Irvin’s touring shows. In time, Irvin would become his personal manager.

In 1959, Anka was touring with “The Winter Dance Party.” Some of the performers were to fly from Clear Lake, Iowa, to Fargo, N.D., but Irvin Feld told the young singer he wanted him to stay behind because he had promised Paul’s father he would watch out for him. That was “The Day Music Died.” It was the flight that took the life of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson.

For more information about Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey and Irvin Feld’s role in The Greatest Show On Earth, check out my previous article”Circus Show Names and the Greatest Show Name of All Time.”

It all goes to show that you’ll never know what you’ll find digging through boxes of old postcards that nobody else seems interested in. I can never resist!

Larry Kellogg is a WorthPoint Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Lever Brothers Company full color advertisements appeared in national magazines and featured famous Ringling clown Lou Jacobs. The advertisement alone is valued at $10.

Twenty-five cents and two box tops from Lever products and once got you a 35-piece, punch-out circus by mail; and not just any circus, mind you, but Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, “The Greatest Show on Earth.” That’s what the magazine advertisement promised to children of all ages in 1948.

Premium offers have always been popular. Lots of them came from cereal companies who marketed their products to kids. Some premiums came packed right in the box, while others were eagerly awaited from the postman after mailing in a few cents and one or more box tops. Many premiums from the 1930s, ’40s & ’50s had a circus theme, but most were generic. The 35-piece Ringling Circus offered by Lever was out of the ordinary. Few people today appreciate its significance.

Over the past several years this set has been offered on eBay and other Internet sites. The highest auction price I’ve seen was $63.25 in 2008. It has also sold for as little as $5, but those are usually incomplete sets. Several factors determine price, condition being the most obvious. A complete unassembled set in the original envelope would be the most desirable.

The front of the envelope had an image of a generic clown.

The back showed a drawing of the complete, assembled set.

Inside the envelope there were four panels with punch-out pieces. Printed on those sections were instructions for assembly:

This panel contained Mr. & Mrs. Gargantua figures and their cage (more about this later). It also had equestrians, clowns, a tiger, a horse, a performing bear and a side show ticket-booth with a talker.

NOTE:Talkers are not “barkers”—for more information about circus terms, see a previous article on Circus Lingo.

Another cage was printed on this panel, along with a lion for the cage. Other figures were an additional side-show ticket-booth, elephants doing a long mount, trained seals and comic performing animals.

This was the largest panel, dominated by the Big Top. On the ends were Side Show banner lines.

The smallest panel had a ringmaster, clowns and a performing lion. A tear-off order blank on the end gave you a chance to order additional sets.

The Gargantua panel.

The Mr. & Mrs. Gargantua cage. They were noteworthy because they were major features in 1948.

The Toto panel.

To read more about Mr. & Mrs. Gargantua, click through to Circus Animal Stars.

Mr. & Mrs. Gargantua were pictured on the cover of the 1948 Ringling Route Book, the same year the Lever punch-out circus was offered. This Route Book is valued at $20-$25.

For more information about circus Route Books, see Circus Route Books – A Record of the Past.

The two side show banner lines ballyhooed actual attractions that were featured in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Side Show, most from the 1948 season:

Checking Ringling Route Books, we find entries that match these four images: Mr. & Mrs. Fischer, Tallest Married Couple (1948); Louise Long, Sword Swallower (1944); Kutty Singlee, Fire Proof Man (1948); Betty Broadbent, Tattooed Girl (1947). Bettina pictured above may be Betty Broadbent. I can’t find any information about a tattooed lady named Bettina.

This is an actual photo of a Ringling Side Show banner line in 1946. Note Mr. & Mrs. Fischer on the far left. (Photo courtesy of Ringling Circus Museum, Sarasota, Fla., Tibbals Digital Collection)

Ringling Route Book descriptions match the images on this banner line: Harry Doll, Daisy Doll, Tiny Doll, Gracie Doll, World’s Most Famous Midget Entertainers (1948) (Side Show Banners for members of the Doll Family often used wording like “Little People in Tiny Town”); Korina, Trainer of Enormous Snakes (1948); (Hawaiian dancers and performers did not appear in the 1948 Ringling Side Show but they were a typical Side Show attraction); Baby Irene Parry, Fat Girl (1948).

The full-page, magazine advertisement promoting the punch-out circus read: “It’s an official replica! It’s endorsed by John Ringling North, President of the circus.”

This endorsement was printed on the top of the cardboard circus Big Top.

I purchased my 35-piece Ringling Circus at an out-of-the-way antique shop in Central City, Colo., almost 40 years ago when I was in Denver on business. The shop owner had a large stack of the envelopes for only $5 each. Hindsight’s always better. Sure wish I had bought all of them.

Larry Kellogg is a WorthPoint Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus was formed in 1957 after the Acme Circus Corporation obtained the Cole Bros. title. In 2006 the Clyde Beatty name was dropped.

Circus purists will tell you, “A circus isn’t a ‘real circus’ unless it features animals.” Many of the greatest circus performers have been wild animal trainers. Clyde Beatty and Gunther Gebel-Williams will certainly go down in history as two of the most famous.

In 1921 Clyde Beatty ran away to join the circus when he was a teenager and began his life-long career training wild animals. It was the dream of many boys in those years. Howes Great London Circus and Van Amburg’s Trained Wild Animals featured Captain Louis Roth. Beatty landed the coveted position of Roth’s cage boy at a salary of $3 a week. In two short years, at the age of 20, he was performing with the John Robinson Circus, working an act of trained polar bears.

Clyde Beatty is listed as one of the performers in this 1923 John Robinson Route Book. It was the foundation of his illustrious career. A copy of this route book sold on eBay in 2007 for $225.

Beatty moved to Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus in 1925, performing with it for 10 years. He began with polar bears and eventually created a mixed act of 40 lions and tigers.

[Hagenbeck Wallace Program.jpg]
Within three years of his arrival, the Hagenbeck-Wallace 1928 program devoted an entire page to young Clyde Beatty: “Introducing America’s youngest and most fearless wild animal trainer, Mr. Clyde Beatty. Conceded by press and public the greatest and most daring act before the public.” The value of this program is $10-15.

In 1931 Clyde Beatty was part of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for the Madison Square Garden and Boston Garden performances. After these dates he returned to the Hagenbeck-Wallace show, which was also owned by Ringling. This schedule continued through 1934.

This 1931 Madison Square Garden edition of the Ringling-Barnum program highlighted Beatty, calling him the “Sensation of the Century.” The value of this program is $25-$50.

In January 1932, while at winter quarters, Clyde was attacked by Nero, an African lion, during a routine training session. A resulting infection put him on sidelines for six weeks, but he was able to return to the Ringling show in time for the Madison Square Garden opening.

The Hagenbeck-Wallace program for that year told the story of “The Strange Germ that Lurked in the Lion’s Bite.” The value of this program is $15-$20.

By the mid-1930s, Beatty had become a super star, as popular as any famous movie star is today. He not only starred as a circus performer, but he appeared in adventure serials and feature films. He had his own syndicated series on Mutual Radio Network, sponsored by Kellogg’s Rice Krispies. He co-authored books and showed up frequently in magazine articles. He even appeared on the cover of Time magazine. Later in his career he appeared on television and owned and performed in his own circus.

For a few years, beginning in 1935, Clyde Beatty was the star of Cole Bros. Circus. The wild animal trainer’s name was given top billing along with the Cole Bros. name.

The covers of the 1935 Cole Bros. Courier (left) and souvenir program show the importance of the Clyde Beatty name. Today we would say his name became his brand. The value of each of these items is $20-$25.

Here are some other Clyde Beatty collectibles:

The March 29, 1937, issue of Time magazine featured Clyde Beatty on the cover. The value of this cover is $20.

Clyde Beatty was the topic of several Big Little Books. These two are valued at $15-$20 each.

This is a classic pose with Clyde Beatty facing an attacking lion. The 8-x-10 publicity photo was signed “To my friend Charley Hutchinson from Clyde Beatty.” Charles Hutchinson was treasurer of Barnum & Bailey and the combined Ringling-Barnum for about 35 years. Value of the photo is $75-$100.

Route books are among the more popular circus collectibles. This issue from 1951 is valued at $25-$30.

“Gigantic Railroad Circus” was the boast on the cover of the 1953 Clyde Beatty Circus program. Copies of this program have sold on the internet for as little as $5 but you should expect to pay as much as $10 or $15.

“Jungle Performers” was copyrighted in 1941 and authored by Clyde Beatty and Earl Wilson. Internet prices range from $10 to $60.

“Facing the Big Cats” was published in 1965. There are many copies of the book on the internet for $15 or less. Edward Anthony co-authored the book with Clyde Beatty, as he had done with an earlier book titled “The Big Cage” published in 1933.

Clyde Beatty starred in many feature films and serials. In a previous article titled “Motion Pictures That Chronicle Circus Life Mix Collectible Categories”. I list five of those films and related memorabilia along with many other circus themed movies.

—————————

In 1969, American audiences were introduced to Gunther Gebel-Williams, the sensational, charismatic star of Germany’s Circus Williams, one of Europe’s premiere circuses dating back to 1945. Irvin Feld, owner of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, purchased the entire Circus Williams solely to acquire the super star. This became the foundation of a second unit of The Greatest Show on Earth, named the Red Unit.

Gunther Gebel-Williams dominates the cover and two inside pages of the 1968 Circus Williams Program.

This is the last year this show appeared in Europe. The value of the program is $20-$25.

Gunther performed with Ringling for more than 25 years. It is estimated that more than 200 million people saw him perform in over 12,000 live performances and during that time he never missed a show. Besides these live appearances, he appeared in TV specials and was interviewed on numerous national TV shows, including The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

In 1989, Ringling staged the Gunther-Gebel Williams Farewell Tour, a two-year salute to “America’s 20th Century Circus Hero.” After his retirement from performing in the public limelight, Gunther remained with The Greatest Show on Earth as vice president of animal care until his death in 2001.

Two books about Gunther Gebel-Williams have been published. One titled “Lord of the Rings Gunther Gebel-Williams” was described in a previous article about VIP Gifts. The other book was his official autobiography written with Toni Reinhold.

“Untamed,” by Gunther Gebel-Williams and Toni Reinhold was published in 1991. Many copies are available on the Internet for $15 or less.

Ringling created countless souvenirs with Gunther’s likeness. This tray frequently shows up Internet auction sites and generally sells for $5-$10.

The farewell tour of Gunther Gebel-Williams began in January 1989 and lasted for two years. This was the 119th Edition of The Greatest Show on Earth. These programs are readily available from various sources for under $5.

Media kits are produced by a circus to provide information to newspapers and TV & radio stations. They typically contain a variety of short stories and photographs. Value is based on the amount of information and promotional pieces are included in the kit. The media kit jacket alone can sell for $5. This kit with several stories and photos is valued at $10-$15.

—————————

The lives of wild animal trainers are one of the most popular subjects of circus books. “The Wild Animal Trainer In America,” by Joanne Carol Joys, examines the topic going back to the early 1800s. The book was published in 1983 by Pruett Publishing Company. It is filled with interesting black-and-white photos and a small selection of color photos. Sections of the book are devoted to Clyde Beatty and Gunther Gebel-Williams.

Copies of this book range from $60 to nearly $200.

Below is a selection of other books written by and about individual wild animal trainers.

“Louis Roth . . . Forty Years with Jungle Killers,” was written by Dave Robeson in 1941. Louis Roth is the man who helped launch Clyde Beatty’s career. Ex-library copies sell for as much as $50. Most copies with dust jacket are over $100.

“Hold That Tiger,” by female animal trainer Mabel Stark, was published in 1938. The least expensive edition I could find on the Internet was $95, with most copies selling from $175 to nearly $400. The one pictured here is autographed by Stark.

“My Life with the Big Cats,” was written by animal trainer Alfred Court, who was a headline attraction with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. Published in 1955, the book is valued at $20 to $60.

George Keller was a college professor who became a wild animal trainer. His autobiography “Here Keller—Train This” was published in 1961. Good copies with dust jacket are $30 and up.

“Lions, Tigers and Me” is the life story of animal trainer, Captain Roman Proske, published in 1956. Many copies are under $10 with some under $5.

Richard Taplinger has co-authored many circus books. “Wild Animal Man” was written with Damoo Dhotre in 1961. Many copies on the Internet are ex-library for under $10.

Trainer Charley Baumann’s book, “Tiger Tiger My 25 Years with the Big Cats,” was published by Playboy Press in 1975. Many copies on the Internet are under $5.

The Hagenbeck name is synonymous with wild animal showmen. Lorenz Hagenbeck’s book, “Animals Are My Life,” was published in London in 1956. Copies of the book can be found for $10.

Trainer Jimmy Chipperfield’s autobiography, “My Wild Life,” was published in 1976. A quick Internet search finds over 500 copies available for sale, many for $1 or less.

Larry Kellogg is a WorthPoint Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

In the early 1970s one such gift was a sculptured, leaping tiger made of bronze mounted on an exquisite chunk of rose quartz. An engraved card accompanied each sculpture naming the artist, Henri Wilson. The tiger was reminiscent of the image on the leaping tiger poster first used by Ringling Bros. World’s Greatest Shows in 1914. Illustrator Charles Livingston Bull designed the poster image which was used by Ringling for many years and was replicated by other circuses.

This VIP gift was created nearly 40 years ago.

I have never come across one in an auction or for sale.

The card accompanying the leaping tiger sculpture says “Especially Designed and Sculpted For Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Combined Shows Inc. by Henri Wilson.” To date, I haven’t been able to find any more information about the artist.

The original leaping tiger poster was designed by Charles Livingston Bull for Ringling Bros. in 1914. The circus continued to use that artwork after the show was combined with Barnum & Bailey. Estimated value of this poster is $500 to $1,000.

Circus publicist, Roland Butler, re-created the artwork with minor changes and used it for Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus. These posters have sold on eBay for $20 to $30.

World famous clown, Lou Jacobs, performed with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey for more than 60 years. In the early 1980s the show used an image of Lou and his little Chihuahua, Knucklehead, on the face of a wall clock.

This gift wall clock measures 24 inch square. In 2008 one sold on eBay for $24.95.

Umbrellas seemed to be a popular gift. Ringling used a large golf umbrella to promote their various properties in 1981. Nearly 30 years later another smaller umbrella with different artwork came along.

The umbrella in the early 1980s was 48 inches in diameter with four panels promoting four shows: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, Ice Follies and Holiday on Ice Combined Shows, Walt Disney’s World on Ice and Siegfried and Roy in Beyond Belief at Frontier in Las Vegas.

Recently, a 40-inch umbrella was designed with four panels promoting: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, Disney on Ice, Disney Live and Ringling’s Center for Elephant Conservation. Interspersed between those panels are four panels, each with the words “Feld Entertainment.”

Wild animal trainer, Gunther Gebel-Williams, performed for more than a quarter of a century with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. In 1989 he began a two-year farewell tour. A colorful biography entitled “Lord of the Rings Gunther Gebel-Williams,” was published to commemorate his stellar career.

In most cases, when the book was given away, it was autographed by Gunther. The book was not available in book stores. A few copies are listed on the Internet priced at $80 to more than $200.

This year (2011) The Greatest Show on Earth begins the 141st season of continuous performances, dating to when P.T. Barnum’s Museum, Menagerie and Circus premiered in Brooklyn on the 10th of April, 1871. In 1984 Irvin Feld and his son Kenneth Feld launched a show celebrating 100 years of the Ringling Brothers. Of course, the Ringling boys started their show several years after Barnum. By 1907, the brothers bought Barnum & Bailey from Bailey’s widow and in 1919 the shows were combined.

To celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Ringling Bros. a limited edition, signed and numbered poster was commissioned. Portraits of Irvin Feld and Kenneth Feld appear in the upper corners.

Tully Burch, an artist from Helena, Ala., illustrated the poster. His signature is on the bottom edge. This is poster 984 out of the limited edition of 1,500. I have never seen one of these posters at auction or for sale on the Internet.

Barnum’s Fundundrum edition of The Greatest Show on Earth began its two-year tour in 2010 and celebrated the 200th anniversary of the birth of P.T. Barnum. Images of circus trains are used throughout the production. So what better VIP gift than a cookie jar made to look like a train?

Cookie jars have been a popular and affordable collectible for a long time. Here’s a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – Barnum’s Funundrum, ceramic, cookie jar with two openings.

Frequently, you will come across a variety of collectibles bearing the Ringling name, but most of these are not the VIP gifts like those found in this article. Don’t confuse VIP gifts with licensed collectibles, which are sold to the general public. A previous article tells about Ringling Licensed Products.

Larry Kellogg is a WorthPoint Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

———————————

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth