Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Sells Bros. Circus #1 (From Robert Kitto)


Scan10271, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

June 7, 2008

Dear Buckles,
Here are some photos that to my knowledge have never been copied or shown anywhere.
Sells Bros. Enormous United Shows with Pawnee Bill's Wild West.
Mid August 1887 in either Beloit or Janesville, Wisconsin.

Bob Kitto

Posted by Buckles at 6/17/2008 06:53:00 AM

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Terrific bannerline shot and a great early series of photos! Sells Bros. played Janesville on Aug 16 and Beloit the next day, Tuesday the 17th, 1887. Bob, and anyone else, have you any more from this time period?

Amateur photography really began the next year, 1888, when the first KODAK camera was placed on the market with the slogan, "You press the button - we do the rest." This was the birth of snapshot photography and the era when circuses (especially parades) begin to be better documented photographically.

Dick Flint
Baltimore

17 June, 2008 08:37
Anonymous said...

Sells Bros Circus - Ephraim, Lewis, Peter and William Allen Sells - the Sells brothers, proprietors 1847-1882.

European Zooligical Assn., Sells brothers, proprietors , 1874-1877.

Seven Elephant Railroad Show, Sells brothers, proprietors 1878-1879.

Sells Bros Circus - Ephraim, Lewis and Peter Sells, proprietors 1883-1895.

Sells Bros. & S. H. Barnetts' Combined Circus, 1889-1890.

Years later Sells Bros. Circus - Robert A. Stevens and William Griffith, proprietors, 1962-1963

17 June, 2008 12:40
Anonymous said...

Great set of photos,and thank you for sharing them with us Mr.Kitto.
P.J.Holmes

17 June, 2008 19:32
Anonymous said...

Sorry, but these were all of the pics that were given to my dad many years ago by a Beloit man who happened to know that dad collected circus pictures.
The pictures are mounted on cardboard similar to CDV backing.
The other possible date was Freeeport, IL, the next day after Beloit.
Bob Kitto
PS So far were have only found copies of older photos that I'm sure every collection has.

17 June, 2008 19:57
Anonymous said...

I stubbled across your website while doing research on Sells Bros. Circus. My great-grandmas maiden name was Sells and she was somehow related to the Sells Brothers. Any information you might have regarding the Sells family would really be appreciated.

Thanks,
John Schmidt
JohnSchmidt10@aol.com

01 July, 2008 01:41

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