B&B Post Card #2

B&B col Eur postcards (2) by Franzl-riders001, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. Some general comments have been made about other post card series from the 1898-1902 B&B European tour and I thought I would clarify that there are a total of four series, two in color with either German (some years ago I recall seeing some in a middle-European language) or English titles and two in black-and-white, both with French labeling. The several illustrated here all carried a series title that I am using to help differentiate one from the other unlike the group first shown yesterday that has no series title. Quite scarce is the magnificent group all titled "Souvenir from the Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth." They are a color lithographed series of upright postcards of single images, faintly numbered near the printer's imprint along the left edge. They were printed in Munich by Franzl. I am showing two of the several I have though I believe there may possibly be 8 or more in the series. Most commonly seen are the cards from the "Souvenir de Barnum et Bailey," a numbered black-and-white set of at least 11 cards in French—counting card 3 that exists in two different views of unloading the train (at different rail yards) even though the variant does not carry the series title but is otherwise similar. Postal mailing information on the back is in French only, unlike the German cards. These were printed in Paris by Courmont Frères and I am sending a scan of the side show interior card. The titles printed on the complete series of cards are: 1 - Un des groupes d'Éléphants 2 - Performance de 70 chevaux [horses] 3 - Déchargement des trains spéciaux (2 different images, one does not state "Souvenir de Barnum et Bailey" but is numbered the same) 4 - Course de Chars romains (chariot race) 5 - Vue Intérieure de la Tente-Hippodrome 6 - Cité des Tentes 7 - Les artistes gigantesques [elephants sitting up in ring] 8 - Les Phénomènes 9 - Les Rigolos 10 - Un groupe de Femmes-Artistes [women artists] Finally, there is another black-and-white set titled "Le cirque Barnum & Bailey." It is a set of at least two cards with postal mailing information on the back in French only though it was printed in Dresden, Germany, by Wilhelm & Hoffmann. In my sample from this set, note the fellow sitting on the runs! I do not believe that these cards were ever issued with hand-coloring. Any cards found like this were probably done by their owner or a later dealer. In an age where cheap, quality lithographing was easily and cheaply available, it makes little sense to hire someone to color them. Dick Flint Baltimore