Friday, October 17, 2008

From Chris Berry #1


Ringling Bros HIGH WIRE Twosheet (1919), originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

Recycling Lithos for "Combined Shows"


As mentioned in an earlier thread, when the decision was made for Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey to combine in 1919, there was still quite a bit of poster stock on the shelves of the Strobridge Litho Co. in Cincinnati. Especially for Barnum & Bailey since the show was forced to close early in October 1918 due to the Spanish flu epidemic that was sweeping Louisiana and Texas. The artists and printers at Strobridge were very clever in taking those lithos that remained at the end of the 1918 season and crosslining the paper - adding "Ringling Bros" to the Barnum & Bailey bills and "Barnum & Bailey" to the existing Ringling posters. In some cases not overprinting but simply pasting the new title onto the existing paper.

This two-sheet for the highwire act shows how "Barnum & Bailey" was pasted to the bottom of the bill. This particular litho was one of those that was on exhibit last month at the Eastern States Exposition and may have been seen by readers who attended the Circus Historical Society Convention in Springfield, Mass. The Barnum & Bailey one-sheet that follows is not from my personal collection but is a great example of how - in that case anyway - Barnum & Bailey literally got "top billing" over Ringling Bros.

Posted by Buckles at 10/17/2008 06:18:00 AM

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good stuff! A recall seeing a B&W photo in Bandwagon a few years back that showed a large billstand from the 1919 season with the streamer "Barnum & Bailey and Ringling Bros."

17 October, 2008 07:20
Harry Kingston said...

Thanks so much, Chris, Dave, Hal, Joey and Buckles.
What a great way to start off a Weekend with these great posters from the past.
Thanks Buckles for the story on the Barnes-Sells Floto train pulling in and seeing the Ringling equipment.
Did the locals get there money's worth with that power packed show.
I think the photo was in the Bandwagon or White Tops of a large billing stand with Ringling and Barnes posters side by side and what a sight it was.
Now that is what i call the good old days.
Harry in hurricane alley

17 October, 2008 08:15
Anonymous said...

The 1919 Combine Shows started out with greater overhead than either of the 1918 troupes, and there was just the one income-producing operation against which to charge it. Saving some money by using old paper in novel ways made sense and saved a bit of money. One wonders how much paper could have been on the shelves since the tours were truncated by only nine and ten days. One doubts that Strobridge printed paper for inventory for shipment in 1919; word was already out in 1918, before the tours ended, that there would be but one show in 1919.

The best re-use of old paper may have been Floyd King's billing of King Bros. with old Christy Bros. pictorials, complete with Christy title intact. It added a lot of flash to his date sheets, the colorful pieces adding to the enjoyment of circus advance. Floyd just loved the tops, I'd say. What say, Old Whitey?

17 October, 2008 09:56
Anonymous said...

At some point Central in Mason City acquired the shelf stock of Riverside, including the old Christy Bros material. Dr King then got his from Central. Beautiful paper but old and brittle.

In about 1954 Central tried to clear their shelves by offering all kinds of old paper to collectors for a dollar a pop.

I was a teen-ager with not much money but I bought a few sheets including the great Christy Bros menagerie bill for that price.

17 October, 2008 12:52
Harry Kingston said...

Can anyone tell me the years from start to finish Riverside printing was in business?????
They sure put out some real beautiful paper.
Yes I saw the photo of the Christy paper with the King Bros date beside it. It sure looked great.
I guess we all have the christy megagerie in our collections. I think i have 4 of that one.
I got one off ebay for $20 and it was going cheap so i figured I would just buy another one.
Any body ever see a photo of a 16 or 20 sheet of it posted on a building????
I also saw some photos of Christy paper on Dailey Bros railroad show and they must have bought some of it so it must have been cheap.
Harry

17 October, 2008 14:06

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