Buckles Blog: Elephant Tableaux #4

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Scan000010156, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

Anonymous said...: This wagon is in the collection of Circus World Museum; 11 March, 2010 09:27
Anonymous said...: This is obviously one of the four continent-themed telescoping tableaus from the 1903 Barnum & Bailey outfit. It was extended to a full height body about 1917 and served on B&B and RBBB through 1920. Sold to George Christy, it served on his outfit for a number of years and then Cole Bros. in the 1930s before being abadoned in Indiana. Rescued from total loss by Block & Kuhl, a department store chain, and rebuilt by Frank Myers, it ended up at CWM, which conducted an extensive rebuild back to its appearance in the 1930s.

The carvings from the top, removed circa 1917, were mounted on a small four-wheel chassis and in at least one season was towed behind the wagon in parade, as a sort of "pup" trailer." Of the group of four such floats, the carvings of Africa survive at the Henry Ford Museum [which junked the chassis] and parts of two other statuary groups are elsewhere.; 11 March, 2010 10:27

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