Friday, July 17, 2020

CALLI #6


5 comments:

Roger Smith said...

Better wagon historians may comment on this: These 2 photos show us "Cole Bros." on the previous skyboard, and "America" on this one. Was this wagon always on the same show?

Richard King said...

It originated on Barnum and Bailey. It was a tableau. The wagon originally existed only from the middle down. On top was a life sized buffalo.

Roger Smith said...

Thank you, RICHARD. Details I would not have known. Boy, some of these wagons really got around. Two of the top wagon historians were Captain Terrell Jacobs, and Col. William Woodcock, Sr. Possessed of encyclopedic memories, they were among the most sought after for accuracy. Both men could recite a wagon's origins, its years of ownership transition, changing paint jobs and numbers, and what function it served on any given show.

Richard King said...

There's a good history of America here,
http://www.circuswagons.org/calliopes-and-musical-instruments/america/

Richard King said...

BTW,when it was last restored I turned several of those "spools" between the faces.