Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus 1930's

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

With the glass windows, it must have been a snake wagon. Does anyone know?

Anonymous said...

This wagon was apparently from the famous Carl Hagenbeck Circus order from Bode of forty-eight wagons for $38,000.

Some time back, Fred Dahlinger wrote up this wagon order- the largest in history.

There were three wagons which from all appearances were for snakes but Dahlinger points out that neither the 1905 nor 1906 Hagenbeck inventories list any snakes and there was no snake den listed in the 1906 program cage lineup.

Stuart Thayer, however, believes this wagon began service on the 1906 Hagenbeck show.

It later turned up on Mugivan & associates' Howe's Great London and still later on Hagenbeck-Wallace, where it was a part of their great 1934 march.

Anonymous said...

I bet this phot was taken by Joe Heiser of Houston, Texas in Vicksburg, Miss in Nov. of 1934.
Look at the enlarged photo and you will see the street has been sanded and the brake man has his ax handle in the wheel brake and riding it hard.
Also the drag shoe is in place for the down hill grade.
What a great circus photo.
Harry Kingston