Sunday, February 03, 2008

Ringling Bros. Circus #1 (From Eric Beheim)


RB-1, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.


Attached are some scans of Ringling posters from the late 1890s. There are 18 in all and I will send them in groups of 6 to keep from overflowing your computer's mailbox.
Eric

"Shannon took the liberty of bringing out the color in these beauties."
Buckles

Posted by Buckles at 2/03/2008 06:03:00 AM

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Buckles,
Beauties is an understatement for sure. I can hardly wait for Mr. de Ritis to get here, and see these.
Wade Burck

03 February, 2008 08:22
Anonymous said...

All of these wonderful posters are by the Courier Company (which began as Warren, Johnson & Co. and published, among else, most of the editions of P.T. Barnum's autobiography) which was considered one of the largest printing and lithographic companies in the world in the 1880s-90s. In 1887, for example, it boasted having the contract for printing ALL the posters and other advertising material for P.T. Barnum's circus. Courier was publisher of an influential Democratic newspaper of the same name but in the scale of its business, the newspaper was really the subsidiary of the printing establishment and in 1897 the paper was sold. In 1908, a fire destroyed part of the printing plant including an order of $180,000 for circus advertising matter but, in the long-term, the fire effectively ended the Courier Company’s poster printing because it destroyed all of their large presses. While Strobridge has been called the Tiffany of lithographers by some, I most appreciate much of Courier's work because it reflects more of the ornate designs of the art nouveau movement of the 1890s. However, there are some Courier posters where the artists just couldn't draw elephants and, from a visual marketing standpoint, the consistency of the red bar carrying the title on the bulk of Strobridge's Barnum posters give them a stronger impact on the passerby. To understand this, visit the online collection of posters in the Tibbals collection at the Ringling Museum website. Finally, do not confuse the Buffalo Courier firm with the earlier printer of popular American prints, Currier & Ives, in New York City.

These posters survive at the Library of Congress because Courier believed in copyrighting their artwork. At the turn of the century, the Donaldson litho company copied three Great Wallace posters and Courier sued. It reached the Supreme Court and became THE landmark case that established the copyrightability of commercial artwork. It was thought at the time that this was not fine art work but Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said that originality, not quality, is what allows for a work to be copyrighted.

I hate to disillusion folks and I do not know the quality of what was submitted (nor do I wish to detract from the generous aid Shannon provides), but the color of all of these images is much too pale and, for several, considerably altered. In particular, most of the oranges in actuality are deep, rich reds (e.g., image 6 and others for the word Ringling) or greens have turned into blues (#3). Nevertheless, they are a delight to see and one of the highpoints of circus poster work!
Dick Flint
Baltimore

03 February, 2008 13:22
Anonymous said...

Mr Flint,
Wow!!! Thank's for the great information. I guess that's what's called "knowing your subject". Thank's once again, great stuff.
Wade Burck

03 February, 2008 13:48
Eric said...

These were scanned from a set of 35mm slides sold by Blackhawk Films back in the 1960s. I got them for Christmas in 1961.

03 February, 2008 16:40
Roger Smith said...

IN RE: Great circus printing...I am seeking a "Gold Card" of Mabel Stark. Old-timers will know what this is. Kindly advise.

Roger Smith

04 February, 2008 02:16

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