Ringling_Barnum_LEOPARD_HEAD_(1941)_one_sheet_upright

Ringling_Barnum_LEOPARD_HEAD_(1941)_one_sheet_upright, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. From Chris Berry: This poster image surely holds the record for longevity by a circus, with Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey using variations of it for more than 30 years starting in 1941. This original design was among that first group of posters which John Ringling North commissioned designer Norman Bel Geddes to produce in the early 40s. Over the years the font changed, the background was temporarily switched from green to red and in 1954 the image of the leopard was sharpened by the artists at Cincinnati's Strobridge Litho Company, one of the last posters that the venerable firm ever printed for Ringling-Barnum (that version used during the 1954-56 seasons is identified by a small printers union seal in the corner of the poster). Over the decades the Ringling-Barnum billing crews posted window cards, half-sheets, one-sheets and wall work with this striking image of a snarling leopard. The date tail for this particular poster is for the performances in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 11, 1941. That particular date is notable in that it was the last time that Ringling-Barnum played Milwaukee for only one-day.