Friday, April 22, 2011

1959 Cristiani Bros. #4


04-21-2011 01;36;43PM, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

Posted by Buckles at 4/22/2011 06:05:00 AM

5 comments:

Bob Cline said...

Wouldn't this have been part of the Diano menagerie that was with Cristiani?

22 April, 2011 08:05
Buckles said...

Probably was. I think there was some lead stock too.
No Diano elephants tho, just the Pete & Norma five and Oscar's five.

22 April, 2011 09:30
Ole Whitey said...

I believe the Cristianis did own one giraffe, which they sold to Beatty-Cole along with the truck prior to the 1960 season.

The truck was very neat with sleepers fore and aft. The sideshow ticket sellers slept in one end and I believe the sideshow band in the other. Dave Mullaney called the giraffe Alex I believe.

Oh wait, I just remembered: didn't the Cristiani giraffe die before delivery to Beatty-Cole? I think Tom Parkinson wrote something about that at the time, but the truck definitely went over.

Maybe Richard Reynolds will jump in here.

22 April, 2011 10:47
Jerry Cash said...

According to the 1959 Cristiani Bros. Circus Route Book, page 46:

"Pete Cristiani purchased a giraffe,a hippo, and a rhino to strengthen the menagerie. He contracted with the famous Zacchini craftsmen to build special cages for the new animals.
These additions together with the five Norma Cristiani elephants and the five in the Cristiani Bros. group gave the show a very acceptable zoological display when combined with the small animals in the two cage trucks."

These cages, along with most of the other trucks, were painted in the new blue and white paint scheme, lettered beautifully, and looked great.
Jerrry Cash

22 April, 2011 13:44
JIM ELLIOTT said...

I have MANY papers of the Cristiani show. I aquired them from the old Teo Zacchini machine shop when Chino Zacchini had an auction, a few years ago. The items I speak of were in a file cabinet, in a corner of the shop, and were Not auctioned off. I spotted them, as I roamed thru the papers in this file cabinet. I asked Chino about them and he told me, if you want them they are yours. Many interesting letters in this collection relating to the business end of the Cristiani show. Especially the final three or four years the show was min business. I have yet to go thru all the papers, but I will someday.

22 April, 2011 21:21

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