From Eric Beheim

2011 marks the 70th Anniversary of the 1941 Edition of the Greatest Show on Earth. That year, with all the war production work that was taking place, everyone had plenty of money, and Ringling was able to take out one of the biggest, if not THE biggest & heaviest circus that ever toured. (It was even heavier at the beginning of the season, with all of the new Norman Bel Geddes “innovations,” most of which were dropped after the first few stands.) In 1941, a photographer from the TRU-VUE Company (a forerunner of View-Master) visited the show and obtained enough black & white stereo (i.e. 3-D) photos to make up 4 Ringling Circus Tru-Vue subjects of 14 pictures each. (A few of the 1941 photos were later replaced with photos taken in 1942 although the copyright on the title card remained 1941.) Although Buckles posted all of these 1941/1942 photos about a year or so ago, in honor of the 1941 Edition’s 70th Anniversary, they will be making an encore appearance over the next few weeks. The first series shows the unloading and setup plus some assorted shots taken on the lot. (Your comments as to who and what we are seeing will be appreciated by the rest of us.)