Barnum Rat Sheet Much has been made about the rivalries that existed between circuses of the late 19th century. This unusual lithograph was created for the Barnum & London Circus of about 1883 as a direct jab at Barnum's bitter rival, Adam Forepaugh. The theme and text of the poster is based on Aesop's Fables, where "This old four-clawed frog always was too full of wind and "busted" in the vain attempt to puff himself up to the proportions of the giant Barnum Ox." The original poster is found in the collection of the Bridgeport Public Library. |
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
From Chris Berry #1
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2 comments:
Ok circus experts who had the better circus, performance, elephants, train cars etc, of these two shows??????
The towners who got the best bang for there buck among these two circus greats.
Harry in Texas
Forepaugh dominated the biz 1876-1880, then was equal with B&L/B&B through the 1880s.
Same size trains, equal parades [equal Fielding bandchariots, box tableaux, pony floats two telescopers, steam calliope, etc.].
Same number of rings by the mid-1880s, one had a wider big top while the other’s was longer, equally splendid menageries.
Adam played to the working man while P T appealed to the middle class.
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