Circus, Sideshow & Oddities

Fascinating Circus Photograph Scrapbook, Including Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey. American, ca. 1920s. Leather souvenir scrapbook, small oblong 4to (10 ½ x 6 ½”), from Devil’s Lake, ND. Containing approximately 170 circus snapshots of R.B.B.B., Gollmar Bros., and unidentified circuses. Numerous subjects represented, including snake handlers (including a tattooed snake handler), showgirls, giants, fat ladies, clowns, cooks and circus workers, employees erecting tents, equestrians, a Punch and Judy show, wild circus animals such as elephants, hippopotamuses, giraffes, and zebras; sideshow banners; and trains, wagons, and automobiles. A handful of African American subjects depicted. Several souvenir real-photo postcards of sideshow acts included. Several pages at front and rear with contemporary photos unrelated to circus. Images generally 3 x 5” or slightly smaller. Most images pasted in, some mounted with corner mounts. A wonderful collection of fine vernacular images.