This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/17/2024
[CIRCUS]. Welsh’s New Golden Allied Pavilion Shows! N.p. [ca. 1890s]. Handsome double-sided pictorial letterpress playbill in black ink on purple stock, advertising shows by the Pennsylvania-based railroad circus. The undated stock poster bears no less than eleven engraved images including a bust portrait of general manager John Welsh; an aerial view of several large tents on the circus grounds teeming with visitors; groups of acrobats, contortionists, and aerialists demonstrating their acts; trained canines; a costumed Asian performer balancing atop a sphere on one foot; male and female equestrian exhibitors; and exotic animals including a lion and an elephant. The bill assures: “no gamblers, thieves and campfollowers allowed with this show.” The Welsh brothers famously employed Harry and Bess Houdini in the late 1890s. 23 ¾ x 9 ¼”. Old creases with tiny losses affecting text, small tears to edges.