Circus, Sideshow & Carnival

Lot #5:

THOMPSON, Ephraim (1859-1909). Eph. Thompson's Elephants. H...

THOMPSON, Ephraim (1859-1909). Eph. Thompson's Elephants. Hamburg: Adolph Friedländer (no. 4508), (1909). Color stone lithograph poster advertising one of the first black American animal trainers with a series of illustrations of trained elephants. 37 ½ x 28". Linen backed. Minor expert restoration along folds and in margins. A-.

Ephraim Thompson began his circus career working backstage for Forepaugh Circus as an animal caretaker and trainer. Due to racial prejudice in America, he was not able to present acts and remained behind the scenes. More readily embraced by European audiences, he traveled to Europe with Carl Hagenbeck Circus in 1885 as an elephant trainer and continued to gain notoriety for tricks with his somersaulting elephant Mary and toured with European circuses such as Carré and Schumann.