1870rif. BK0091Likely United States 1870. Photograph approximately 7 ½ × 5 ¼ inches mounted to a larger card with printed oval rules. No photographer's imprint or identification to verso. Mount with edge wear rounded and chipped corners rippling to mount short closed tear at left edge scattered surface wear and spotting; some loss to applied color particularly at the trunks good. A hand-colored albumen photograph showing an unidentified male circus performer or acrobat posed full-length in a studio wearing white tights and slippers decorated trunks wrist cuffs and an elaborate ruffled collar. The performer is likely an acrobat or gymnast. The photograph is unsigned and the subject unidentified; the format and presentation suggest an American origin though similar circus portraits were produced in Europe during the period. unknown
Paris, E. Flammarion, éditeur, 1926. In-4 (32 cm x 25) pleine percaline brique à la Bradel de l'éditeur, médaillon illustré sur le premier plat, 138 pp (dont 20 de préface). 118 planches hors-texte, dessins et tableaux en noir et blanc peintres et illustrateurs : Fragonard, Lancret, Watteau, Reynolds, F. Boucher, L. Vigée, Vigée Le Brun, Goya, Cézanne, Delacroix, Degas, Manet, Bakst, Seurat, A. Lhote, Foujita, Van Dongen, Daragnès, P. Brissaud, J. L. Forain, Quelvée, Ed Goerg, J. Auscher, H. C. Ibels, etc, etc. Bel exemplaire.
1937rif. 106410Oblong 4to booklet format illustrated 111 pp. Cover and spine wear spine essentially gone normal aging; about very good for this type item. The Cole Brothers circus was founded in 1884 and lasted until 2016 when animal rights groups essentially drove them out of business. In 2017 Ringling Bros. faced the same fate. In the 1930s the circus included legendary animal trainer Clyde Beatty who is featured in this booklet and Bobo the Clown. This somewhat scarce piece of circus ephemera includes pictures of performers promotional articles official program and route schedule for 1937. Cole Bros Circus, books
1937rif. 106410Oblong 4to booklet format illustrated 111 pp. Cover and spine wear spine essentially gone normal aging; about very good for this type item. The Cole Brothers circus was founded in 1884 and lasted until 2016 when animal rights groups essentially drove them out of business. In 2017 Ringling Bros. faced the same fate. In the 1930s the circus included legendary animal trainer Clyde Beatty who is featured in this booklet and Bobo the Clown. This somewhat scarce piece of circus ephemera includes pictures of performers promotional articles official program and route schedule for 1937. Cole Bros Circus,
rif. 27121Paris, E. Flammarion, éditeur, 1926. In-4 (32 cm x 25) pleine percaline brique à la Bradel de l'éditeur, médaillon illustré sur le premier plat, 138 pp (dont 20 de préface).
1935rif. 17937Guy Lévis Mano, 1935. Broché, couverture blanche muette et couverture libre de papier kraft imprimée, rempliée. 21,7 x 16,9 cm.
rif. 201905221Paris, La Palatine, 1962 ; grand in-12, 370 pp., br. En bon état rare.
rif. 201805568Paris, Editions Baudinière, 1932 ; in-12, 285 pp., cartonnage . Très bon état pleine toile décorée, - ex-libris A.H. Marchand -nombreuses illustrations en noir et blanc - etat superbe sans rousseurs.
in-8 (21,5x14), 279 pp, photogaphies et illustrations n&b, broche, couverture illustree. Bel exemplaire. [MI-27]
in-4, 104 pp, illustrations n&b et couleurs, Met 200 onuitgeg. of weinig gekende originele ill. en oorspr. tek. van Alika Lindbergh, Louise Van Gelder, Serge Creuz en Guy Huygens, broche, couv. illustree. Etat proche du NEUF. [AGR-4]
in-8 (20x14), 242 pp, photogaphies et illustrations n&b, broche, couv. illustree. Bon etat. [AB-1][NAN-1]
1926rif. 13604San Francisco H.S. Crocker Co. Inc. 1926. 1926. First edition. Thin 8vo. "Original illustrations." Original blue silk gilt stamped pictorial upper cover slight rubbing. Very good. 98 pages. No dust jacket. Number 216 of 1250 numbered copies. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. [San Francisco, H.S. Crocker Co., Inc., 1926]. hardcover books
1936rif. 56663Bristol: Arrowsmith 1936. 8vo. 144 pp. Photo frontisp. numerous photo plates text illusts. Orange cloth black lettering w/ d.j. cover art photo of author lettering & decoration in black & orange minor darkening to spine slight shelfwear NF/NF copy. First edition of this famed memoir by the circus promoter and founder of the Zoo Park at Maidstone at one time one of the largest privately owned collections of exotic animals in Britain. He supplied animals to theatres pageants films circuses and more and was a major benefactor to Maidstone establishing the Tyrwhitt-Drake Mseum of Carriages. Arrowsmith, hardcover
1931rif. 49819Cleveland OH: The Harter Publishing Co. Educational Publishers 1931. 4to. 4 folding poster leaves 36 x 12 in. printed in black with brown colour printed the posters. Colour-illustrated softcovers cover art by Sampson back cover art contains colour suggestions for the four posters minor edgewear creasing four posters neatly stapled to back cover still VG copy. First edition of this fantastic activity book intended to provide children with a box of crayons or watercolours large simple drawings many happy hours of colouring and enjoyment. These were intended to be hung as a twelve-foot frieze on the wall of the play room bedroom or classroom. Sampson was also known for her 1933 Aesop silhouette book as well as her charming Mother Goose Posters in 1925. No copies located in Worldcat. The Harter Publishing Co., Educational Publishers, paperback
1881rif. 53115Munich: Konigliche Hof-Buch- und Kunsthandlung Adolf Ackerman 1881. Folio. 4 pp unpaginated. printed in red & black w/ decorated woodcut-engraved borders. With 36 pen & ink sketch plates tipped-in to 28 thick paper boards each w/ red woodcut-engraved borders & red lettering in lower fore-edge of plate. Original blue-gray pictorial publisher’s cloth folding portfolio elaborate gilt & black lettering & illustration of horse trainer raising horses up on their hind legs decorative endpapers binder’s tick of G. Fritsche Book binder Leipzig on lower front pastedown minor rubbing very minor shelfwear slight toning to text leaves a couple very small closed tears repaired w/ archival repair tape at fore-edges still a VG bright copy. First edition of this beautifully illustrated homage to the 19th-century circus horse trick riders jugglers clowns and trapeze artists. All of the sepia-tinted plates have been executed with great precision and energy displaying a tremendous vitality and talent. Lang 1838-1891 studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich studied horses in the veterinary schools and stud farms of the Princes of Thurn and Taxis. He traveled extensively and his circus illustrations have become quite desirable by enthusiasts. Konigliche Hof-Buch- und Kunsthandlung Adolf Ackerman, hardcover
2009rif. 40957Cologne: Taschen 2009. Folio. 383 1 pp. Over 450 colour and blk & wht illusts. photos. Red illust. boards slght bmpng hd & ft of spine w/ d.j. VG/F. First B&N edition of this lavish history of the American circus creating at the end of the 19th century the largest show-biz the world had ever seen. Included are iconic images from such famed photographers as Whitman Glasier Edward Kelty Mathew Brady Cornell Capa Wloker Evans Weegee Lisette Model Stanley Kubrick and more. Taschen, hardcover
1875rif. 36453n.p. 1875. Carte de Visite format 2-1/2" x 4" albumen print on card mount: Photographic portrait of John McGuire a dwarf dressed in the usual fancy suit and top hat popular with dwarf performers at the time. No printed caption or imprint appears. A pencil notation beneath the photo "Coll. Mcguire." Minor dust. Very Good. Col. John McGuire a dwarf perfomer has been the subject of a only handful of carte-de-visites from what our research showed. There is one example very similar to ours held in the Ronald G. Becker Collection of Charles Eisenmann Photographs at Syracuse University and dated about 1875. unknown books
1875rif. 36453n.p. 1875. Carte de Visite format 2-1/2" x 4" albumen print on card mount: Photographic portrait of John McGuire a dwarf dressed in the usual fancy suit and top hat popular with dwarf performers at the time. No printed caption or imprint appears. A pencil notation beneath the photo "Coll. Mcguire." Minor dust. Very Good. Col. John McGuire a dwarf perfomer has been the subject of a only handful of carte-de-visites from what our research showed. There is one example very similar to ours held in the Ronald G. Becker Collection of Charles Eisenmann Photographs at Syracuse University and dated about 1875. unknown
1950rif. 67941Litho in U.S.A. C S P Co 1950. Three full-color lithographic advertising posters for the circus each 26 x 21 inches each with a 7 ¼ x 21 inch extender tag affixed at the bottom all advertising the Thursday September 6 1951 one chipped with the loss of part of the numeral "6" appearance in Long Beach California "Afternoon and Night" "New Air Ventilated Tent" "20 Degrees Cooler than Ever Before." One of the posters features a ferocious leaping Tiger above a ferocious leaping Lion one shows a Hippopotamus surfacing through vegetation in his river and the third shows "Francis Braun Greatest Juggler in the World" practicing his art. All are framed in multi-color borders. With the defect noted a very good lot uncommon with the advertising tags to the same appearance still attached. For the three posters Litho in U.S.A., C S P Co unknown books
1920rif. 157882N.p.: N.p. 1920. Vintage borderless photograph of Trixie the Wonder Dog a performing canine billed as "The Dog with the Mind of a Child." Annotations in manuscript pencil regarding cropping on the verso. The photograph shows Trixie posed on a carved wooden seat surrounded by props ostensibly used in her performances including a hoop several balls and a mock menu. 7.75 x 7.5 inches. Near Fine. N.p. unknown books
1878rif. 63754New York: James Reilley Printer and Engraver 12 14 & 16 Spruce Street New York 1878. Poster for the circus printed on both sides 65 x 22 cm. on a 74 x 26 cm. sheet. "Programme No. 1." Text in various sizes and styles of type bordered by small vignettes of animals and circus acts. Title on verso: "UNCEASING ENTHUSIASM! / VanAmburgh & Co's / NEW GREAT GOLDEN / Menagerie Circus & Colosseum / Manager for 32 consecutive years. Mr. Hyatt Frost / WORLD-WIDE IN REPUTATION!. / THOUSANDS FLOCK TO SEE IT. followed by eleven illustrations of featured animals including the Two Horned Rhinoceros the White Yak of Tartary the African Ostrich etc. plus acrobats trapeze artists and other performers. In the margin left blank to allow for adding the location of the show this copy is stamped in bold letters "Fryeburg: Sept. 6." A few shallow chips to margins one short closed tear extending slightly into the illustration of the kangaroo else a boldly printed wonderfully illustrated copy. Isaac VanAmburgh 1811-1865 born in Fishkill New York is considered one of the originators of dramatic and daring trained wild animal acts incorporating them into his traveling menageries. Known as "The Lion King" for his bold performances he was touring England and the Continent by 1834 entering cages with lions tigers and other big cats and occasionally putting his arm or his head into their mouths much to the delight of Queen Victoria and other royalty. His long-time manager Hyatt Frost penned a biographical sketch of VanAmburgh in 1872 calling him "the original beast conqueror- a pioneer in entering their dens. no man has been able to effect as marvellous feats or exercise such power of control over the brute creation." Frost continued to use the VanAmburgh name and to manage the show after VanAmburgh's death. Frost was also a partner with P.T. Barnum in the Barnum Museum on Broadway in New York City until two fires one in 1865 and another in 1868 closed it down at a great loss to both men. Frost thereafter traveled the country and Canada with a wagon show and later a railroad show though competing with larger circuses became increasingly difficult. By 1884 he gave up the work and auctioned off the remaining parts of the VanAmburgh menagerie. see his obituary in the Amenia Times Sept. 7 1895. This copy with the Fryeburg Maine stamp was likely printed in 1878 when Frost was in his 32nd year as manager. We found a different poster for the VanAmburgh menagerie dated 1885 which notes that Frost was then in his 39th year as manager helping to date this copy. OCLC lists one copy at the Connecticut State Library which gives the date as 1880. James Reilley, Printer and Engraver, 12, 14, & 16 Spruce Street, New York unknown books
1878rif. 63754New York: James Reilley Printer and Engraver 12 14 & 16 Spruce Street New York 1878. Poster for the circus printed on both sides 65 x 22 cm. on a 74 x 26 cm. sheet. "Programme No. 1." Text in various sizes and styles of type bordered by small vignettes of animals and circus acts. Title on verso: "UNCEASING ENTHUSIASM! / VanAmburgh & Co's / NEW GREAT GOLDEN / Menagerie Circus & Colosseum / Manager for 32 consecutive years. Mr. Hyatt Frost / WORLD-WIDE IN REPUTATION!. / THOUSANDS FLOCK TO SEE IT. followed by eleven illustrations of featured animals including the Two Horned Rhinoceros the White Yak of Tartary the African Ostrich etc. plus acrobats trapeze artists and other performers. In the margin left blank to allow for adding the location of the show this copy is stamped in bold letters "Fryeburg: Sept. 6." A few shallow chips to margins one short closed tear extending slightly into the illustration of the kangaroo else a boldly printed wonderfully illustrated copy. Isaac VanAmburgh 1811-1865 born in Fishkill New York is considered one of the originators of dramatic and daring trained wild animal acts incorporating them into his traveling menageries. Known as "The Lion King" for his bold performances he was touring England and the Continent by 1834 entering cages with lions tigers and other big cats and occasionally putting his arm or his head into their mouths much to the delight of Queen Victoria and other royalty. His long-time manager Hyatt Frost penned a biographical sketch of VanAmburgh in 1872 calling him "the original beast conqueror- a pioneer in entering their dens. no man has been able to effect as marvellous feats or exercise such power of control over the brute creation." Frost continued to use the VanAmburgh name and to manage the show after VanAmburgh's death. Frost was also a partner with P.T. Barnum in the Barnum Museum on Broadway in New York City until two fires one in 1865 and another in 1868 closed it down at a great loss to both men. Frost thereafter traveled the country and Canada with a wagon show and later a railroad show though competing with larger circuses became increasingly difficult. By 1884 he gave up the work and auctioned off the remaining parts of the VanAmburgh menagerie. see his obituary in the Amenia Times Sept. 7 1895. This copy with the Fryeburg Maine stamp was likely printed in 1878 when Frost was in his 32nd year as manager. We found a different poster for the VanAmburgh menagerie dated 1885 which notes that Frost was then in his 39th year as manager helping to date this copy. OCLC lists one copy at the Connecticut State Library which gives the date as 1880. James Reilley, Printer and Engraver, 12, 14, & 16 Spruce Street, New York unknown
1920rif. 157882N.p.: N.p. 1920. Vintage borderless photograph of Trixie the Wonder Dog a performing canine billed as "The Dog with the Mind of a Child." Annotations in manuscript pencil regarding cropping on the verso. The photograph shows Trixie posed on a carved wooden seat surrounded by props ostensibly used in her performances including a hoop several balls and a mock menu. 7.75 x 7.5 inches. Near Fine. N.p. unknown
1950rif. 67941Litho in U.S.A. C S P Co 1950. Three full-color lithographic advertising posters for the circus each 26 x 21 inches each with a 7 ¼ x 21 inch extender tag affixed at the bottom all advertising the Thursday September 6 1951 one chipped with the loss of part of the numeral "6" appearance in Long Beach California "Afternoon and Night" "New Air Ventilated Tent" "20 Degrees Cooler than Ever Before." One of the posters features a ferocious leaping Tiger above a ferocious leaping Lion one shows a Hippopotamus surfacing through vegetation in his river and the third shows "Francis Braun Greatest Juggler in the World" practicing his art. All are framed in multi-color borders. With the defect noted a very good lot uncommon with the advertising tags to the same appearance still attached. For the three posters Litho in U.S.A., C S P Co unknown
1875rif. 57736Indianapolis IN: Indianapolis Journal Print 1875. First edition . Illustrated advertising broadsheet 28 1/2 x 10 5/8 inches employing a large number of sizes and styles of type including nice display types. The show traveled via its own fleet of 42 railroad cars "Mr. H. Barnum with years of experience catering to the tastes of lovers of amusement and artistic mechanism has put together a show with the sole view of eclipsing any and all heretofore attempts as to Splendor and Novelty." Howes' Great London Circus began its season in St. Louis Missouri according to the New York Clipper edition of March 11 1876; it was in New Orleans on November 20 1875. An ad in the Little Rock Arkansas Gazette gave a December 1 1875 date for its appearance in that city and noted that the circus would be appearing in "all the principal cities of Texas" beginning in that month. Henry Barnum ca. 1826-1902 was a showman and manager for several circuses during his career; in 1873 he purchased an interest in Howes' Great London Circus along with James E. Kelley. Lavish production low attendance and rail costs contributed to the demise of this circus at the end of the 1876 season being subsequently sold to Cooper & Bailey who continued to employ Barnum. Apparently not recorded on OCLC. Despite the defects a nice exhibition display broadsheet. Creased from folding some old staining to margins some short tears repaired with cello-tape two in margins one along a fold affecting several words printer's inking defect affecting the first two letters in the headline word "Howes". #6169. Indianapolis Journal Print unknown
