1929 Sells Floto Program

Can you imagine any show giving away anything free anymore? It's amazing to me that the program was not seen as a source of revenue back then. RBBB 1925 program cost 15 cents each.

Great Floto bulls - 1905

Here is a widely distributed photo of the Great Floto Shows. Chris Zeitz was the head elephant trainer.

Great Floto Shows Parade Line-up 1905

Before the tilte of Sells-Floto was ever used, the show was called The Great Floto Shows for one year in 1905. Harry H. Tammen & Fredrick G. Bonfils - Proprietors.

Sells Floto - 1906

This is a copy from Microfilm that i had to enhance with Adobe Photoshop to be able to see it. This was in Billboard on December 8, 1906 on page 29.

Sells-Floto Circus

Again, this is a copy off of the microfilm from Billboard as found on September 8, 1906 on page 29.

Great Wallace Shows

Again this is a copy off the microfilm that was enhanced with Adobe Photoshop. Ben E. Wallace out of Peru, Indiana was a showman that used several titles on his circus over the years including Cook & Whitby, Wallace and Anderson, and the Great Wallace shows. You all know the rest of the story. Ben Wallace bought the Carl Hagenbeck exhibition at the end of 1906. He then added the two names together to become Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, one of the largest shows on the road for 30 more years. This page was in Billboard on Sept. 29, 1906 on page 33.

Frank A. Robbins - circa mid 1900's

This an original copy from Billboard. This was ran in the September 1, 1906 issue on page 29. Frank A. Robbins was a long time showman operating and owning his own shows off and on from 1881 through his final season of 1915. The two young elephants shown should be Cross Country Babe and Queen. Any one interested in his extensive life history need only turn to the 18 part series presented in the Circus Historical Society's periodical, the Bandwagon by Robert Sabia beginning in the May / June 2000 issue and running all the way through the July / August issue of 2003. The entire set is still available as back issues for 4.00 each + Shipping by contacting:

Bandwagon Back Issues

2515 Dorset Rd.

Columbus, Ohio 43221

Cummins Wild West - circa 1906 to 1910

This is one of the series in Billboard. This was issued on September 15, 1906. This is directly from Billboard, thus a better quality than the Pawnee Bill page was. Col. Fred T. Cummins started at the 1904 St. Louis Fair with his first named show called the Cummins' Wild West Indian Congress & Rough Riders of the World. 1905 found him in Chicago now being called the Cummins' Wild West and Indian Congress, Custer's Massacre and Siege of Fort Dearborn. From 1906 to 1909 it was generally referred to as Cummins' Wild West. By 1910 the Colonel had joined forces with Vernon C. Seaver to have the Young Buffalo Wild West show. They stayed in business together through 1914.

Pawnee Bill - circa 1893

A friend of ours had this poster in his collection. After he passed away, I never saw it again. Don't know where his collection went. I'm not a Wild West Historian either. Fortunately a fabulous book by Allen L. Farnum has this same poster on the back cover listed as 1893-1894. The book is called Pawnee Bill's Historic Wild West, A Photo Documentary of the 1900-1905 Show Tours. This book is filled with unbelieveable photos of the show on tour. This is a must to anyone that enjoys Wild West Shows.

Pawnee, Oklahoma website

This is on the town of Pawnee, Oklahoma Website. Pawnee Bill's home is open to the public. The Ranch is full of animals. They have a Pawnee Bill festival on the third weekend of June. Pawnee, Oklahoma is also the birthplace of the Dick Tracy artist and cartoon.

Pawnee Bill Letterhead - 1906

This is a fine piece of period artwork. Letterheads spoke as much about the show as the actual business dealings at times. As a result, Letterheads were literally pieces of artwork. This particular letter was sent to Wm. P. Hall in Lancaster, Missouri. The original is located in the Wm. P. Hall files at the Circus World Museum. I don't want to cause a conflict of interest, so I am showing you the Letterhead artwork only and have cropped out the actual letter.

End of Pawnee Bill Show # 1

This was a Billboard ad on Dec. 7, 1907. This was one of the first indicators of the Pawnee Bill Show being disbanded and some of what was being offered for sale. ( Sorry, I know I ran this before, but it goes with the Pawnee Bill Show here also. )

End of Pawnee Bill Show # 2

This was the auction coverage of the Pawnee Bill Show as covered by the New York Clipper on May 2, 1908 as found on page 295. As you can see, there are different details allowed in each article.

End of Pawnee Bill Show # 3

This was the Billboard coverage offered in the May 2, 1908 issue on Page 26. As stated, Pawnee Bill did not retire from Show Business. In December of 1908, he combined forces with Buffalo Bill age 63 and Pawnee Bill ( Gordon Lillie ) only 40 years old. They created the Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Pawnee Bill's Far East Exhibition that worked until monies due forced the closing in 1913. Their auction was held in Overland Park, Denver, Colorado on August 21, 1913 generating about $16,000. Another auction was scheduled on August 27th.

Pawnee Bill - 1906

This was a full page spread in Billboard on Nov.17, 1906 as found on page 23. Billboard carried a variety of shows in this format during 1906. This is the first of several I'll post over the next few days. The 1906 version of the Pawnee Bill show found it greatly enlarged with several Railroad cars, and wagons and in particular four elephants that had been on the Wm. P. Hall show the season before. Again, I have enhanced this on Adobe PhotoShop to increase the quality of the copy that is lost from the poor microfilm.

Miller's Elephants - 1905

You should be able to double click this and enlarge it to read the caption. The Microfilm was really crappy so I enhanced this with Adobe photoshop as much as I could. I talked to Buckles about the Miller elephants and he didn't know anything about them. This is the only mention I ever found in my research. They look like they are all Asian elephants in the 5 to 7 year old range. This ad was in Billboard on Nov.4, 1905, on Page 14.

Happy Fourth of July

A Happy Fourth of July to all of you out there. This postcard comes from the largest and finest Amusement Park in America. Cedar Point is located in Sandusky, Ohio where I grew up. Spent many a day there over the years. I was employed there for a few summers and then worked for Jungle Larry's African Safari in the park a couple summers. Lots of great memories and always the best Fireworks show ever on July 4th.

Letterheads anyone?

Before the advent of Promo Photos, just about everyone advertised their specialties with a custom designed Letterhead. There is one show Letterhead in particular that I can think of that was basically a stock unit with different show titles applied, but almost every performer had their own unique Letterhead. This ad was in the Billboard on August 4, 1906, on Page 33.

Washburn & D'Alma's Famous Trained Animal Shows

Here's another really nice piece of artwork found in the New York Clipper on September 8, 1906 on Page 775. This shown was jointly owned by Leon Washburn and Mr. D'Alma. The title was used in 1905 and 1906.

The four baby elephants were Fanchon, Jumbino, Modoc, & Lou. Leon Washburn owned them from 1904 to 1910. Mr. Washburn offered all four elephants to Wm. P. Hall for $6500.00 in 1910 but Hall turned down the offer. He sold all four to James Patterson in the winter of 1910/1911.

In 1912, Lou & Fanchon died of a Mineral Poisoning in Michigan.

Jumbino was sold by Patterson to Andrew Downie where she appearred on his shows and died unexpectedly in 1918.

Modoc went on to great fame when she was the dancing elephant on Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey from 1931 until she passed away in 1957.

Carl Hagenbeck - Animal Importer

The vast array of animals that were imported by Carl Hagenbeck's operation probably surpassed all others. In addition to his Hagenbeck Zoo in Germany, which was the focal point of the import business, he also had his Carl Hagenbeck Wild Animal Show at the Louisiana Purchase Gardens in St. Louis under the direction of his son Lorenz that included 15 elephants. This complete show would be bought by Ben Wallace in the winter of 1906 / 1907 which created the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus.

Louis Ruhe - Animal Importer

Now this is a name everyone knew when it came to finding animals. This ad was in the Billboard on March 23, 1907 on page 31.

J. Hope - Animal Importer

I have to admit, I've never heard of J. Hope. I don't know which show this was either, but it would be fun to do the research to find out. This was in the Billboard on August 5, 1905 on page 28.

Donaldson Litho Co. has a Circus for sale.

Here we see a complete circus for sale through the Donaldson Litho Co. Were they holding a lien for unpaid paper, who knows. It happened many times. ( If you double click the ad, it will enlarge enough to read. ) I don't know which show it was and don't want to speculate either. The ad appeared in the Billboard on June 6, 1906 on page 56.

Lemen Bros. Circus

This ad was found in Billboard on August 18, 1906 on page 26. ( You can double click on the ad to make it enlarge so that it's readable. ) I'm not 100% sure what role The Campbell Bros. played in this but they were involved in trying to get the show sold and would keep Wm. P. Hall informed of every move. Wm.P. Hall did buy the Lemen Bros. Circus but not until May of 1909.

Great Wm. P. Hall show for sale!

William P. Hall, "The Horse King of the World", of Lancaster, Missouri only advertised a couple times in his career. Here we find in the New York Clipper on April 28, 1906 on page 275, an ad offering his complete circus for sale. ( unfortunately, the microfilms aren't very good sometimes )The Great Wm. P. Hall show toured for one year in 1905 being largely made up of the old Walter L. Main Circus properties. The Pawnee Bill show bought a good bit including four elephants. The Campbell Bros. Shows bought most of the menagerie animals. The rest remained at his quarters.

The Great Wallace Show for sale!

As found in the Billboard on December 1, 1906 on page 35, although advertised, This particular offer was never allowed to happen. Instead, Ben Wallace bought the Great Carl Hagenbeck show, combined it with his and it hit the road in 1907 as the Great Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. Carl Hagenbeck was infuriated that his name was being used by someone else and even filed suit in the courts to stop the use of his name. Needless to say, the Hagenbeck-Wallace title is still in use today by the Ringling organization.

Eph Thompson # 1

Eph Thompson was a gifted elphant trainer at the turn of the century. He was the boxing partner to the famed Adam Forepaugh elephant John L. Sullivan in 1888. Unfortunately being a Black man, he was not allowed to gain the respect of other trainers at the time so he went to Europe. Here he achived the recognition he so richly deserved for his fabulous training of four huge elephants. This particular ad was placed in Billboard on November 17, 1904 on page 34.

Eph Thompson # 2

I won't claim to know very much about Eph Thompson or his elephants. I'm sure his performances in the United States were during 1904 to 1908. Before or after those dates, I don't know. Mary was his famed Somersaulting elephant.

Eph Thompson # 3

Eph Thompson offered his elephants for sale here in the New York Clipper in the March 10, 1906 edition on page 87. They didn't sell however. The Billboard on March 7, 1908 on Page 22 carried a small article stating the Ringlings had offered $50,000 for the four elephants.

History tells us they didn't go to the Ringlings in 1909.

Parker & Watts # 1

The Parker & Watts show came out of the barn for the first time in 1938 and lasted through the 1939 season. Charles Parker and Ira Watts were the owners. This was a medium size truck show giving a daily parade. The show opened with five elephants. Ena, Mabel & Mona had come from the Seal Bros. Circus. Maxine & Thelma were owned by W. C. Richards. In a sign of things to come, Charles Parker tokk ill suddenly and died June 8, 1938 in Mobridge, South Dakota.

In 1939, Ira watts added one more elephant named Vera who was owned by Jimmy Hamiter. After the show folded, Ira Watts kept the three elephants he owned until he sold them to Hamid Morton in 1942.

Parker & Watts # 2

They had a tie in with Sinclair Oil obviously helping out with some monetary aid. I don't know, but I assume this was inflated on a daily basis.

Parker & Watts # 3

Parker & Watts # 4

Parker & Watts # 5

Parker & Watts # 6

Parker & Watts # 7

Parker & Watts # 8

Parker & Watts # 9

Love the Wardrobe!

Parker & Watts # 10

Parker & Watts # 11

Parker & Watts # 12

The banner man has been doing his job!

Gentry Bros. 1911

The Gentry Bros., Henry, Frank, Walter, & J.W, had started their show back in 1895 as Professor Gentry's Famous Dog & Pony Show. They used one, two, three, and four units of the Gentry Bros. on the road at the same time usually with one brother taking each unit. This particular title of Gentry Bros. All New Feature Shows was used from 1910 to 1912. In 1911 only Henry, and Walter were still in the business. This ad was found in the Newark Daily Advocate on June 26, 1911.

Andrew Downie's new show!

Andrew Downie had already been in show business for over 30 years when he took out the LaTena Circus in 1914. This ad was found in the Billboard on November 15, 1913 on page 23.

1886 - Downie & Austin's Parlor Circus

1890 - Rich & Downie Circus

1891 - 1892 - Downie & Gallagher Circus

1905 - Downie's Dog & Pony Show

1905 - McPhee's Big Company

1909 - 1910 - Andrew Downie's Circus

1911 -1913 - Downie & Wheeler's Circus

1914 - 1917 - LaTena's Circus

1918 - 1923 - Walter L. Main Circus

1924 - Andrew Downie's Circus

1926 - 1929 - Downie Bros. Circus ( sold it to Charles Sparks )

J.H. Garrett's Rice Bros. Circus

The 1914 season was picking up where the 1913 season had left off for J. H. Garrett. Here we find that Al Campbell is the General Manager. Al Campbell had been an owner of the Campbell Bros. Great Consolidated Shows from 1894 until 1912 when they folded. He then partnered with Lee Greer and Fred Hatfield in 1913 on the Cole Bros. Circus that folded after one season. This ad was found in the Billboard on February 14, 1914 on page 24.

Two Great names - One great Show

Wow! It just couldn't have gotten any better than this. Sells-Floto was one of the premier up and coming circuses of its day. They combined with the legendary Buffalo Bill to bring one huge package of family entertainment to your town for the 1914 season. This ad was found in Billboard on November, 29, 1913.

Before Ringling knew what the Madison Square Garden was!

A sure sign of the winter being over and that spring was about to erupt in full bloom was the traditional Madison Square Garden opening of what was then the "Greatest Show on Earth", The Barnum & Bailey Circus. Just by reading the ad you can get a pretty good idea how enormous a show it was. This ad was in the New York Times on march 22, 1908.

New York, New York!

Some of the greatest entertainment has called New York City home over the years. The Hippodrome was always using circus acts of all kinds. Reading this ad very close, it makes it sound like there were several different elephants all there at the same time. The ad was found in the New York Times on March 28, 1908.

Campbell Bros. Great United Shows

I've been researching the Campbell Bros. Circus for the last couple years now. Here we find a few ads that were used over the years celebrating the purchase of their first two elephants Venus, and Topsy. Both were bought from the Joe B. MacMahon show. Mrs. MacMahon knew Venus was enough trouble that they sent the elephant keeper Nadge with the elephants to remain on the Campbell show to handle the two elephants. This ad was found in the Republican Leader, Trenton, Nebraska, on May 27, 1898.

A Classic coming soon ad

Here we find a rather simple drawing as used most of the time by the Campbell shows. You'll notice the Oriental flavor that goes with the troupe of Japanese acrobats. Further below, you'll see mention of Prof. Nag and his performing elephants ( Nadge MacMayon ). Nadge came with the elephants from the Joe B. MacMahon show. This ad was in the Republican Leader in trenton, Nebraska on June 3, 1898.

The Finest Campbell Bros. ad I have seen

This is definitely the nicest ad I have ever seen the Campbell Bros. Great Consolidated Shows use. Even the posters I have seen were never a fabulous piece of artwork but rather plain and colorful enough to do the job they were intended for. With the advent of newspaperARCHIVE.com, I was able to locate this as being in Lafayette, Louisiana on November 9, 1901.