A Series of New and Most Astonishing Feats by The Best Trained & Greatest Herd Performing Elephants, circa 1890

Contact Us About This
01

Artifact Overview

In the late nineteenth century, printers developed a lithograph method that produced brightly colored posters. In advance of a circus coming to town, general agents glued these eye-catching generic posters to building walls, fences, and in window displays. To announce when and where the performances would happen, local printers sometimes provided letterpress paper date strips to paste onto the posters' lower margin.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Poster

Date Made

circa 1890

Subject Date

circa 1890

Creators

Place of Creation

Creator Notes

Printed by Strobridge & Co. Lith., Cincinnati, Ohio.

Collection Title

Research Center Poster Collection

Location

Not on exhibit to the public.

Object ID

35.784.158

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Strobridge Lithographing Co.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Lithography

Color

Multicolored

Dimensions

Height : 40.25 in
Width: 30.25 in

Inscriptions

Circus poster printed at top: THE BARNUM & BAILEY GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH Printed at bottom: A Series of New and Most Astonishing Feats by The Best Trained & Greatest Herd of Performing ELEPHANTS. / Executing Difficult Tricks With the Ease, Grace, Precision and Cleverness of Human Beings. / A Wonderful Display of Brute Intelligence and Reason, Positively As Represented. / THE WORLD'S GRANDEST, LARGEST, BEST, AMUSEMENT INSTITUTION Inscribed lower off center: THE STROBRIDGE LITH CO. Cin. N-Y & Lon. Printed upper right on image: B-8
Keywords
02

Related Content

  • Circus Poster, "John Robinson's Circus," circa 1925
    Set

    Posters from the Golden Age of the Circus

    • 19 Artifacts
    Between 1870 and 1930, the circus was one of the most popular forms of American popular entertainment. Showmen like Phineas Taylor "P.T." Barnum, James Bailey and the Ringling brothers traveled across the United States and the world. They brought death-defying stunts, exotic animals, and fun to audiences everywhere. This collection of circus posters highlights the many facets of the Golden Age of the circus.
    Read More