The other day Steve Worth showed me his new $200 book on the circus. Well, actually it cost $126 on Amazon, but it was big and heavy, and I found myself wondering if the publisher could really make a profit on it, even at full price.
With that in mind, I thought I'd reminisce a little about my own two trips to the circus with my dad when I was a kid. Both were really big shows: one was in a convention center, and the other was in huge circus tents, just like the ones in "Dumbo."
The one in tents was my favorite. They were surrounded on three sides by a fence (above). To find the entrance you just followed the crowd.
There were was a side show (above), and it was so interesting that I didn't want to leave it, but once inside the canvas I completely forgot about it. The thrill of the interior volumes took my breath away and the smells and the hurly burly of the crowd were unforgettable.
There were audience "warmers" just like today, and a terrific band to whip the crowd into a frenzy. Just when the crowd was ready to burst a parade commenced and the ringmaster came out.
Every guy in the audience must have envied the ringmaster. He was completely masculine, intelligent, confident, impeccably dressed, and had a booming voice. He introduced all the acts, beginning with a horse show (above). after that came clowns splashing around in a pool.
Then came the aerialists (above) and tight rope walkers. You ended up falling in love with the women in the act, who had the knack of catching every man's eye and giving him the impression that he and he alone had been singled out for their special affection.
Then the sound of roaring lions heralded the lion tamer, and when he was done seals came out on a ramp and flopped into the clown pool.
The seals were great! They actually seemed to enjoy performing, then they left and human divers took their place. I can only guess at the condition of the water.
Then came a solemn time as the lights lowered and the men billed as the strongest in the world came on. Before they performed they strutted around the front of the crowd flexing their muscles for the ladies.
Then came the pugilists...well, not really. There were no pugilists when I was there, but this poster I found (above) makes a strong case that there should have been. Did they really fight all together as in the picture above? I wouldn't be surprised if they did, at least in the grand finale!
Enough testosterone! Next came the clowns again...a dozen of them at least!
The star clowns (above) got the center ring.
Next came the grand finale where everybody came out and performed all at once, then peeled off, one by one, to participate in a grand parade. Guys with stilts played instruments, girls on horseback shot balloons, clowns went bananas, and elephants did fancy walks, all at the same time.
The band went into overdrive, and at the creschendo of the music multiple canons went off, and all assembled gracefully bowed to the audience as a rain of baloons fell from the tent tops. The crowd went nuts and applauded almost til the skin came off their hands.
That was quite a show. Quite a show.
I have a tear in my eye. I only got to see a small regional circus under canvas (one ring). But I can tell you that the thrill of it wasn't lessened by the size of the operation at all.
ReplyDeleteThat book has been available in the Bargain Section of Barnes and Noble at a tenth of that price, although they are not showing it that way on line any longer.But it might be worth wandering into a store to take a gander or have them search their internal database where it may still show up if it were bargain
ReplyDeleteTashen is a great publisher for those that are looking for visual reference, and the books are often quite affordable (The Icons series usually runs about ten dollars) and are often remaindered in the bargain section of book stores.
Oh gee, I can't tell you the disappointment of seeing my first three ring circus in an arena, because I had had the prototypical circus experience when younger, a single ring in a tent, the smell of cigars, sawdust and popcorn, vendors selling cotton candy and monkey puppets on a stick, clowns that would come right into the seats, peanut shells everywhere. You were in the midst of it all. Ringling Brothers in the municipal auditorium was a distant cold clinical bore by comparison. Greatest show on earth my foot.
ReplyDeleteI still remember the last time I went to the circus. I think I was 5or 6 years old then.
ReplyDeletehttp://unhappyhipsters.com/ I think you'll like this given your distate for blah modern architecture.
ReplyDeleteMy parents brought me to see Ringling Brothers sometime in the 60's, and it was an awful, ugly caca-phony. I mostly just remember the screaming yet pukey colors. Mind you, it was in an arena, not a tent.
ReplyDeleteNowadays, I kind of like it when I see a circus tent, but I'm not really tempted to go inside. I'd rather just leave it a mystery....
Just happened to come across this. Maybe you know it already. I'm not familiar with the animator either....
ReplyDeletefirst circus
The book is in two editions, Hans. You've seen the mass market one. They made an edition that was three times as thick and as big as a table top. That's the one I showed Eddie.
ReplyDeleteStephen, it is still not bad for 20 dollars is at least 11 by 14 if not 16 by 20, and hardcover, for 20 dollars. And the list price associated with it is up there.
ReplyDeleteThe Charlie Harper Book was done at a small size, with a more affordable 11 x 14 version while the initial printing was double that, 22 x 18 or so for around 2 benjys.
The only way to see a circus is in a tent.
My dad was a cartoonist and make-up artist. One of the things he did that I loved was he'd make-up the clowns for the Macy's Thanksgivings Day Parade, and when we kids were little we'd get great seats at Herald Square and all the clowns would make a fuss over my sister and me. Dad would always tell me that when I got old enough he'd let me help. When I was 11, I did! My first assignment was to put on all the clown white. Then I got to make up all the Wooden Soldier girls red cheeks and kewpie bow mouths. Whew! Talk about an early testosterone buzz . . . I helped my dad every year after that until I was 19.
ReplyDeletethey held a two day auction over at sothebys here in new york selling circus posters-originals from the nineteenth century, fetched a nice price for a lot of them, serious collectors out there for those posters, hard to maintain because of the limited printing process they had in those days, thats why there so rare and valuable, hard to find in good condition.
ReplyDeleteLove this post! I'm a huge fan of vintage circus posters so this book sounds like a dream.
ReplyDeleteBy the way have you ever read the book "The Circus of the earth and the air" by Brooke Stevens? If not you should check it out its sure not to dissapoint!
Anon: Unhappy Hipsteres was hilarious! Kinda poignant, too.
ReplyDeleteThomas: Interesting. It reminds me of the credits in Spielberg's impersonator film.
Craig: Wow! Everybody who works in entertainment should have kid experiences like that.
Talking: Well, maybe the high prices will ensure that the remaining posters will be preserved.
Freckled: The Circus of the Earth and the Air? Thanks! I'll see if the library has it!