This highly animated, bright and colorful circus poster portrays a fabulous looking clown in white frilled garb with red stripes, welcoming everyone to see the “Greatest Show on Earth by Barnum and Bailey”. It is a reissued poster by Ringling Brothers from 1971 of one of their original 1917 promotional circus posters.
To commemorate their 100th anniversary, in 1971, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey, produced reissues of some of their select and most famous authentic posters dating from 1883 until the 1930’s. There were 30 different posters, and they were advertised as “The only antique posters authorized by the greatest show on earth”. They were sold at traveling circus shows, and measured roughly 17″ x 24″. They were all identified by a number preceded by the letter “P”. The numbers ranged from #103 thru #202. These are not cheap “Amazon print outs”, but rather 50 plus year old items, as I have described.
I was able to acquire four of these posters from a prominent “circus collection”. This one is entitled “Clown Standing Over Tents”, and is labeled “P-125″, as indicated in the lower right hand margin and described in the first paragraph. It is very colorful in red, white, and yellow, with a blue background. It is all original with no repairs, no touch-up; and professionally mounted under glass in a contemporary black, metal frame, with preservative backing; and ready to hang hardware on the rear. In lovely condition, this poster is suitable for any type of decorative placement.
Dimensions:
(with frame) 17″ high x 24 1/2″ wide x 1″ deep
actual poster= 16 1/2″ x 24”
Please see the other three posters I have listed.