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Photographs and words cannot do
justice to this huge volume that is in 'as new' condition and still
in its original box with carrying handle (the book is so heavy that
it needs the box and handle). The dimensions of the book itself are
45cm x 30cm x 7.5cm. The presentation box is larger. Click on
thumbnails below for photographs of this magnificent book. (There
are reprints that are more standard-sized books, but this is the
huge boxed original.)
For a hundred years, the American
circus was the largest show-biz industry the world had ever seen.
During the heyday of the American circus from the mid-1800s to
mid-1900s, travelling circuses performed for audiences of up to
10,000 per show, employed as many as 4,000 men and women, and
crisscrossed the country on 20,000 miles of railroad in one season
alone. The spectacle of death-defying daredevils, strapping
super-heroes and scantily-clad starlets, fearless animal trainers,
and startling freaks gripped the American imagination, outshining
theater, vaudeville, comedy, and minstrel shows of its day, and
ultimately paved the way, for film and television to take root in
the modern era. Long before the Beat generation made "on the road"
expeditions popular, the circus personified the experience and
offered many young Americans the dream of adventure, reinvention,
excitement, and glamour. In 600 pages and 1,000 colour and
black-and-white illustrations, including about 200 of the earliest
colour photographs of the circus ever taken and many posters by the
famous Strobridge lithographers, this book brings to life the grit
and glamour behind the circus phenomenon.
Organized into nine thematic
chapters, the book sheds new light on circus history, from a
behind-the-scenes look at life on the move, to the freedoms enjoyed
by early female performers, to the innovative production skills that
demanded as much know-how as a modern-day film production. For the
first time ever, contemporary readers can now experience the legend
of the American circus in full effect. The book's broad subject
matter, riveting images, and diverse visual material will appeal
both to the circus aficionado and those who have never before been
to circus.
Noteworthy features include:
approximately 200 behind-the-scenes, unpublished extremely rare
Kodachrome slides of the circus from the early 1940s-1950s; 300+
riveting lithographic posters that are considered masterpieces of
their time, including many by the famous Strobridge Lithography
Company; 100s of black-and-white photographs culled from 15 circus
archives and collections in the US; over 15 original sideshow
banners, most of which have never before been published; rare colour
and black-and-white lithographs and engravings from the 16th - 19th
centuries illustrating the worldwide roots of the circus;
black-and-white photographic gems by key early circus photographers
Harry Atwell, F. W. Glasier, and Edward Kelty; and iconic circus
photographs by August Sander, Weegee, and little-known circus images
by Stanley Kubrick, Charles and Ray Eames, and Harold Edgerton
Condition: Fine book still in its
original carrying box, with handle (click
on image above for close-up).
Click here to view second edition (2010) in presentation sleeve...
Click
here to view third edition (2016)...
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