Snapshots of the Past

Five celebrated clowns attached to Sands, Nathans Co's Circus – Historic Reproduction

Five celebrated clowns attached to Sands, Nathans Co's Circus, Morse, M'Kenney & Company, 1856. — vintage poster
Five celebrated clowns attached to Sands, Nathans Co's Circus, Morse, M'Kenney & Company, 1856.. Vintage poster from the Circus & Carnival collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

This rare vintage poster captures Five celebrated clowns attached to Sands, Nathans Co's Circus in remarkable detail. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. Perfect for a home, office, library or classroom wall, and a gift with a story behind it. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

Five celebrated clowns attached to Sands, Nathans Co's Circus

Order a print

Secure checkout · SSL encryptedPowered by Stripe and PayPal

Free shipping in the lower 48 states. The checkout page shows the picture, size and price before you pay.

Sign up for our newsletter

Sent securely. No purchase needed. Unsubscribe anytime.

Ask about licensing or this print

Five clowns are the stars of this 1856 color woodcut poster, which advertised Sands, Nathans & Co.'s Circus with a row of performers printed side by side as if they were the main attraction. Morse, M'Kenney & Company produced the sheet, and posters of this kind were pasted on walls and fences ahead of a show's arrival in town. In the 1850s, American circuses relied on bold, heavily inked woodcuts like this one, which could be printed quickly in large runs and read at a distance. The clown, then a stock figure of the ring, was becoming a headline name that audiences came to see by name.

Created / publishedMorse, M'Kenney & Company, 1856.
Medium1 print (poster) : woodcut, color.
GenreCircus posters American 1850-1860.Woodcuts Color 1850-1860.
NotesLibrary of Congress prints and photographs: an illustrated guide / Library of Congress. Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress, 1995, p. 15 Published in: Eyes of the nation : a visual history of the United States / Vincent Virga and curators of the Library of Congress ; historical commentary by Alan Brinkley. New York : Knopf, 1997. Published in: Viewpoints; a selection from the pictorial collections of the Library of Congress .... Washington : Library of Congress ..., 1975, no. 165.
SubjectsClowns--1850-1860.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,536 × 916 px · prints to 5 × 3 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-176353

More from the Circus & Carnival collection

Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.

Related pictures

Five celebrated clowns attached to Sands, Nathans Co's CircusFive celebrated clowns attached to Sands, Nathans Co's Circus[5 circus clowns][5 circus clowns][5 circus clowns][5 circus clowns][Five male trapeze artists performing at a circus][Five male trapeze artists performing at a circus]Gala puppet circus Clowns cowboys acrobats animals and novelty acts.Gala puppet circus Clowns cowboys acrobats animals and novelty acts.[Bareback rider standing between two horses outside circus tent][Bareback rider standing between two horses outside circus tent]