The Great Wallace shows : colossal 3 ring circus, 2 elevated stages – Antique Print
(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
Few images capture their era like this vintage poster of The Great Wallace shows : colossal 3 ring circus, 2 elevated stages. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.
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, founded in 2001, has served tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
The Great Wallace shows : colossal 3 ring circus, 2 elevated stages
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The poster's most distinctive claim is its "2 elevated stages," which promised performances above the main ring at a time when multi-ring circuses were competing hard for crowds. It advertises the Wallace Show, run by Benjamin E. Wallace, and highlights the Stirk Family and a roster of acrobats and bicycle acts. Buffalo's Courier Litho Company printed it around 1898, when color lithography made large, eye-catching posters the main way traveling shows drew audiences to town. The bold type and crowded layout reflect the period's showmanship, in which a circus sold itself as the largest and most spectacular entertainment a town would see that season.
| Created / published | Buffalo, N.Y. : Courier Litho Co., c1898. |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print (poster) : lithograph, color ; 72 x 106 cm. |
| Genre | Portraits 1890-1900.Circus posters American 1890-1900.Lithographs Color 1890-1900. |
| Notes | Title from item. Captions: The renowned Stirk Family, whose fame folds in the orb 'o this earth." The glass of fashion and original evolutions by adult and juvenile experts. An enormously expensive feature of the world's best show. Copyright by Courier Litho. Co. No. 2316." |
| Subjects | Wallace, B. E. (Benjamin E.),--1848-1921. Acrobats--1890-1900. Bicycles & tricycles--1890-1900. Circuses & shows--1890-1900. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 5,411 × 4,299 px · prints to 18 × 14 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-226639 |
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