Snapshots of the Past

Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus The greatest show on earth. – Historic Print

Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus The greatest show on earth., [S.l. : s.n.], c1943. — vintage poster
Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus The greatest show on earth., [S.l. : s.n.], c1943.. 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 vintage poster of Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus The greatest show on earth. brings a moment of history to your wall. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.

The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. A conversation-starting piece for home, office, or as a meaningful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.

Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus The greatest show on earth.

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Few circus posters from the early 1940s carried the slogan "The Greatest Show on Earth" as boldly as this color lithograph, which bears the copyright line of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows. Printed around 1943, when the company was touring under wartime conditions, it places clowns and performers at the center of the advertising, reflecting the era's appetite for spectacle. The show's rail-based tours and large tent productions made its posters a familiar sight in towns across the country, and this example shows how the lithograph medium let printers render bright, flat color that could be read from a distance.

Created / published[S.l. : s.n.], c1943.
Medium1 print (poster) : lithograph, color ; 70 x 53 cm.
GenreCircus posters American 1940-1950.Lithographs Color 1940-1950.
NotesCopyright by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows Inc. Title from item.
SubjectsRingling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Combined Shows--1940-1950. Circuses & shows--1940-1950. Clowns--1940-1950. Circus performers--1940-1950.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan4,171 × 5,147 px · prints to 14 × 17 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-223998

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