Snapshots of the Past

[5 circus clowns] – Antique Wall Art

[5 circus clowns], 1890 — vintage poster
[5 circus clowns], 1890. 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

[5 circus clowns] comes to life in this vintage poster, reproduced from the original with every detail intact. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

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[5 circus clowns]

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Five clowns crowd the frame of this small color lithograph, dated 1890 in its record, and the group is the detail that sets it apart from the other circus posters on this board, which tend to center a single star performer. Calvert Lithographing Company, a Detroit firm that printed a great deal of commercial advertising in the late nineteenth century, produced such sheets to promote traveling shows, and posters like this one were pasted on walls and fences in towns along a circus's route. Clowns were among the most recognizable figures in the American show ring of the period, and a grouping like this one would have signaled a lively, crowded entertainment. The record notes that its details come from an old caption card and remain unverified.

Created / published1890
Medium1 print (poster) color; 25 x 36 3/4 cm.
NotesColor lithograph copyrighted by Calvert Litho. Co. This record contains unverified, old data from caption card.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,536 × 1,119 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-176217

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