The Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth

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Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case Y, Shelf 77, Box 9

Artist/Maker	Strobridge Lithography Co. Ltd (printers (people)) Potthast, Edward Henry (artist)
Place of origin	United States (printed)

A poster advertising Barnum & Bailey's Circus on tour in 1895. Circus owners and performers were keen to commission colourful posters to convey the excitement, danger and enjoyment of their acts. Barnum & Bailey was a merger in 1881 of two circuses run by the leading rival American showmen, Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-1891) and James Anthony Bailey (1847-1906).

Object details

Categories	Posters Entertainment & Leisure Prints Advertising
Object type	Poster
Title	The Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques	Colour lithograph Lithographic Ink Colour Lithography
Brief description	Edward Henry Potthast. Poster for the Barnum & Bailey circus. American, 1895
Physical description	Poster
Dimensions	Height: 1016mm Width: 762mm
Credit line	Given by Bertram Evans
Subjects depicted	Circuses (Performances) Clowns Horse
Summary	A poster advertising Barnum & Bailey's Circus on tour in 1895. Circus owners and performers were keen to commission colourful posters to convey the excitement, danger and enjoyment of their acts. Barnum & Bailey was a merger in 1881 of two circuses run by the leading rival American showmen, Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-1891) and James Anthony Bailey (1847-1906).
Bibliographic reference	Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design & Department of Paintings, Accessions 1939, published under the Authority of the Ministry of Education, London, 1950
Collection	Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number	E.448-1939

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Record created	February 28, 2003
Record URL	https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O75626/the-barnum--bailey-greatest-poster-potthast-edward-henry/

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