More than 100 dealers from throughout the United States and Canada exhibited at the 32nd Annual Florida Antiquarian Book Fair in St. Petersburg, Fla.

This year I hit the jackpot in my on-going quest to add to my collection of circus memorabilia. Each March, for most of the past 32 years, I’ve attended the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair in St. Petersburg, Fla., searching for new items to expand my collection. The past three years I’ve written WorthPoint articles about my hunt and you can read those articles by clicking on 2010, 2011, 2012.

Some years I’ve found a book I didn’t own or, if I was really lucky, two books. Once, an original 1930s Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey poster was for sale and I snatched it up. Another time I finally completed my set of Ringling Barnum programs. However, this year I scored a bonanza, but more about that later.

The Florida Antiquarian Book Fair is the oldest and largest such event in the Southeast and attracts dealers and buyers from throughout the country and abroad. Approximately 115 dealers visit sunny Florida on March 8-10 for the three-day event. Dealers bring not only rare and out-of-print books, but maps, prints, autographs, documents and an unending assortment of ephemera. Below are just a few of the circus items I came across at this year’s event. The prices listed were the asking prices, not always the true value of the items.

Vivian Moore Bookseller, from Cumming, Ga., has exhibited at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair every one of the 32 years the fair has been in existence. And every year Vivian brings a nice variety of circus and circus-related items. This year was no exception. Below are five of the circus collectibles she displayed in her booth.

This Sells Floto Courier was priced $58.

In 1931 motion picture star Tom Mix and his Wonder Horse Tony were featured performers in Sells Floto Circus. This four-page courier was printed for the June 8 date when the show appeared in Manchester, N.H. Inside pages in the courier describe other acts in the show including a full page devoted to The Great Peters, the man with the iron neck who drops 75 feet through space with his head in a hangman’s noose.

A 1934 Hagenbeck-Wallace program was $42.

Hagenbeck-Wallace was a major tent circus from 1907 through 1938. Wild animal trainer Clyde Beatty was illustrated on the cover of the 1934 souvenir program. Note the original price of the program was only 5 cents.

$48 was the price on this 1953 program.

Mr. Mistin, a 6-year-old child prodigy, played the xylophone in the center ring of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey in 1953. The act was less than sensational, but John Ringling North placed young Mr. Mistin on the cover of the souvenir program. Stories inside the program included one written by Ernest Hemingway.

A Stacy photo was used to create this printed Buffalo Bill card. Price was $48.

Wild West shows are closely related to circuses and the most popular was Buffalo Bill’s Real Wild West. The Courier Company produced this card with a printed, simulated autograph: W.F. Cody, “Buffalo Bill.”

A 1903 Francis Lentini cabinet card was priced $45.

Francis Lentini, the three legged boy, was a major side show attraction, appearing with many travelling shows, including Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. The cabinet card brought by Moore shows a young Lentini, photographed by Charles E. Ridenour.

A Super Circus TV premium included the mailing envelope.

The punch-out figures inside the envelope were intact.

Read’em Again Books, from Montclair, Va., brought several circus collectibles, including a TV premium for the Super Circus show. The program was on the air from 1949 to 1956 and starred hostess Mary Hartline. This is a cross collectible with interest to TV collectors and collectors of soft drinks. Canada Dry was a sponsor of the show. The premium was priced at $75.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 104th Edition. Price $12.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 115th Edition. Price $10.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 127th Edition. Price $10.

Copperfish Books, from Punta Gorda, Fla., brought three large-format Ringling Barnum programs. The 104th Edition of The Greatest Show on Earth toured 1974-75; the 115th Edition toured 1985-86; the 127th Edition toured 1997-98.

Circus Dreams by Lynn Goldsmith was published in 1991.

Glover’s Bookery, from Lexington, Ky. had a copy of “Circus Dreams” by Lynn Goldsmith. The book featured photos and text about the Great Circus Parade and the surrounding activities held in July in Milwaukee, Wis. The book was priced at $6.85.

Lighthouse Books, in St. Petersburg, Fla., is another store that has exhibited at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair from the beginning. The owner, Mike Slicker, organized the original group of dealers who formed the Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association, the sponsor of this annual event.

The 1926 Fair Annual was a guide for the World Amusement Service Association, a booking agency for circus, carnival and fair acts.

Inside the Fair Annual were 120 full-page advertisements for circus acts.

Lighthouse Books also had two unusual, large-format (12 ½ inches x 17 ½ inches) books used by an agency that represented circus acts. Above you see the 1926 Fair Annual. Notice at the bottom of each page it says: “Every act in this catalog controlled exclusively by World Amusement Service Association.” A 1927 edition was also available. These rare collectibles were priced at $500 each.

“The Real Ringmaster” by Austin Miles was priced at $8.

“Ringmaster,” by Kristopher Antekeier, was priced at $5.

John Asfour at The Philosophy Store in Gainesville, Fla., brought two circus books, both about Ringmasters. “The Real Ringmaster” was signed by the author, Austin Miles. You can contact The Philosophy Store at P.O. Box 13736, Gainesville, FL 32604, 352.378.6370.

Chiquita the Cuban Atom cabinet card was priced at $77.50.

Bassett Booksellers from Fullerton, Neb., had a box filled with cabinet cards and cartes-de-visite, many of which were for side show attractions. Among them was a cabinet card of Chiquita, who was also known as Senorita Espiridena Alize Cenda. The card was signed on the back “Chiquita.”

“Animal Stories,” by P.T. Barnum was priced at $18.

“Circus Doctor,” by J.Y. Henderson was priced at $28.

A Book Legacy, located in Palm Harbor, Fla. brought several circus books. “Animal Stories,” by P.T. Barnum, was published in the 1920s. “Circus Doctor” is the story of Dr. J.Y. Henderson, who was the veterinarian for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey for more than 40 years. This year the Ringling Circus Museum in Sarasota, Fla., honored the memory of Dr. Henderson as a “Great of the Past” at its annual Circus Celebrity Night.

This brochure from United States Tent & Awning Co. is a circus-related collectible.	An inside page showing a circus entrance tent.
Another inside page showing a circus stable tents.	The U.S. Tent brochure included the original envelope.

When searching for circus collectibles at the Book Fair, I always ask dealers first, but if the answer is “No,” I still do a bit of searching in their booth. King’s Arms Rare Books, from Williamsburg, Va., had a box filled with various pieces of ephemera, including many sales brochures. Going through the box I found a 1914 catalog from the United States Tent & Awning Co., priced at $500. King’s Arms Rare Books is located at 123-D Woodmere Drive, Williamsburg, VA 23185, 757.564.3516.

“Damn Everything but the Circus” by Corita Kent was priced at $50.

Underground Books, in Carrollton, Ga., brought a copy of Corita Kent’s classic, “Damn Everything but the Circus.” Shortly after this book was published, I remember seeing copies in remainder bookstores for very little, but now it’s difficult to find a copy for under $75.

Three images of Millie-Christine were brought to the Book Fair by Lorne Bair Rare Books in Winchester, Va.

The back of the Millie Christine trade card advertises the twins as appearing with the John B. Doris Great Inter Ocean Circus.

Millie Christine, a top side show attraction, was billed as the Carolina Twin, the Two-Headed Nightingale, the Marvelous Two-Headed Lady and the Eighth Wonder of the World. Lorne Bair Rare Books, located in Winchester, Va., had a nice display of Millie Christine images in their glass showcase. The cabinet card (left) was priced at $1,200. It was signed on the back. The CDV (center) was priced at $300. The color trade card was $350 and has a paragraph on the back describing the conjoined twins.

This broadside advertises the Tompkins Real Wild West Frontier Exhibition and European Circus.

The Ringling Museum rack brochure advertises the Museum of Art, Asolo Theater, Ringling Residence and Museum of the Circus.

Bartleby’s Books from Chevy Chase, Md., always brings rare circus collectibles and this year was no exception. A broadside measuring 28 inches by 10 inches heralded the Tompkins Real Wild West Frontier Exhibition and European Circus. This show toured America from 1910 to 1917, sometimes billed as being combined with Cooper and Whitby’s Circus. The show was owned by Charles Tompkins and Al F. Wheeler. Bartleby’s asking price was $375.

The Florida Antiquarian Book Fair primarily focuses on rare and out of print books, but most dealers include related items like boxes of ephemera—that temporary, printed material which was never meant to be retained or preserved. Shaw’s Books, from Grosse Pointe Park, Mich., had just such a box with many pieces of advertising material promoting Florida tourist attractions. That’s where I found a fairly recent brochure for the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Fla. It was priced at $5.

“The Last Frontier” was written by well-known author Courtney Ryley Cooper.

The inside is inscribed by the author to Elizabeth B. Custer.

Perhaps the most unusual book I found was offered by Back in the Day Books from Tarpon Springs, Fla. It wasn’t a circus book, but was circus-related. “The Last Frontier” was written by Courtney Ryley Cooper (1886-1940). When he was 16 years old, Cooper fulfilled the dream of many young boys when he ran away from home to join the circus. He quickly worked his way up to become a clown and eventually advanced to circus management. At one time he was a press agent for Sells Floto Circus. During the 19-teens, 1920s and 1930s, Cooper wrote dozens of stories for some of the country’s leading magazines—American Magazine, The Century Magazine, Colliers, Country Gentleman, Ladies Home Journal, Popular Mechanics and Saturday Evening Post. He wrote 30 books, many about the circus. He was the first to write a biography of Annie Oakley.

But Cooper had another side. Many of his books were about crime. He was a close friend of FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover. In fact, Hoover called him “the best informed man on crime in the U.S.”

The inscription on the book was to General Custer’s widow, Elizabeth B. Custer, and reads: “To Mrs. Elizabeth B. Custer, in reverence, in appreciation and with the hope that I have given at least a spark of the greatness in these pages to the man whom Buffalo Bill always told me was the funniest [or finest], smartest man that the sun ever shone on. Courtney Ryley Cooper.” The book was priced at $4,500.

Finally, let me tell you about the jackpot discovery I found at this year’s Book Fair. John Spencer from Riverow Bookshop, Inc. in Oswego, N.Y., was a new dealer to the fair this year, but in talking with him, I discovered he had been an exhibitor in the early years when the Fair was in a smaller venue. When I noticed a circus program in a box, he informed me the entire box was filled with circus memorabilia. In fact, he said, there were other larger items from the same collection available as well. He found this stash in California a few months prior.

After some discussion and negotiating, I purchased the entire lot of more than 100 items for $1,000. The majority of the items were fairly common, but there were also many old and very collectible treasures. Because of my ongoing work with the Ringling Circus Museum in Sarasota, Fla.,—a state-owned museum—I was able to make sure several rare photos of the 1904 Ringling Bros. Circus (before it was combined with Barnum & Bailey), Buffalo Bill’s Wild West & Pawnee Bill’s Far East and a few other photos joined their vast collection.

Below are just a few of the better pieces in the collection I purchased from Riverow Bookshop.

Barnum & Bailey 1895 route book.

P.T. Barnum & Co.’s Combined with The Great London Circus 1886 courier.	Barnum & Bailey 1903 courier.
A large-format courier for the Carl Hagenbeck and the Great Wallace Shows Merged Together.	Adam Forepaugh Great Circus songster.
Ringling Bros. World’s Greatest Shows 1903 program.	Ringling Bros. Featuring the Newly Added Spectacle Jerusalem and the Crusades, 1903 courier.

John Robinson Greatest of All American Shows 1898 courier.

This print was made from an original 4- by 5-inch negative of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Pawnee Bill’s Great Far East. The negative, along with 11 other negatives from the same event, are now in the Ringling Circus Museum in Sarasota, Fla.

It was certainly an exciting year at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. I’ve already marked my calendar for next year’s Fair, March 14-16, 2014. I never know what treasures I might find if you don’t beat me to them first.

Larry Kellogg is a Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

This Tiger Head Poster (Blue) was issued in 1970 for the 100th Edition of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey souvenir program. It included a set of four posters measuring 26 inches x 17 inches and sold for $3.98 per set.

Nearly five years ago I wrote my first article for WorthPoint—“Is That Old Circus Poster You Found Authentic or a Reproduction?”—a guide to help identify circus poster reproductions. Ever since, I have been receiving e-mails with comments about that article and questions about posters readers have found. Hopefully, I can answer or clarify some of those questions.

The original article focused largely on the posters reproduced by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey beginning in the early 1970s. These were not meant to deceive. One Ringling advertisement said: “You can obtain authentic, full-color reproductions of these great Posters issued by RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY and the great combined Circuses. They’re perfect for dens, playrooms, children’s rooms — even the office!”

The posters were sold at the concession stands of the traveling shows and at gift shops at Circus World, the Ringling-owned theme park in central Florida. Some were folded and inserted into the souvenir program books. You could also order the posters through the mail. The mail-order posters were advertised in the souvenir program book and had an order number printed in the lower corner prefaced with the letter “P.” My original article listed most of those posters. The early ads were for posters measuring approximately 24 inches by 17 inches. Beginning in 1976 the poster sizes were increased to approximately 23 ½ inches by 36 ¼ inches and were sometimes advertised as 2 feet by 3 feet.

Some of the questions were about posters with the “P” code that were not on my original lists. Yes, there were some poster reproductions that were not on the lists in my original article. I can’t find any record of these posters ever being advertised. Apparently, they were only sold on the show or at the Circus World theme park. Some of those posters are pictured here:

The leaping black leopard poster repro has the code P-18 and measures approximately 23 ½ inches x 36 inches.

Bill Bailey created the artwork for the original poster. The repro has P-21 in the lower corner.

P-31 is the code for this repro poster showing animals at the water hole.

This white-faced clown is a bit scary. P-23 is in the bottom corner of this repro.

Four other Ringling posters advertised by the show were not on my original list. I didn’t think it was necessary to include them because they were reproductions of very recent posters. In fact, in 1976, Ringling reproduced its Bicentennial poster from the previous year and the 200 Years of Circus in America poster was reproduced the same year the original was being used. Even originals of these posters have very little value.

The 100th Anniversary of The Greatest Show on Earth began a two-year tour in 1970. The smaller version of this reproduction was labeled P-200. The larger version was printed beginning in 1976 and was labeled P-13.	The 200 Years of Circus in America repro poster was P-16. It also listed the opening dates in Venice, Florida.
Famous clown Lou Jacobs was the subject of this stylized artwork for a poster that was inserted in souvenir programs in 1972. Lou is holding a circus ring with a tiger atop an elephant. This act was featured by Gunther Gebel-Williams. The small version of this repro poster was P-201. The larger version was P-14.	The Bicentennial reproduction advertises World Premiere performances at the Circus Arena in Venice, Florida. At that time Venice was the location of the circus winter quarters and the venue for the first performances. P-15 was on the reproduction poster.

A few Ringling reproductions appeared without the “P” number in the corner. These were typically inserts in the souvenir program. Sometimes you will find a repro without the “P” number because it was trimmed off by the owner. Two that are easy to identify have a date sheet printed below the poster as part of the reproduction. Date sheets on original posters were separate sheets of paper identifying the date and location where the circus would be appearing. Below are two reproductions that do not have a “P” number.

The 100 Clowns repro poster was an insert in the 1970 Red Unit souvenir program.

This Frank Buck repro poster was originally used in 1938. It should be obvious this is a reproduction because of the missing section of The Greatest Show on Earth text on the date sheet.

In 1979 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey inserted a poster in the 110th Edition program book. It featured trained polar bears, but is clearly identified as a reproduction because of a ©1979 copyright date in the lower corner. But these sometimes turn up with the copyright date trimmed off.

This reproduction is printed on glossy paper unlike the original.

Today, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey offers more than 20 different reproductions for sale at the Ringling Store on its website’s store. These are clearly identified as reproductions in the lower corner.

Oddly, in doing research for this updated article, I discovered Annie James Antiqued Canvas Reproductions, a dealer in California who sells posters printed in various sizes on canvas. A few are circus and Wild West, and the order numbers begin with the letter “P.” However, unlike Ringling’s order numbers, there is no dash between the letter and number. Poster P31 is Hillary Long, the man who skates on his head, appearing with Ringling Bros. Shows.

Ringling Bros. poster of Hillary Long was reproduced by Annie James Antiqued Canvas Reproductions.

In 1972, People’s Gallery in Albuquerque, New Mexico, sold at least two different repro posters on heavy paper. A 1972 copyright date was in the lower corner. If you happen to find one of these with the copyright date trimmed off you can identify it by the size—32 inches by 25 inches.

Barnum & Bailey’s canvas pavilions were illustrated on one of the reproductions sold by People’s Gallery. The other repro poster was for M’lle Mauricia de Tiers and her auto loop-the-loop thrill act.

Soon after my first article appeared, I started receiving e-mails asking about posters printed or attached to a cork-like or cardboard backing. One such poster had text under the poster image that said “Original Ringling Bros. Poster-1909.” The owner was convinced it was original. After all, the text says it’s original and if it’s in print, it must be true. I informed the owner that he did not have a circus poster, but a decorative wall hanging.

This wall hanging was manufactured by Action Industries in Cheswick, Pennsylvania, probably in the 1970s.

It would be nearly impossible to list all circus poster reproductions, but here and in my previous article, I have made an effort to show some of the most common. A simple Google search will reveal many companies that sell high quality reproductions of circus and other posters.

If you are only interested in original posters, do your homework and ask questions. The surest way to determine authenticity is to measure the poster. A one-sheet poster will measure 42 inches by 28 inches. A half-sheet poster is 28 inches by 21 inches or 42 inches by 14 inches. These were the two most popular sizes, but posters come in two-sheet, three-sheet, four-sheet, six-sheet, eight-sheet, twelve-sheet and even larger sizes.

For more information about circus posters, check out these books:

• “The Amazing Circus Poster, The Strobridge Lithographing Company”, edited by Deborah W. Walk and Kristin Spangenberg;
• “100 Years of Circus Posters,” by Jack Rennert;
• “100 Posters of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West,” by Jack Rennet;
• “American Circus Posters in Full Color,” edited by Charles Philip Fox;
• “Billers, Banners and Bombast, the Story of Circus Advertising,” by Charles Philip Fox and Tom Parkinson.

Larry Kellogg is a Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Clown Pete Mardo, photographed by Frederick Glasier, appeared with Barnum & Bailey and later with Ringling Bros. This was before the two shows were combined. An exhibit of Glasier’s photos at the Tampa Bay History Center will run through Aug. 4.

Several years ago (2009) I wrote a couple of WorthPoint articles about circus photographs:

Some Circus Photos are Worth a Thousand Bucks and Older Circus Photos Bring Higher Prices. A section in the first article focused on the photos of Frederick W. Glasier (1866-1950), who captured circus images during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Approximately 1,700 of the original glass plate negatives taken by Glasier are in the collection of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Fla. The Ringling’s website has a section devoted to the Glasier Collection.

Now through Aug. 4, 2013, a special exhibition of some of the Glasier’s work, organized by The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, is on exhibit at the Tampa Bay History Center, 801 Old Water Street, in Tampa, Fla. The exhibit features 65 images, as well as lithographic posters from The Ringling Museum collection.

Several years ago, this exhibit was held at the UBS Art Gallery in New York City and later at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. At that time, Eakins Press Foundation published a fabulous book, “Circus, The Photographs of Frederick W. Glasier,” by Peter Kayafas, Deborah W. Walk and Luc Sante. The book was copyrighted in 2009. I have checked with the Tampa Bay History Center and it is trying to get copies of the book to sell in its gift shop. It is available on line at prices ranging from $50 to over $200. The book, which contains 73 images, is well worth the price and would be a great addition to any circus collection.

Mademoiselle Scheel, a brave young lady, seems perfectly at ease with these kings of the jungle. This Glasier photo was taken about 1905.

Many of the Glasier photos were taken at Buffalo Bill’s Real Wild West show, including portraits of some of the American Indian performers in the show. This is Chief Iron Tail, who was a survivor of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. He was one of the models chosen for the image on the Buffalo Nickel.

Images used in this article are courtesy of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.

Larry Kellogg is a Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

In the circus, much of the glory went to the performers, especially to the star performers. Their images were plastered on posters and in other advertising because everyone recognized them. They received all the applause. But behind the scenes were the people who kept the circus running.

The unsung crew raised the tents and took them down and moved the show to the next town. While the show settled on the circus lot, the behind-the-scenes crew created a home-like atmosphere. Thanks to workers in the cookhouse, everyone was served three hot meals a day. There was even a place to get a haircut or a shave.

This Ektachrome photo by J. Baylor Roberts was copyrighted by National Geographic Society. The caption read: “The Circus Has Its Own Medical Department Headed by Dr. Robert P. Harris. As he tapes an ankle for pretty aerialist Mildred Keithly, he lends support to the argument of some of his fellow showfolk that work as pleasant as his ought to be done free.”

If you were sick or injured, you called for the circus physician, which is the subject of this article. Dr. Robert Pierce Harris was the medical director for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in the 1940s. His wife, Lula, assisted as his nurse. Dr. Harris, a graduate of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, also served 18 months overseas as a captain in the medical corps during the First World War before joining the show.

A feature article “The Wonder City that Moves by Night” was published in the March 1948 issue of National Geographic. It was written by F. Beverly Kelley, who was the former Publicity Director for The Greatest Show on Earth. (Note: For more information on F. Beverly Kelly see my previous WorthPoint article: “Rare Collection of F. Beverly Kelley Documents Offered for Sale”) A related article in the same issue of National Geographic was entitled “Circus Action in Color” with many photos and text that explained how the photography was accomplished. One full-page color photo was of Dr. Robert Harris.

In 2009 I wrote an article, “You Too Can Be a Circus Owner,” telling the story of the world’s largest miniature circus, built by Howard Tibbals and now on permanent display at the Ringling Circus Museum in Sarasota, Fla. One small part of that massive model faithfully recreates the National Geographic photo of Dr. Harris and Mildred Keithly.

Dr. Harris treats a minor injury of a performer in the miniature circus on exhibit at the Ringling Circus Museum in Sarasota, Fla.

Here’s where the story really gets interesting. An unknown tourist visiting the Ringling Circus Museum took video of the miniature circus and uploaded it to YouTube. Meanwhile, in Raleigh, N.C., Anita Berry, a granddaughter of Dr. Harris, was surfing on YouTube looking for circus videos. She and her sister, Sylvia Wesche, of Colorado Springs, Co., had fond recollections of their grandparents and the many stories they heard about their years with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. She wanted to recapture some of their memories. Mrs. Berry couldn’t believe it when the scrolling video came across the scene of her grandfather. It was an image she was very familiar with because both she and her sister had copies of the National Geographic story. “It’s Pappy,” she exclaimed using the name they called their grandfather.

A photo from the YouTtube video reveals the classic scene in Howard Bros. Circus miniature.

Mrs. Berry had been unaware of the miniature circus at the Ringling Circus Museum, but she immediately contacted the museum for more information. In talking with Jennifer Lemmer Posey, assistant curator at the Circus Museum, she was made aware of the Tibbals Center for the Study of the American Circus, an educational facility for circus research by scholars, historians and curators with 12,475 square feet of climate-controlled archival storage space. She and her sister had been discussing what they should do with the many photographs and other documents from their grandfather’s years with The Greatest Show on Earth. Now, perhaps, they had a solution. They soon planned a trip together to visit the museum in Sarasota to see the archives and get an in-person view of their “Pappy” in Tibbals’ model.

I was privileged to meet with Berry and Wesche when they visited the museum and took them on their tour of the miniature circus in the Tibbals Learning Center.

“Look, it’s Pappy,” they both said when we came to the Medical Tent portion of the model.

I wish you could have seen the look on their faces. It was sheer delight. Later, they were given a tour of the research facilities and I’m pleased to say they were happy to donate their grandfather’s collection to the museum.

Below are just a few of the many items in the collection.

Dr. Harris relaxes in the Circus Medical Tent on a hot day.

This patient is identified as Don on the back of the photo. It looks like he may have sprained his arm.

Dr. Harris poses on the back lot with members of the Doll Family and circus giant Gottlieb Fischer who, with his wife, were billed as the Tallest Married Couple on Earth.

Dr. Harris and his wife relax at their home while the circus was in Winter Quarters in Sarasota, Fla.

Many of the photographs were signed to the doctor and his wife from their many friends, both on the show and from visiting celebrities.

World famous clown Emmett Kelly signed his photo “Very sincere wishes to my friends Mr. & Mrs. Dr. Harris from Emmett Kelly 1945.”

Equestrienne Ella Bradna affectionately wrote, “To sweet Mom from her sincere friend.” The photo was dated Jan. 19, 1946. Close friends on the circus called Lula Harris “Mom.”

The Loyal Repensky bareback riding act presented this signed photo to Dr. Harris, “a great friend.”

Movie stars and other celebrities of the day loved the circus and frequently attended performances. Movie and television actress Ann Sheridan signed this photo for Dr. Harris.

Robert Ringling signed an employee pass to be used for the Madison Square Garden engagement. For a few years in the 1940s, Robert Ringling was president of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. Robert was the son of Charles Ringling, one of the five original Ringling Brothers.

On July 6, 1944, a tragic fire in Hartford, Conn., struck the Ringling Big Top during the afternoon performance. The fire killed 169 people, mostly women and children. The following day Dr. Harris received this Western Union telegram from Parke Davis & Company, a pharmaceutical supply company.

The Western Union telegram states: “Feel free to call upon us for any assistance we can render in the present emergency. Can make prompt shipment of surgical dressings from our bay division in Bridgeport and pharmaceutical items from New York branch stock. Wire us if you wish orders holding shipped to Harford.”

The collection from Dr. Harris’s family is a wonderful addition to the Ringling Circus archives and is valued at more than $1,000. It contains more than 150 photographs and other artifacts which document the importance of the circus physician and the role he played treating the 1500 plus members of the traveling circus in the 1940s.

Larry Kellogg is a Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

This sheet of 16 self-adhesive forever stamps features reproductions of eight vintage circus posters.

In true circus style, clowns, a ringmaster and music from a 120-year-old Bell Wagon—all provided by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey—accompanied the unveiling of a series of commemorative United States forever postage stamps earlier this month on the grounds of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Fla. This is the fourth time the United States Postal Service (USPS) has issued stamps with a circus theme.

The Bell Wagon was featured in Cecil B. DeMille’s Academy Award-winning motion picture, “The Greatest Show on Earth.”

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Ringmaster David Shipman and Ringling clowns helped unveil the Vintage Circus Poster Stamp Collection. John Ringling’s home, Cà d’Zan, is in the background. (Photo: Feld Entertainment, Inc. 2014)

The unveiling event was open to the public at no charge. While supplies lasted, guests received a First-Day-of-Issue Ceremony Program and a Souvenir Fan.

The Souvenir Program was in an envelope affixed with one of the forever stamps and cancelled with a First-Day-of-Issue postmark. The Souvenir Fans were well-used by the assembled audience to cool off a bit in the Florida sunshine.

The United States Postal Service set up kiosks on the grounds of the Ringling Museum so those attending could purchase stamps and have them cancelled with an official First-Day-of-Issue postmark.

There were long lines throughout the day as guests waited to purchase stamps.

In 2010 I wrote two WorthPoint articles about circus postal stamps. One featured circus and circus related stamps in the United States. The other was about foreign circus stamps. While stamp collecting is less popular today than in the early to mid-20th century, the Postal Service estimates that 11 percent of the U.S. population collects stamps. That’s nearly 35 million collectors.

Dozens of stamps were shown in the quarterly issue of “USA Philatelic,” including many new issues, but USPS chose the Vintage Circus Posters Stamps for the cover.

This latest stamp issue is impressive because it reproduces eight historic circus posters. All of those posters are from the more than 5,000 posters in the Tibbals Digital Collection at the Ringling Circus Museum, part of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. America has always had a love affair with the circus. The USPS obviously agrees, as it chose the Circus Poster Stamps for the cover of its quarterly publication, “USA Philatelic.” 

An article in “Linn’s Stamp News” says that 60 million of the stamps were printed. The pane selvage shows an image of the Big Top entrance taken from a photograph by Edward J. Kelty, a well-known circus photographer of the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s. I wrote about Kelty and other circus photographers in a 2009 WorthPoint article.

The stamp panes are available at your local United States Post Office. Many souvenir products, including First-Day-Covers, can be purchased online at USPS.com.

Larry Kellogg is a Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.

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This set sold on eBay in January of this year. Notice the Jomar name only appears on the coffee cup.

Unless you are a circus enthusiast, the name Jomar probably doesn’t mean anything to you. Even an experienced antique collector can rarely identify what it is. Mention Jomar to a circus history enthusiast, though, and he will immediately recognize the name of John Ringling’s private railroad car. The name “Jomar” was created by combining the first two letters of John and Mable Ringling’s first names followed by an “r” for Ringling. John, the youngest of the five Ringling brothers, lived a life of luxury. He owned an apartment on Fifth Avenue in New York City and a grand home he named Ca’ d’Zan in Sarasota, Fla., now part of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. He traveled in style aboard his yacht Zalophus, in a chauffeured Rolls-Royce automobile or in one of his private railcars. In 1905 the Pullman Company built the Wisconsin railcar for John, named after the state where the circus winter home was located in Baraboo, Wis.. John and his wife Mable traveled across the country aboard the Wisconsin from 1905 through 1916. This railroad car is now restored and on permanent exhibit at The Ringling Circus Museum in Sarasota, also a part of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. John Ringling’s second private railcar, Jomar, was built in 1917, again by the Pullman Company. It is estimated that Jomar cost $100,000, which would be $1.8 million in 2014 dollars. The opulent Jomar was inlaid with mahogany, lighted by Tiffany lamps, and included a dining area appointed with fine china and silverware. When John Ringling died in 1936, Jomar was taken over by John Ringling North, his nephew and executor of the estate. By 1940, John Ringling North had remodeled Jomar, replacing the Victorian look with modern furnishings and adding air conditioning.

This is an early view of Jomar. (Photo: RMA-Tibbals)

Over the years, John Ringing and his nephew entertained many of the nation’s famous aboard Jomar. Among them were General John J. Pershing, Thomas Edison, President Warren G. Harding and Cecil B. DeMille, who directed the Academy Award-winning motion picture “The Greatest Show on Earth.”

The dining area was modernized by nephew John Ringling North. The table is set for a meal with plates adorned with the Jomar name. (Photo: RMA-Tibbals)

John Ringling North (right) and Charlton Heston stand on the vestibule of Jomar. Heston starred as Brad, the tough circus manager in “The Greatest Show on Earth” motion picture. (Photo: RMA-Tibbals)

Today, Jomar is located at 2211 Fruitville Road in Sarasota, part of Bob’s Train, owned by Bob Horne. It’s open for lunch Monday through Friday. In 2010, K-Line by Lionel sold a model of Jomar, which retailed at $145.99. When you can find them, the models now sell for $70 to $179.

The Lionel model of Jomar is no longer available retail, but can be found in online auctions.

Jomar china is known to exist in institutions and private collections. I’ve heard rumors of private sales of the china, but haven’t found records to confirm any of those sales except for a small plate I sold from my own collection for $775 to a railroad collector in Oklahoma. In tracking circus memorabilia sale prices over the past four decades, I have found no record of any Jomar china being sold by antique dealers or at auction, until recently. In late January of this year, a set of Jomar china—that included a tea pot, sugar bowl and two-handled coffee cup—was offered on eBay with a starting bid of $750. Three bidders and 13 bids later, the winning bid was $3,049.99. I suspect the tea pot and sugar bowl in this set are not Jomar china at all, but stock china from the Mayer collection, the company that made the china. In researching for this article I discovered a tea pot identical to the one in the above set. It sold with a creamer in 2010 at Trinity Auction Gallery for $15. There was no mention of a connection to Ringling or Jomar.

This tea pot and creamer sold at Trinity Auction Gallery. The bottom of the tea pot is marked Mayer China LaMure. (Photo: Trinity Auction Gallery in Trinity, Texas)

It’s no surprise due to the high bid on the Jomar china set, another two single plates with the Jomar name appeared on eBay before the week was out. One was a bread and butter plate and the other was a dinner plate. The small plate started with a $500 bid. Five bidders and 23 bids later, the winning bid was $1,237.12. The dinner plate started at 99 cents with a reserve, but was purchased almost immediately for a $2,000 “Buy It Now” price.

The Jomar name appeared on the front of the plates.

John Ringling North undoubtedly gave individual pieces of Jomar china to friends and associates, but how did people without those connections obtain items? An interesting story relates how some of this china may have come into private hands. In the final days before Ringling moved the winter quarters from Sarasota to Venice, circus fans would frequent the winter quarters grounds looking for items that had been discarded. Hearsay has it that one such fan was walking by a building and discovered one or more barrels that had been thrown out an upper story window. The barrels, now broken open, had been filled with Jomar china. What remained were hundreds of broken pieces, but it was still possible to salvage several sets that remained undamaged. Some of the recent pieces sold on eBay could be from those discarded so long ago. There has always been a controversy about the origin of Jomar china, specifically who placed the first order, John Ringling or John Ringling North? One clue comes from a detailed inventory of the contents of the Jomar railcar at the time it was delivered to John Ringling by the Pullman Company in 1917. A copy of the 31-page inventory was provided to me by Pullman Company historian David Duncan of Sarasota. The document details all specifications for the car, including every item in the car, from furniture to waste baskets. It even lists 11 spittoons. In the dining room section it reads: “The chinaware is the same grade as applied to Pullman General Service Private cars and has the same design of black and yellow marking thereon, except that the name Pullman was omitted and no other marking substituted therefore.”

Pullman General Service china is shown here with the black and yellow marking and the Pullman name. It is nothing like the Jomar china.

That inventory settles the fact that the china was not on Jomar when the car was first delivered. It is possible that John Ringling ordered Jomar china in later years, but in consulting with other circus and railroad historians, the general consensus seems to be that the china was ordered by John Ringling North. Their opinions are backed up by the fact that the design of the Jomar china would have been out of place in the Victoria style dining area during the John Ringling years. However, it would complement John Ringling North’s modern redesign. In my search to see if any other Jomar china pieces appeared on eBay, I discovered an old printer’s block with the name Jomar in italic type. I have no idea whether it has any connection to Ringling’s railcar, but for a starting bid of 99 cents, I couldn’t resist. And my winning bid was just 99 cents plus shipping. Now my search leads me in a different direction to find the origin of this printer’s block. If anyone has any ideas I’d love to hear from you.

This was listed on eBay under the Printing & Graphic Arts category. There was no mention of Ringling or circus. It measures 4-3/8 inches.

The historic photos in this story were provided courtesy of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art—Tibbals Collection (RMA-Tibbals).

Larry Kellogg is a Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia. WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth