Here’s a mash-up of posters from the Barnum Brothers, Sells Brothers, Ringling Brothers, and Horace Barre. At first glance they all appear to be from the same company. Monkey see monkey do!
All of these are from the late 1800s with the exception of the hot air balloon, which was made in the early 1900s. All of these are available as reproductions fro RetroSnapshots for about $22 each- not bad, huh?
If the star ratings were still there, I would definitely 5-star this post! I don’t really like the circus because I worry about the animals, but I love these vintage posters! The colors are so gorgeous – I wish we knew more about the artists.
I completely agree- I have mixed feelings about the circus.. but I love vintage circus designs! It’s hard to find out about the artists when it’s commissioned by a big company like Barnum. I’m working on another circus post though with downloadable images from University archives, so those will have more known history with them. Thanks for the comment!