Artist: ANONYMOUS
Size: 28 3/4 x 38 1/2 in./73 x 98 cm
Condition: B/ Restored tears, largely at horizontal fold.
Printer: Strobridge Litho, Cincinnati
Reference: Ref: Fox-Parkinson, p. 64; Circus Lore, pl. 10; PAI-XXXIX, 10; Phillips VIII, 112

Barnum & Bailey / Greatest Show on Earth. 1897.
As circuses were such a large money maker around the turn of the century, many fake and fly-by-night operations emerged, either taking the ticket sale money and running out of town or performing with far fewer acts and animals than originally advertised. Having the owner’s faces on a poster instilled confidence in potential buyers -- this was the era of Carnegie where entrepreneurs were well-respected, and putting one’s face on a product actually meant that you stood behind it.