Vintage Circus Photos From The Wisconsin Historical Society Archives

by Simone Davalos on September 1, 2009 · 1 comment

guest post by Simone Davalos

The Wisconsin Historical Society has a great archive of vintage circus photos, a visit from the ghosts of circus past:

Erma Ward

Trapeze artist Erma Ward by H. A. Atwell Studio

Vintage photos of jolly things like circuses always strike me as a little creepy. It could be the memento morii aspect, a philosophical meditation on time passing and the joys of today being subsumed by the ruins of tomorrow. Or perhaps it’s a call to a simpler time, nostalgia for the allure of the mysterious world that carnies and show people inhabited, the excitement of getting just a glimpse of that sordid existence, free from the mundane, signified by the sudden appearance of the circus parade on Main Street of small-town America.

Toto The Clown

Toto the Clown with children by Angus B. McVicar

Or it could be the clowns. Yeah, actually, I would have to say it’s definitely the clowns.

via Ephemera Assemblyman & the inestimable Adam Koford

Here Are A Few Related Posts You Might Enjoy:

- H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society Presents “The Whisperer in Darkness”

- Consumer Reports’ Vintage Test Photos

- Vintage Advertisements Featuring Modern Products

- Circus Redickuless Reunion Show in Honor of Dammit

- Circus Redickuless Celebrates Dammit’s 18th Birthday

filed under History, Photography

Written by Simone Davalos

Simone has written 15 posts on Laughing Squid.

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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

1 Orin Zebest September 2, 2009 at 4:12 am

I feel so inexplicably foiled when I see something the day before it gets posted to the Squid. It’s like, “Ha! I knew that was cool! Why didn’t *I* say something!?” Yet validating it still is. Thanks, Simone.

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