Brown, Joe H., 130
Buckley, Matthew, xvi
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, 101, 139, 150, 151, 156
Butte, Montana, 99
C
“Caesar’s Triumphal Entry into Rome,” 50
camels, 153, 153
Canada, 94, 107
candy butchers, 26
Canton, Ohio, 102–107
canvasmen, xix, xx–xxi, 72
Carl Hagenbeck Greater Shows, 134, 137
Carpenter, George, 185
Case, Harrison, Jr., 121
Case, Theron and Lucy N., 193
Castello, Dan, xvi
chandelier department, 72
Chicago, Illinois, 73, 78–79, 91, 101, 107, 114, 157, 165, 178–179, 180
Chicago World’s Fair, 61, 61
Coliseum, 191
indoor shows, 67–71, 84
childhood exposure to emulation of circuses, 5–6, 7
Chinese language handbill, 105
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, 102
The Circus Kings, 208
Circus World Museum, 212–213, 216
claims and litigation, 39, 125, 129, 164, 171, 180
Clarkonians Big Aerial Act, 197
“Cleopatra” show, 186
Cleveland, Ohio, 188
clowns, 26–27, 69, 85, 118, 128
Puff Club, 81
Cochran, Thomas, 128
Cody, William “Buffalo Bill,” 150
Coerper, Alice Ringling, 142, 169, 170
Columbus, Ohio, 91, 144–145, 166
competition, 101
advertising and, 132, 133, 134, 136, 155
American Circus Corporation, 211
Barnum & Bailey Circus, 58, 67, 76, 104
Carl Hagenbeck Greater Shows, 134
cooperation among competing circuses, 116–117, 195
dominance of Ringling holdings, 192–193
efforts to drive Ringlings out of business, 74–75
motion pictures, 161
noncompete agreements, 66, 116–117, 126
from other forms of entertainment, 76
between Ringling owned shows, 163–164
Sells Brothers Shows, 64
traveling stage shows and lectures, 161
vaudeville acts, 107
concessions, 31, 31, 40, 72, 120, 158, 158–159
Concordia, Kansas, 59
Conners family (performers), 81
contracts
for advertising on buildings, 132
balloon contract, 184
employment agreements, 155
lack of contract among the brothers, 54, 194, 210
noncompete agreements, 66, 116–117, 126
standard contact, 32
cooking and dining department, xix–xx, 72, 94, 148
4th of July menu, 94
farewell dinner menu, 63
Coup, William C., xvi
courier cover, 200
Curtis, Edna, 179
D
Dahlinger, Fred, Jr., 101, 118, 150, 206, 213
Dailey, Tom, 130
Darlington, Wisconsin, 27, 31
Daubenberger, Gretchen, 5
Davis, Janet, 43
Decatur, Illinois, 165
Delavan, Wisconsin, xv–xvi
map of, xvi
Denver, Colorado, 102
DeSanto, Karen, 212
detectives, 57, 187
Detroit, Michigan, 144
Dialo, Rich, 26, 26
Dietzler, Albert, 59
Dodgeville, Wisconsin, 21
dog acts, 36
Double Specialty Shows, handbill for, 12
Dr. Morrison’s Coliseum, poster, 9, 10
Duluth, Minnesota, 57, 115, 128–129, 148, 185
E
economics
1857 depression, 3
1893–1897 depression, 61–63, 67, 75
1907 banking crisis, 138–139
Baraboo’s local economy and circus industry, 55–56, 65–66
crash of 1929 and Great Depression, 211
impacts on local businesses on circus day, 165–166
industry in Wisconsin, 9
Sherman Anti-Trust Act impacts, 44–45
Spanish-American War’s impacts, 77
wages and prices (1900), 88
work day for average person, 12
see also finances
Effinger, Fred J., 215
elephants, 30, 60, 74, 102–103, 110, 129
acquisition of, 30–31
“Baby Boo,” 38
born in Baraboo, 38–39
“boxing” elephant, 156
escapes and runaways, 38–39
as essential to circuses, 21, 25
graveyard in Baraboo, 166
sale of, 141
Spanish-American War and offer of, 79
training, 109–110
“white elephant,” 37
Ellsworth, Kansas, 99
Emery, William, 38
employees
of 1885 show, 26
1895 organization, 72
canvasmen, xix, xx–xxi, 72
diversity of, 86
labor shortages, 197, 198, 201
performers, 46, 72
at Ringlingville, 73
support staff, 85–86
unions and, 155
wages for, 51, 54, 64, 128, 155, 187, 197
during winter season, 187
women as circus staff, 43
Workmen’s Compensation Act, 185, 242n47
see also specific individuals
Enormous Railroad Shows, handbill for, 45
entertainment
circuses as, xv
for employees, 47–48, 111
market for, 12
vaudeville, 107
Ziegfield Follies, 161, 163, 163
equestrian acts, 52, 63, 84, 115, 117
Harry Buckley, xvi
Rooney, Mike, 52, 69
see also horses and ponies
Europe
performers recruited from, 190
tour in considered, 184
expansion of circus, 25, 27, 29
after consolidation with Barnum & Bailey, 207–208, 211
Barnum & Bailey acquisition, 126, 138–139, 141–142
Forepaugh-Sells Circus shares acquired, 114, 115–117, 127
Hagenbeck Circus acquisition, 137
John Robinson Greatest of All American Shows, 78
W. B. Reynolds Circus acquired, 74
expenses. See finances
F
“Fairyland Spectacle Cinderella,” 194, 197
families, circus “families,” 81
fees and fines, 19–20, 38, 128–129, 135, 159, 164–165, 185
“Field of the Cloth of Gold” show, 121–122
finances, 185
1891–1897 summary of, 77
1897 daily receipts, 75–76
1903 profits, 112
assets in 1909, 150
Barnum & Bailey purchase price, 139
credit rating, 84
daily expenses, 51, 65, 126
daily or individual show profits, 62
evaluation of holdings, 168, 170
expenses incurred by 1914 fire, 189
financing of first circus, 11, 18
hall show as money raising effort, 11
investment in menagerie, 150
loans, 33–34, 120, 138–139
Otto as treasurer for circus, 23, 72
politics and financial climate, 150–151
prices for repair work, 96
wages for employees, 51, 54, 64, 128, 155, 187, 197
winter quarters expenses, 195
see also profits; taxes
Finnegan, James E., 131
fires, 38, 64, 111, 180, 188–189, 195
in Kansas city, 189
at winter quarters, 78
Fish, Charles W., 6
2, 63
Fitchburg, Massachusetts, 80
Flying Squadron, xviii
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, 102
food. See concessions; cooking and dining department
Forepaugh-Sells Circus, 101, 120–121, 138, 141
1910 advertising poster, 162
acquisition of share in, 114, 115–117
auction catalog, 116
sale of, 172
shares acquired, 127
Fort Smith, Arkansas, 171
Fox, Charles P. “Chappie,” 145, 153, 201, 212
G
Galesburg, Illinois, 51
Galveston, Texas, 128
Ganweiler, George, 118
Garrett, Indiana, 58
giraffes, 60, 93
in advertising, 62, 94
Gollmar, Arthur H., 102
Gollmar, Walter, 53
Gollmar family, 1–2, 49
Goodhart, George W., 130
Grandforks, North Dakota, 51
“Greatest Show on Earth” slogan, 89–90
Great Wallace Show, 101
Gregory Brothers Circus, 15
grift, 41, 47
Gulickson, Andrew, 185
Gumpertz, Sam, 211
H
Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, 163, 195
Haley, E. C., 72
Hall, George, 26
hall shows, 11–16
concert program, 13
handbills
for 1881 Double Specialty Shows, 12
for 1887 United Monster Shows, 29
for 1889 Enormous Railroad Shows, 45
for 1893 show, giraffe featured in, 62
for 1897 show, tent size featured, 75
for 1903 show, in Chinese language, 105
Hardy, Sam, 26
Harlow, Alvin, 8
Harmoyne, Harry and Lottie, 15
harness-making business, 2, 3, 4–5, 6, 9–10
Harry, Matthew, xvi
Hart, Fred, 13
Hartford, Wisconsin, 48
Hatch, Alden, 208
Heiser, George, 124
Henderson, E. B., 112
hippopotamuses, 44, 46, 68
history of circuses, xv–xvi
Hobson family (performers), 115
hoof-and-mouth disease, 191
horses and ponies, 40, 49–50, 117, 120
baggage horses, 52
employees for horse department, 72
equestrian acts, 52, 115
ring stock, 52
training of, 52–53, 53
train wreck and, 59
Horton, Lorene Ringling, 142, 169
Horton, W. H., 131
Hunter, Dick, 26
hyenas, 27
I
Illinois State University archives, 214
indoor shows, 67–71, 78, 84
influenza epidemic, 199–200
insane asylum performance, 74
inventions. See technology
Irvin Feld family, purchase of circus by, 214
Isenberg, Carl, 61, 61, 115, 160, 166–167, 174, 182
J
Jackson, Michigan, 80, 82
Janesville, Wisconsin, 76, 165
“Jerusalem and the Crusades,” 106–107, 114
poster advertising, 108
program for, 218–220
“Joan of Arc” show, 177–178, 179–180, 186
advertising for, 178
costuming for, 179
John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 209
John Robinson Greatest of All American Shows, 78, 163
John Stowe and Company’s Great Western Circus, 5
K
kangaroos, 57
Kankakee, Illinois, 74
Kansas City, Missouri, 103, 189
Kariska, William “Baraboo Bill,” 214
Kelley, John M., 39, 125, 164
Circus World Museum and, 212, 216
Kelley, Mr. (murder victim), 58
Kernan, Jack, 15
Kimball, E. M., 13, 15, 16
Kissell, Frank, 26
Knob, Louis, 130
L
La Belle Roche and “thriller” automobile act, 146, 147
labor and unions, 96, 155
work day for average person, 12
Workmen’s Compensation Act, 242n47
Lake Mendota, 137
Laramie, Wyoming, 38–39
LaRosa, George W., 26
lawsuits, 125, 129, 164, 180
Leitzel, Lillian, 191–192, 192
leopards, 128
Liberati, Alessandra, 69, 71
Life Story of the Ringling Brothers (Alf T. Ringling), 5, 23, 88
lighting, 72, 188
Lillie, Gordon “Pawnee Bill,” 156
lions, 46
Little Rock, Arkansas, 128
“Looping the Gap” bicycle act, 115
Lowe, Walter, 115
M
Mabie, Edmund and Jeremiah, xv
Madison, Wisconsin, 103
Madison, South Dakota, 57
mail service, 85–86
Manchester, New Hampshire, 133
Manson, Wisconsin, 47
maps
Baraboo, vi
bird’s eye view of Ringling, 28
Delavan, xvi
winter quarters at Baraboo, 186
Martinettes (performers), 188
Maryville, Missouri, 122
Masonic Lodge, 154
Mazomanie, Wisconsin, 12
McCracken, Sam, 181
McGregor, Iowa, 3–5, 8, 8, 14
Ringling residence, 4
McKinley, William, 88, 96–97, 102
mechanical stake-drivers, 124, 124–125
memorial service for McKinley, 96–97
menageries, 31, 60, 98, 149–150
1885–1889, 40
1890, 44, 46
1891 acquisitions, 49
1892 acquisitions, 55
1893 acquisitions, 60, 60
1895 show, 70
1900 acquisitions, 88–89
1907 acquisitions, 141
animal shortages during WWI, 190–191
as attractions, xxii, 166
claimed in lawsuit, 180
disease outbreaks and, 191
employees for, 72
first collection of animals, 27
food for, 132, 149–150, 182, 235n6
value of, 150
see also specific animals
menus, 63, 94
midgets, 156
Miller, Charles, 72
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 63, 102, 174
Minneapolis, Minnesota, 62
Moeller family, 9, 96
Monson, Ohio, 48
Moreau, Raymond “Sabu,” 202, 206
motion pictures, 45
murders, 35, 58
music
Alf T. and Otto as musicians, 9, 11
band concerts as attraction, xxii, 69, 71
bands, 118
Circus band (1891), 54
employees in music department, 72
mounted parade bands, 119
in Ringlings’ show, 118–119
N
Neuman, Jan and Duane, 166
Newark, Ohio, 127
New Orleans, Louisiana, 82
New York City, 67, 148, 157, 179, 180
noncompete agreements, 66, 116–117, 126
North, Henry Ringling, 208
North, Ida Ringling, 214
North, John Ringling, 214
O
O’Donnell, Robert, 59
Ogden, Utah, 111
Oneonta, New York, 123
Otis, Clara Curtis, 6
P
panthers, 93
parades, 57, 78–79, 101, 111–112, 142–144, 238n31
in 1865, 40
in 1912, 179
in Algona, Iowa, 143
at Circus World Museum, 212, 213
in
Detroit, 143
with hall show, 14
in Madison, 103
mounted parade bands, 119
nighttime parades, 73
in Oneonta, New York, 123
“playing circus” during childhood, 7
reviews of, 165, 166
in Rockford, Illinois, 83
on Sunday, 91
Parson, Alfred E. “Butch,” 31, 40, 72, 120, 158–159
with brothers and concession tent, 31
Parson, Frank, 127
Parson, Joe, 35, 158
Parson and Roy’s Great Palace Show, 10, 158
Parson brothers concessions, 31, 158
Parsons Great Grecian Circus, 15
Paschen, Al, 154
Peckham, Ralph, 169
Peoria, Illinois, 74
Peri, Professor, 128
Pfening, Fred, III, 125
philosophy of the Ringlings, ix, 21, 41, 87, 101, 148
polar bears, 55
politics
financial climate and, 150–151
income taxes, 173–176, 185
women’s suffrage movement, 175
Port Huron, Michigan, 11–112
post office, 85
poverty as influence, 5
Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, 6–7, 14
press agents, 135
prison as venue for show, 80, 82
profits
1891–1897 summary of, 77
1891 annual profits, 51
1892 annual profits, 58
1894 annual profits, 64
1895 annual profits, 73
1903 annual profits, 112
1906 annual profits, 137
1909 annual profits, 157, 159
1912 annual profits, 181
1915 annual profits, 193
1916 annual profits, 195–196
for 1917 show, 197–198
1918 annual profits, 200
concession sales, 158–159
daily receipts, 64, 71, 73, 76, 79, 126, 171, 193, 199–200
hall shows, 14, 15
profit margins for circuses, 54
program for 1903 show, 218–220
properties department, 72
psychology of the circus, x
Puff Club, 81
Putnam, G. P., 26
R
Racine, Wisconsin, xv, 9
Rae, Jeanne, 197
Rafferty, James, 72, 73
rail circuses, xviii, 40, 41–42, 44, 45, 59
buildings for, 60–61
train wrecks, 59, 102, 128
railroads
John Ringling and, 24, 208–209
as transportation for circus, xviii, 40, 41–42, 59
wartime regulation of, 202, 206
Rapp, George, 185
recreation, for employees, 47–48, 111
Reese, Wilson W., 72, 73
reputation, ix, 41, 47, 57–58, 84, 112–113, 116, 146–148, 156, 176–177
of menagerie, 149
reviews, 11, 20–21
of 1885–1889 shows, 40–41
of 1888 show, 35–36
of 1892 show, 57
of 1895 show, 73–74
of 1896 show, 75
of 1900 show, 91
of 1906 show, 127
of 1915 show, 193
of “Caeser’s Triumphal Entry in Rome,” 51
Carnival of Fun, 25