The true story of street performer Philippe Petit's 1974 high wire walk between the two towers of New York City's World Trade Center. Color ink-and-oil illustrations accompany the text. Named one of the Best Children's Books 2003 by Publishers Weekly and selected by the New York Times Book Review as a 2003 Notable book and one of the Best ...
A cult classic and a work of remarkable scholarship, this title is an investigation into the inspired world of side shows, circuses, and singularly talented performers. Jay's unparalleled collection of books, posters, photographs, programs, broadsides, and data about unjustifiably forgotten entertainers all over the world made this unique book ...
The fascinating personalities of 200 performers from the past 160 years are celebrated through intimate biographies paired with stunning photographs to give readers a comprehensive and sometimes astonishing view of the history of the American sideshow.
Dan Rice (1823-1900), who started out as a circus clown, achieved unprecedented success when he transformed his act into the perfect mixture of comedy, music, and animal performance. An innovative entertainer, he helped inspire the golden age of vaudeville by his example.
Young Bram and his elephant, Modoc, had a lifelong friendship spanning eight decades. The true story of their adventures together and eventual rise to circus stardom is depicted in this beautiful book. Full color.
This is an excellent book for both beginner and advanced clowns. This book is aimed at clowns and would-be clowns who want to improve their skills. Included are comedy routines as well as instructions on riding a unicycle, juggling, stilt-walking, applying makeup, mime, puppetry, and magic. The advice on employment possibilities is less useful ...
From 1840 until 1940, freak shows by the hundreds crisscrossed the United States, from the smallest towns to the largest cities, exhibiting their casts of dwarfs, giants, Siamese twins, bearded ladies, savages, snake charmers, fire eaters, and other oddities. By today's standards such displays would be considered cruel and exploitive - the ...
A history of circuses--from ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman times through the present--including circus lore, superstitions, and personal anecdotes by circus performers. Illustrated with photographs and period illustrations.
Intelligent, engaging discussions of slapstick, comic strips, vaudeville, and other elements of popular culture and their relationship to such traditional art forms as opera, ballet, drama, and classical music. 28 illustrations.
This volume explores the development of the early 20th-century railroad circus against such broader historical developments as the rise of big business, the breakdown of separate spheres for men and women, and the genesis of the United States' overseas empire. It casts the circus as a powerful force in consolidating the nation's identity as a ...
An anniversary tribute to the sophisticated circus extravaganza shares the story of founder Guy Lalibert , charts its rise from a humble performing group to international success, and features color photographs of each production including Saltimbanco, Myst re, Varekai, and "O." 25,000 first printin
On small-town ballfields and county fairgrounds, the sideshow performers set up their tents and trailers in the shadow of the Ferris wheel. There they amazed us with daring feats such as fire eating and sword swallowing, intrigued us with exhibitions of human oddities and various "anatomical wonders," and yes, deceived us with illusions such as ...
Here, in both glory and grit, is the American circus during the most vibrant period in its history. These photographs, not seen for almost a century, capture both the intensity of the routines and the spirit of camaraderie of the performers. They show it all, from the parades and the Big Top to the train leaving town, from performers hanging by ...
It takes know-how to create a professional looking clown face. Contrary to popular belief a proper clown face is not worn as a mask. It should be designed to compliment the natural features in the face in order to enhance the clown's expressions. In this book, Jim Roberts, a.k.a. "Strutter the Clown", describes the different types of clown faces ...
Here spectators will see Atasha the Gorilla Girl, Combustible Kira, Lionel the Lion-Faced Man, Otis the Frog Boy, Serpentina the Snake Girl, and more than forty other legendary sideshow acts. From P.T. Barnum's albinos and "Siamese" twins, to the traveling oddity museums linked to circuses and carnivals, to a whole new generation of "carny kids," ...
After years of being out of print, the story behind 'The Greatest Show on Earth' is back for new generations to discover. Through the early twentieth century, the Ringling Brothers created a spectacle like no one had ever seen, and one that still wows audiences to this day. Yet what most people do not know is that events behind the scenes rivaled ...
Through horrible physical deformities which were almost impossible to describe, Joseph Carey Merrick spent much of his life exhibited as a fairground freak until even 19th century sensibilities could take no more. Hounded, persecuted and starving, he ended up one day at Liverpool Street Station where he was rescued, housed and fed by the ...
An informal history of sensational, scientific, silly and startling attractions based on 17th, 18th and 19th Century Broadsides from the collection of Ricky Jay. With some observations on the convention of promoting such appearances, and digressions on the manner and method of printing advertisements to do so, and with insight into the psychology ...
This new addition to the Badger Biography series for young readers features the story of the young Ringling brothers of circus fame. The book tells the inspiring story of the seven sons of German and French immigrants who were guided by their dreams to escape poverty through hard work and ambition. These entrepreneurial brothers moved with their ...
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