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The Barnum Bailey greatest show on earth

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Library division & collection with this item:

LIBRARY DIVISION
Billy Rose Theatre Division

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COLLECTION
Billy Rose Theatre Division posters

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SUB-COLLECTION
Circus (MWEZ+++)

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This Item

The Barnum Bailey greatest show on earth

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Title
The Barnum Bailey greatest show on earth
Names
Strobridge & Co. Lith. (Lithographer)
Collection

Billy Rose Theatre Division posters

Circus (MWEZ+++)

Dates / Origin
Date Issued: 1908
Place: Cincinnati [Ohio]
Publisher: Strobridge Litho Co.
Library locations
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Shelf locator: MWEZ+++ n.c. 19777.05
Topics
Circus
Barnum, P. T. (Phineas Taylor), 1810-1891
Barnum and Bailey
Genres
Posters
Notes
Funding: National Endowment for the Arts Millennium Project.
Biographical/historical: In 1887 James A. Bailey joined with P. T. Barnum to form the Barnum & Bailey Circus. Known by its motto, "The Greatest Show on Earth", it toured Europe in the 1890's. Barnum died in 1891 and Bailey, who introduced the 3 ring circus format in 1881, became sole owner. In addition to its tours of the United States, it also made another successful tour of Europe from 1897-1902. With Bailey's death in 1906, the Ringling Brothers bought the show from Bailey's widow. The Barnum & Bailey Circus toured under its own name until 1919 when it was merged with the Ringling show.
Biographical/historical: Portraits of P.A. Bailey and P.T. Barnum appeared on advertising posters produced by the Strobridge Litho. Co. as early as 1897.
Content: Treasures of the American Performing Arts, 1875-1923
Physical Description
Lithographs
Extent: 1 poster : col. ; 50 x 76 cm.
On verso: "Library of Congress, two copies received March 2, 1908"
Description
Poster for the Barnum & Bailey circus, illustrated with portraits of J. A. Bailey and P. T. Barnum.
Type of Resource
Still image
Languages
English
Identifiers
RLIN/OCLC: NYPG98-F979
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b14326557
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 7b4e0a00-c62c-012f-128e-58d385a7bc34
Rights Statement
The New York Public Library believes that this item is in the public domain under the laws of the United States, but did not make a determination as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. This item may not be in the public domain under the laws of other countries. Though not required, if you want to credit us as the source, please use the following statement, "From The New York Public Library," and provide a link back to the item on our Digital Collections site. Doing so helps us track how our collection is used and helps justify freely releasing even more content in the future.

Item timeline of events

  • 1908: Issued
  • 2016: Digitized
  • 2026: Found by you!
  • 2027

MLA Format

Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library. "The Barnum Bailey greatest show on earth" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1908. https://old-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-4ed7-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Chicago/Turabian Format

Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library. "The Barnum Bailey greatest show on earth" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed September 15, 2026. https://old-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-4ed7-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

APA Format

Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library. (1908). The Barnum Bailey greatest show on earth Retrieved from https://old-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-4ed7-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://old-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-4ed7-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 | title= (still image) The Barnum Bailey greatest show on earth, (1908) |author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=September 15, 2026 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

The Barnum Bailey greatest show on earth