The 19th-century American circus

A 

The American circus was born in Philadelphia in 1793, during the term of the first U.S. president, George Washington. Founded by Englishman John Bill Ricketts, this early circus established the common features of most American circuses over the next century and beyond: tricks with animals, especially horses, acrobats performing startling feats, and clowns. Ricketts was himself a highly skilled trick rider whose most famous stunt was riding at full speed while holding a child over his head. President Washington even celebrated his birthday at the circus, and Ricketts had his portrait painted by Gilbert Stuart, famous for his presidential portraits.

B 

And yet early American circus promoters had trouble earning a profit. They discovered that outside a few large U.S. cities, only a few towns were populous enough or with large enough exhibition buildings to stage a circus. In 1825, Joshuah Purdy Brown's became the first U.S. circus to tour with its own specially constructed, portable, canvas tent, allowing it to perform in both large and small towns. Soon the traveling circus became the typical U.S. circus, moving throughout the country during the circus season of spring through autumn.

C 

As the 19th century progressed, and as new European immigrants moved westward and enlarged the size of the U.S., the traveling circus became a major American institution. New settlers typically were struggling small farmers who were living lives of hard, physical work from sunup until sundown, with few opportunities for entertainment. That is until, for a day, a traveling circus came to town and provided a glimpse of an exotic, alternative existence – colourful performers who pushed beyond the limits of everyday life and showed, in the words of one observer, how great we could be, how beautiful we could be.

D 

Indeed, a challenge for circuses were the frequent campaigns against them by local officials who complained that they encouraged laziness by showing off a glamorous life too far removed from work and family duty. Some towns banned circuses. The response from the 19th century’s most successful circus promoter, P.T. Barnum, was to add a traveling zoo of exotic animals, which he called a menagerie. Barnum then claimed he was offering his patrons an education. The strategy succeeded in quieting the critics, and menageries became a feature of many circuses.

E 

Barnum, already well-known for his New York museum of human curiosities, began his circus career in 1870. At that time, William Coup and Dan Costello, two successful circus managers, asked him to invest in their circus and give it his name. Barnum agreed, and the trio launched the biggest traveling circus yet – 245 horses pulling 125 wagons. Barnum was chief marketer, plastering advertising posters on walls for many miles around performance locales, and publishing a promotional newspaper. Coup persuaded the railroads to sell low priced passenger tickets for travel to circus towns, with circus admission included. As a result, the shows drew crowds from up to 100 km away, with some people making the trip on foot. Spectators at some performances exceeded the total population of the host town, and the Barnum circus consistently earned record profits. By 1876, Coup and Costello had withdrawn, leaving Barnum as sole owner.

F 

Meanwhile, another famous circus man, James Bailey, appeared on the scene. Bailey, who was actually born with the last name McGinnis, ran away from home at the age of twelve. He was being raised by his sister who was mistreating him. After pretending to have drowned in a swimming accident, he found work as a bellboy at a hotel. Later, he persuaded a circus publicist staying there to hire him as an apprentice. Years of marketing circuses under an experienced publicist taught him the key to circus promotion; he also decided to take the publicist’s last name. By age 25, as James Bailey, he was co-manager of his own circus. After a tour of the American West ended in late summer, Bailey had the idea to sail with his circus to Australia and other locales in the southern hemisphere. The summer season was just beginning and his circus could continue touring. After returning to the U.S., he very successfully made his circus the first to recently begin to use electric lighting for night performances. Later, he and Barnum joined forces, making the Barnum and Bailey Circus the leading American circus of the day.

G 

Another important circus man, Adam Forepaugh, had already made a large fortune as an animal dealer, selling horses to New York City and the U.S. government. When a circus owner couldn’t pay Forepaugh for a number of horses he'd bought, Forepaugh took a share of the circus as payment, and discovered a talent for circus management. Throughout the 1880s, often considered the Golden Age of the American circus, the Forepaugh and the Barnum and Bailey circuses competed fiercely. Forepaugh’s circuses began parading through the streets of a city before performances, drawing large, excited crowds, and leading them straight to the circus grounds. Soon Barnum and Bailey’s circus did the same. After Barnum and Bailey had great success with a giant African elephant named Jumbo, Forepaugh quickly imported his own great elephant, Goliath. By the end of the 1800s, the largest American circuses had become something hard to imagine in the tent shows’ early days. They were major corporations, with company bureaucracies and profits that rivaled the great oil and steel enterprises of the period.