Various Ads from Barnum & Bailey's Circus Program (1916)
Date
Format
- Advertisement 205
- Program 72
- Advertising 496
- Publication cover 58
Type of Work
- Finished work 5481
- Book 97
Techniques
- printing 434
Locations Made
- United States 725
The following ads were found in “The Thousand and One Nights Barnum & Bailey's New Spectacular Pageant” program for their 1916 season. The program had multiple titles such as the ‘Guide of the Menagerie’, ‘Libretto of the Pageant’, ‘Program of the Arena’, and ‘Magazine of Marvels’. The program sold for 10 cents.
The program gave important information about the Barnum & Bailey circus including background on Barnum and Bailey themselves, excerpts about the acts and animals, and the travel dates of the circus. A majority of the left pages on each spread were used for ad space. The ads featured in this magazine are a great example of product ad design during the early 1900's. The designs rely on on a mix of heavy serif typefaces, packing in as much information about the product as possible. Most are complemented by illustrations.
Sourced from the UGA Special Collections Library, the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscripts Library in the circus ephemera collection.
