ORIGINAL 1944 RINGLING BROTHERS BARNUM & BAILEY CIRCUS POSTER w/ CLOWN For Sale

VERY RARE, and beautiful, original 1944, Chromolithograph Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, vertical One Sheet Advertising Poster featuring a fantastic image of the great Circus Clown Loou Jacobs. To begin with we must stress that this this is an ORIGINAL, 1944 Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus poster - it is NOT a reprint, reissue, reproduction, reissue or modern print but the Poster offered here is UNCONDITIONALLY guaranteed original - printed and distributed in 1944 to advertise performances of the "Greatest Show on Earth"!!!!

This outstanding chromolithograph Poster measures approx. 28” by 41” (including margins - "one sheet" size Poster) and features a stunningly beautiful portrait of a Circus Clown in full make-up at the left hand side. The Clown on this Poster has been identified as Loou Jacobs (born Johann Ludwig Jacob) who joined Ringling Brothers in 1925 and performed for 60 years with that Circus. Starting out as a whiteface clown, he changed to an "auguste" clown (a clown that has white just around the mouth and eyes) after John Ringling gave him a full-time position as a clown in the 1926 campaign. Jacobs wasted no time in developing his costume. It was a checkered pink and lavender suit with baggy pants and a 12-inch-high collar. He wore big shoes and carried a small umbrella attached to a 10-foot handle. His distinctive and efficient makeup, along with Jacobs's oversized and colorful costume (which he wore over his 6'11" frame) made him easily recognizable in the vast expanses of the Ringling's giant big top. Jacobs's clown face eventually became an iconic image for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's advertising; in 1956, it even appeared on a U.S. Postage Stamp celebrating the circus.

Text on the Poster reads "Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus" and at the lower right hand corner there is text that reads "See You At The" followed by the world globe trade mark of the RBB&BC with text on the globe that reads "Greatest Show on Earth". Although the Poster is not signed by the lithographer, it is signed by the artist - Maxwell Frederic Coplan. There is also a slug that reads "Printed in the U.S.A." as well as "Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus". The Poster was printed using a combination of Stone lithography and photo lithography creating a stunningly beautiful and detailed image that includes an exceptionally realistic portrait of the auguste Clown combined with the stark and brilliant chromolithographic text and background.

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Howard Tibbles Poster Collection (the world’s largest collection of American Circus Posters) includes an example of this outstanding Circus Poster. As stated above - this is an original 1944 Chromolithograph Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus Poster and is unconditionally guaranteed as such. Both the lithography and the graphics on this outstanding, American Circus Advertising Poster are stunningly beautiful - the colors are bright and vibrant and the Poster is MUCH more attractive than the scans below. This is an example of THE very finest and the most highly desirable, American Circus Advertising Posters of the pre-World War II era and when framed for display it will make a stunningly beautiful display piece.

This very rare and beautiful, original 1944 Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus Advertising Poster is in good to very good condition - the colors are bright and vibrant with no soiling, staining, discoloration or fading. There is some edge wear with short edge tears and small edge chips as well as a small amount of loss at the lower left hand corner as can be seen in the scans below. There are 5 or 6 short, repaired tears in the body of the image as well as a 10" long, tight, repaired tear that enters the sheet at the center of the bottom edge. With a quality matting and framing this striking Poster will display nicely. The Poster is offered "as issued" - it has never been and is not mounted on linen or board but does have the tape repairs on the reverse described above.

A very rare and beautiful, 1944 Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus One Sheet Advertising Poster and a fantastic addition to any collection!!!

Please Note: This is an original, 1944 Circus Poster. It is NOT a reprint, reproduction, restrike or modern printing but an original Poster, printed and distributed in 1944 to advertise the appearance of the Circus along its 1944 Route!!!

Overseasshippping is extra and cost will be quoted at buyers request. Massachusetts residents must add 6.25% sales tax.

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Important Notes about Shipping Charges:

The amount quoted for Shipping & Handling is calculated by and is equal to the EXACT amount charged by the Post Office plus a $1.00 "packing fee" - the $1.00 fee is our only compensation for the virgin packing materials we use on all of our professionally packaged boxes as well as our cost for the salaried help that does most of our packing - as I am sure you can see, we make NO profit on the Shipping charges and, in fact, our costs are usually greater than the $1.00 fee. Please contact us if there are any issues regarding the cost of shipping.

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