In its heyday,
the American circus was the largest showbiz industry the world had ever seen
. From the mid-1800s to mid-1900s, traveling circuses performed for audiences of up to 14,000 per show, employed as many as 1,600 men and women, and crisscrossed the country on 20,000 miles of railroad in one season alone. The spectacle of
death-defying daredevils, strapping superheroes
and
scantily clad starlets, fearless animal trainers,
startling “freaks”
gripped the American imagination, outshining theater, vaudeville, comedy, and minstrel shows.
This book sheds
fresh light on the circus phenomenon
. With photographic gems of early circus performers, as well as
original posters, lithographs, sideshow banners
engravings
from the 16th to 19th centuries illustrating the worldwide roots of the circus, readers are transported to
a world of thrill and skill, grit and glamor
. Highlights include iconic circus photographs by Mathew Brady, Cornell Capa, Walker Evans, Weegee, and Lisette Model, and
little-known circus images by Stanley Kubrick and Charles and Ray Eames
.