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![Page 1: Documenting American circuses and carnivals: an archivist’s perspective by Marian Matyn, Clarke Historical Library, CMU SAA-San Francisco Aug. 30, 2008.](https://reader035.fdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022062321/56649dd05503460f94ac61be/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Documenting American circuses and carnivals: an archivist’s perspective
by Marian Matyn,Clarke Historical Library, CMU
SAA-San FranciscoAug. 30, 2008
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Based on:
• 6 month sabbatical studying MI circuses and carnivals, [1793]1900-1960[current]
• 3 years reading related materials• 2 years conducting oral history interviews
with circus and carnival people• Travel throughout MI, IN, WI • Correspondence with other states
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What is a circus?
• Classic definition: to the public, a performance space, usually a tent with one or more rings; a menagerie; and a sideshow.
• Basic: “the ring, the horse, and the clown” (Arthur H. Saxon, Circus language: a glossary of
circus terms, 2000)• In U.S. since 1793• Circus performers are artists
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Zeidman and Pollie Circus, Cincinnati, OH, sometime
between 1910- 1927, private collection of Curt Pollie.
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What is a carnival?
• Both circuses and carnivals had midway, sideshows, performers, games of chance, at one point both had rides.
• Now: Rides, games of chance, food and drink, and maybe sideshows, inflatables, organized around a midway
• In U.S. since 1893 (Chicago’s World’s Fair)• Carnival people are business owners
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Carnival Midway, Ionia Free Fair [MI],1922?, private collection of Curt Pollie.
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Secondary Sources:
• Books• Articles• Websites• Directories• Maps• Catalogs
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Primary and Secondary Sources: Route books
• Published • Manuscript with Route information
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Zeidman & Pollie Exposition Shows Route book, 1932, CHL.
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Pollie Bros. Circus Program, 1924, CHL.
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Wixom Bros. Great Railroad Show Diary, 1900, BFRC, at The Henry Ford, includes route information.
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Wixom Bros. Great Railroad Show Diary, 1900, BFRC, at The Henry Ford, with paid licensing fees.
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Primary sources I used:
• Manuscripts• Vertical Files• Scrapbooks• Oral Histories• Newspapers (NY Clipper, Billboard, local)• Census• Images (photographic, movies, posters,
drawings, paintings, etc.)
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Manuscript Collections:
• John C. Pollie Papers, 1910-1960, and undated, Clarke Historical Library (CHL), CMULetters to/from John were written at the time
• Wixom Family Papers, 1890-1968, and undated, Benson Ford Research Center, The Henry Ford (BFRC)Clyde Wixom wrote after the fact, late 1960s
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John C. Pollie Papers, Business Correspondence, CHL. Letter, 1933, requesting hire by Cetlin & Wilson.
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John C. Pollie Papers, Business Correspondence, CHL. Letter, 1955, from Net Tortni, WI DeLuxe Co., to John.
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John C. Pollie Papers, Personal Correspondence, CHL. Birthday cards to John from his children.
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John C. Pollie Papers, Personal Correspondence, CHL, birthday telegram to his six-year-old daughter, Janice, 1950.
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John C. Pollie Papers, Personal Correspondence, CHL, postcard written by Bea to John, reporting personal and business news, 1957. Please mow the lawn!
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John C. Pollie Papers, Business Accounts, CHL, examples of a wide variety of financial records.
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Wixom Family Papers, BFRC, various tickets, passes, and railroad script, from Wixom and other circuses, giving date, location, and additional information.
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Wixom Family Papers, BFRC. Letter from Clyde Wixom, 1965, to Art & Gracie Johns, about family history and circus staff.
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Primary Sources: Vertical Files
• Pre-show advertisement (Example)• Short sketches, obituaries, articles, images
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G.G. Grady’s Circus, Menagerie Museum & Grand Free Balloon show, pre-show advertisement, 1873, Western MI Univ. Archives & Regional History Collections, Kalamazoo, MI.
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Primary Sources: Oral Histories
• Clowns, Trapeze Artist, Carnival people• Problems: lack of trust, “not one of us”, need
introduction, time consuming process, memory, dying off
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Another Source: Newspapers
• NY Clipper, Billboard• Local news: ads, images, critiques, accidents,
deaths, reports, cancellations, elephant rampages
• Some people consider these primary and some secondary sources
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N.Y. Clipper,Under the Tents, a1901 report from the Skerbeck Circus. They had a rough year!
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Gollmar Bros. 3-ring Circus illustrative ad, Iron Ore, Ishpeming, MI, Aug. 4, 1917.
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Death of trapeze artist Belinda Connors,Shrine Circus, Mining Journal, Marquette, MI, April 16, 1991.
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Deaths in websites & grave-yards.Lizzie Whitlock, Circus Fat Lady in (Findagrave.com)
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Primary Sources : Census
• Problematic: traveled in summer, used various performance names
• Example 1860 Federal Census for Goshen Township, Tuscarawas County, OH, Stow Circus troupe, Eliakim or Eliakam and Wes Stow
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Primary Sources: Images
• Negatives, photographs, movies
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Wixom Family Papers, BFRC, photograph taken at Fair Grounds, Ithaca, MI, 1900.
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Information from back of previous Wixom photograph.
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Wes Stow of the Stow Circus. Scan of now a lost carte-de-visite,Berrien Co. Historical Society, MI.
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Location of Sources: All over
• Circus World Museum, Research Library, WI• International Circus Hall of Fame, Peru, IN• John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, FL• State, university, other archives• Public libraries and Historical societies• Museums• Private collections (especially carnival)
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Conclusion:
• Much information, many formats in many institutions
• Many topics to researched= papers to publish, presentations to make, exhibits to mount
• On-line images help
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Conclusion Problems:
• General problems: – Lack of cataloging, indexing, and public
knowledge of these documents –Deterioration, theft
• Oral history: memory problems, dying
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More problems
General circus/carnival problems: • Lack of and conflicting information• a lot of baloney • facts crazier than fiction • Carnival problem: don’t trust outsiders
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We are at the end. “Elephant’s rear end”, a scanned glass-plate negative of two circus elephants, in Alpena, MI, date unknown, William Boulton Glass-Plate Negative Collection, CHL.