|
The Circus was one of the early entities to utilize
posters for promotion. The Ringling brothers masters of showmanship
created posters declaring, "The Ringling Bros. World's Greatest
Shows and the Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth".
Circus Wallpaper
Circus Poster Facts
Wheatpaste (also known as potato paste, flour paste, rice paste,
Marxist glue, or simply paste) is a liquid adhesive used since ancient
times for various arts and crafts such as book binding, decoupage,
collage, and papier-mâché. It is also made for the purpose of adhering
paper posters to walls and other surfaces. Wheatpaste was commonly
used for nineteenth and twentieth century circus bill posters.
The advent of the traveling circus brought
colorful posters to tell citizens that a carnival was coming to town.
Frank Bartlet Adler (better known by his
stage name Felix Adler) (June 17, 1895 – February 1, 1960), born in
Clinton, IA, was a circus performer and entertainer known as "The King
of Clowns" who performed for Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey for 28
years. He was inducted into the International Clown Hall of Fame in
1989. His image was placed on
at least two classic Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
posters, and his face was immortalized for all time as a commercial
mask created and sold by Verne Langdon of Hollywood's renown Don Post
Studios. The Circus Poster
That Inspired the Beatles
click for larger image of this Benefit of Mr. Kite circus poster. |
A nineteenth century circus
poster for Pablo Fanque's purchased in an antique shop in January
or February 1967 by
Beatles
singer John Lennon inspired the writing of the song, "Being for
the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" The poster
declared, "Benefit of Mr. Kite.Mr. Kite is believed to be William
Kite, who worked for Pablo Fanque from 1843 to 1845. Pablo Fanque
was the first black circus proprietor in Britain, William Kite was
a circus performer.
Although Lennon once said of the song,
"Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" that he "wasn't proud of
that" and "I was just going through the motions," in 1980 he
described it as "pure, like a painting, a pure watercolor.
Lennon wanted the track to have a "carnival
atmosphere", and told producer George Martin that he wanted "to
smell the sawdust on the floor. |
|
