Stunning Photos of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in the Late 1940s

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, was a famous traveling circus made in 1919. The circus was made by merging P. T. Barnum and James Anthony Bailey’s Greatest Show on earth. After Barnum died in 1906, the Ringling brothers purchased Barnum & Bailey Ltd., but they ran the circuses separately until 1919, when they merged. The circus no longer used its own “big top” tents after 1957, instead using permanent venues, such as sports stadiums and arenas.

Photographer Charles Weever Cushman took these beautiful photos of the circus in the 1940s.

#1 The Alzanas of the high wire

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#2 All five Alzanas Highwire performers at Ringling Circus

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#3 Two Alzanas hang out their wash

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#4 Flying Trapeze star Antoinette Concello

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#5 Flying Concello doing some washing

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#6 Baton wielder takes time out for a break

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#7 A ‘circus beauty’ in pale lavender cap, coat and shorts

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#8 Rose Behee of the Flying Behees

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#9 ‘A charming aerialist’

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#10 Rose Behee and brother-in-law

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#11 Rose Behee of the Flying Behees

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#12 The Flying Concellos

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#13 Two young German girls in head-on-head balancing act

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#14 Trick bicycling act

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#15 Mrs Harold Alzana

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#16 Alzana in costume for Gold Rush tableau

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#17 Francis Brunn and his sister – a juggling act

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#18 Harold Alzana

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#19 Rola Rola Man

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#20 Clown Emmett Kelly Tramp

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#21 Clown Felix Adler

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#22 Elephant and Mademoiselle Unus

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#23 Elephant and Miss Unus

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