Ringling Bros and Barnum Bailey Collection
North, Henry Ringling. Half-page typewritten letter on Barnum and Bailey letterhead signed by Joseph Mayer to G. Arnett; dated February 5, 1906. Barnum and Bailey envelope signed in pencil by F.A. Cook (ca. 1918). Short type written letter on Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey letterhead signed by Henry Ringling North to Dyer M. Reynolds; dated September 12, 1949. Interoffice Route-Map from Paul Eagles dated December 15, 1951. Blank Ringling Bros letterhead (ca. 1918) and blank Ringling Bros envelope (ca. 1910). Four blank Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey envelopes (two ca. 1935-1945; one ca. 1960; one 1980's). One blank Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey letterhead (ca. 1935-1945). Blank 1965 postcard.
All generally standard sizes, except 1949 letter from Ringling North 180 by 260mm (7 by 10 1⁄4 inches).
Letter from Ringling North near fine except for fold markings. On back of letter the recipient wrote in pencil: “Was doing animal + clowns for him…letter from my good friend HRN”. 1951 route map in poor to fair condition; noted on back in pen are feed quantities, probably for circus animals: “5500 hay…3500 straw…[etcetera].” Ca. 1910 blank envelope with remnants of erased pencil address. Blank letterhead near fine.
America’s most famous circus.
In this collection are letters and signatures from:
Henry Ringling North (1909–1993), president and chairman of the circus founded by his uncles. He ran and modernized the circus from 1936 to 1967. Friend of Earnest Hemingway and John Steinbeck, and a World War II spy.
Joseph Mayer, advertising executive and business partner of Buffalo Bill was described in Show World (Sept. 14, 1907 Vol 1. No. 12): “One of the best-known circus men in the country is Joseph Mayer, who publishes the official program for the Barnum and Bailey and Buffalo Bill shows.”
F.A. Cook, attorney for Barnum and Bailey (per Bridgeport Times October 25, 1918). It seems likely that he worked on the monumental 1919 merger with Ringling Brothers.
Sold as a set (12 items)
