This is a souvenir photograph of Alfonso "The Human Ostrich" who performed for P.T. Barnum. A human ostrich was someone who could swallow large objects. This is what Alfonso appears to be doing in the photograph, although due to its quality and brightness, it is hard to determine what he is swallowing.
This photograph shows a circus cart from Lord John Sanger & Sons that contains a cage with two animals that appear to be hyena or wolves. The cage cart is barely big enough for a man to lie down comfortably , let alone two adult animals to live in.
This is a souvenir photograph of Anita "The Living Doll." She was one of the many dwarves that performed in the circuses during this period. Anita was described as being 26 inches tall and weighing 13 pounds.
The photograph is a souvenir photo of Annie Howard, the tattooed woman who performed for P.T. Barnum. She has tattoos covering her arms, chest, and legs. Howard's act was joined with her brother Frank Howard who was a tattooed man.
This photograph is of a acrobatic troupe in the midst of performing. Their performance shapes the members into a triangle shape. This performance was done in Olympia, London.
The black and white photo is likely a souvenir photograph. It depicts Billy Wills sitting while holding a piece of concrete or some other type of rock on his head. Meanwhile, another man stands behind with a sledgehammer poised above Wills head, ready to break the rock.
This is a poster illustrating the famous twins Chang and Eng and advertising their exhibit in London. Congenitally joined at the waist and born in Siam, their fame and tours eventually coined the term Siamese twins.
The black and white profile photograph of Chang-Yu-Sing is framed by a yellow border with a label at the bottom. The label displays the title of the photograph along with the following information: "Imported to America by P.T. Barnum. Born in Pekin, 1847, Height 8ft. 3in. weight 400 lbs."
A print of a drawing by Baugniel of "General Tom Thumb" as he appeared in the Egyptian Hall in London, England in 1844. Stratton was an immensely famous dwarf in the 19th century who performed under the management of P.T. Barnum. This drawing was done during Stratton's first tour of Europe with Barnum at the age of six.
This photograph of a circus performance show several elements of the circus. Almost a dozen elephants are performing in the circles with their trainers around them while the human performers surround the stage facing the huge audience.
This black and white photograph is somewhat overexposed but still portrays Fedor Jeftichew, also known as Jo Jo. Standing straight forward with his hand on his hip, his eyes look straight at the camera through his face covered in hair.
An advertisement for Staple and Fancy Dry Goods featuring the new attraction to Madison Square Garden, Jumbo. Jumbo was a large African bush elephant that had been recently brought over from London by P.T. Barnum who claimed Jumbo was the "largest elephant in the world." Jumbo would eventually die in in 1885 after being hit by a train.
This souvenir postcard is a drawing of Lionel, the "Lion-man" thus named due to the abundance of hair on his arms, chest and face. In the drawing he is reclined on a setee with is chest displayed, a book on his lap unread, while he stares solemnly off camera.
This is a photograph of two men with a camel with circus tents in the background. The camel is likely a Bactrian Camel as they can adapt to colder climates like those in England. The animal is not obviously mistreated and is familiar with it's handlers.
J.W. Myers Circus was an American circus that achieved success in touring Europe, specifically France and England. Their acrobatic and equestrian acts were popular and shown in their advertisements as seen in this poster.
