Items
Tag
Side Show
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Oh You Salome Found within the Frank Kapp scrapbook, this image displays two children and two men, one wearing a woman's dress, resting on a Union Circus wagon. A sign reading "Oh You Salome" sits in the center of the group, identifying the men as part of the titular side show performance. Beneath the image is the inscription "Oh you kid!!!". The performance may be anti-Semitic in nature. The Biblical Salome was a Jewish princess often blamed for the murder of John the Baptist. Several plays and operatic productions about Salome were popular prior to 1909. -
Nuff Said Despite the inscription "NUFF SAID," there is sizable uncertainty surrounding the activity captured on the image. Two men, one wearing a woman's dress, stand on a stage before a painting of stereotypical Middle Eastern peoples. A sign reading "Oh You Salome" rests near the side show stage. The combination of these elements suggests the performance may be anti-Semitic in nature. The Biblical Salome was a Jewish princess often blamed for the murder of John the Baptist. Several plays and operatic productions about Salome were popular prior to 1909. -
Circus Guide Book Found within the Stowell Stebbins scrapbook, this Circus Guide Book is inscribed with the name "Miss Catherine Clarke". To illustrate the upcoming events, a red clothed clown appears to burst through the guide's cover. An artistic signature (Yanning?) is printed in the illustration's corner. The contents of the book exhibit advertisements for local businesses, the "Minstrel and Vaudeville Show," and the Chicago tent company hired by the circus. Amongst the advertisements are descriptions of circus features, including clowns. An illustration of a clown in blackface accompanies the description.