The circus is in town! Oh uncle could we please get the largest bucket of Cracker Jack?

In its heyday, the American circus was the largest showbiz industry the world had ever seen. From the mid-1800s to mid-1900s, traveling circuses performed for audiences of up to 14,000 per show, employed as many as 1,600 men and women, and crisscrossed the country on 20,000 miles of railroad in one season alone. The spectacle of death-defying daredevils, strapping superheroes and scantily clad starlets, fearless animal trainers, and startling “freaks” gripped the American imagination, outshining theater, vaudeville, comedy, and minstrel shows.

This book sheds fresh light on the circus phenomenon. With photographic gems of early circus performers, as well as original posters, lithographs, sideshow banners and engravings from the 16th to 19th centuries illustrating the worldwide roots of the circus, readers are transported to a world of thrill and skill, grit and glamor. Highlights include iconic circus photographs by Mathew Brady, Cornell Capa, Walker Evans, Weegee, and Lisette Model, and little-known circus images by Stanley Kubrick and Charles and Ray Eames.

Small print: Hardcover, 543 pages, 10.3 x 1.9 x 15.2”

Published by Taschen and compiled by Fred Dahlinger Jr., Linda Granfield, and Dominique Jando and edited by Noel Daniel