1054

Circus and Western Show pictorial advertising cover.

Currency:USD Category:Western Americana Start Price:50.00 USD Estimated At:NA
Circus and Western Show pictorial advertising cover.
John O'Brien's Six Shows Consolidated: museum, menagerie, circus, caravan, and the great curiosity department, exhibited under six separate tents! O'Brien's residence is listed as Frankford on the cover. Large left hand corner portrait of O'Brien on front and large picture of six tents on back. The show seemed to enjoy its greatest popularity from 1876-1879. The show wasn't without its controversy: 1) A child equestrienne and danseuse, known as Katie Brown, who had been traveling with O'Brien's Circus for the past three years, has been taken from her trainer in Frankford, Philadelphia, by the Society to Protect Children from Cruelty, and returned to the custody of her mother, Mrs. L. W. Harrington, now Mrs. Coles. The child is ten years of age, and will be sent to school. Her case is acted upon under the provision of the new law, which prohibits the training of children under sixteen years old for public performances and 2) Beaten to Death. Charles Fry, an employee of John O'Brien's Circus, was so severely beaten by Henry Coe, another employee of the same show, in Alexandria, Ont., Aug. 7, that he died the following morning. Coe was arrested in Cornwall and taken to Alexandria. .

Date: 1879City: PhiladelphiaCounty: State: PA