Potter & Potter Auctions
Live Auction

Step Right Up: Circus and Sideshow Memorabilia

Thu, Sep 3, 2026 11:00AM EDT
  2026-09-03 11:00:00 2026-09-03 11:00:00 America/New_York Potter & Potter Auctions Potter & Potter Auctions : Step Right Up: Circus and Sideshow Memorabilia https://auction.potterauctions.com/auctions/potter-potter/step-right-up-circus-and-sideshow-memorabilia-23625
Featuring the collection of lifelong circus collector John Diesso, this auction includes heralds, couriers, and posters advertising the "greatest shows" of yesteryear. Photographs, route books, scrapbooks, and circus costumes will be also be offered, spanning the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A wide array of early European circus posters will be sold, along with a large library of circus books of several thousand volumes.
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Lot 651

Clown and monkey animatronic figure.

Estimate: $700 - $1,200
Starting Bid
$350

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$30 $10
$100 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $200
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,000
$50,000 $5,000
$100,000 $10,000

Clown and monkey animatronic figure. Circa mid-20th century. A nearly life-size figure of a clown, holding an accordion and harmonica, with a drum and monkey carried on its back. Working electric motor causes arm to raise and lower mimicking harmonica-playing, drum to beat, and eyes to move back and forth. 

68 x 39 x 24".

Third-party transportation required. 

Condition

Monkey missing left paw; clown left hand cracked at wrist; chipping and some losses to base; scattered chipping and wear. 

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