Potter & Potter Auctions
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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 551

File of circus, sideshow, and magic ephemera.

Estimate: $200 - $400
Starting Bid
$100

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

File of circus, sideshow, and magic ephemera. American and European, early to late 20th century. Twelve file folders containing photos, postcards, programs, autographs, and ephemera on various performers. Files include: Kio family (Russian magicians), Zaro Agha ("world's oldest man"), Ella and Fred Bradna (equestrians and ringmaster), Antionette and Arthur Concello (aerialists), "Cheerful" Gardner (animal trainer), Jack Joyce (camel trainer), May Wirth (equestrian), Lucia Zora (elephant trainer), Roland Mistin (musical prodigy), and three others with varied material on sideshow acts and animal trainers. Overall, close to 100 items.

 

Condition

Well organized and neatly stored in sleeves.

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