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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. Potter & Potter Auctions info@potterauctions.com
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Pair of McLoughlin Bros. Circus Books: "The Showman Series No. 2: The Mammoth Menagerie" and "Circus Stories: Visit to the Circus." 
Lot 456

Pair of McLoughlin Bros. Circus Books: "The Showman Series No. 2: The Mammoth Menagerie" and "Circus Stories: Visit to the Circus." 

Estimate: $200 - $400
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Starting Bid
$100
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$2,000 $200
$5,000 $500
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$50,000 $5,000
$100,000 $10,000

Pair of McLoughlin Bros. Circus Books: The Showman Series No. 2: The Mammoth Menagerie and Circus Stories: Visit to the Circus.

The Mammoth Menagerie. Circa 1880s. A pop-up book featuring 3D chromolithograph dioramas of circuses and zoos that children could stand up to form proscenium stages.

Visit to the Circus. Reprint 1986 (originally published circa 1875-1894). Featuring brightly colored chromolithograph illustrations, rhyming tales, and vivid depictions of acrobats, clowns, and animals.

Condition

The Mammoth Menagerie: 

Cover: worn, stained, surface dirt, and with losses. Pages toned, marginal tearing, bumped corners, and some pop-up elements damaged.

Visit to the Circus: 

Cover: worn with tears and creases. Pages with handling wear. 

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