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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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Six Louisville Newspapers with Circus Advertisements. Louisville, KY: 1844-1850.  
Lot 589

Six Louisville Newspapers with Circus Advertisements. Louisville, KY: 1844-1850.  

Estimate: $200 - $400
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Starting Bid
$100
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$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

Six Louisville Newspapers with Circus Advertisements. Louisville, KY: 2 "Louisville Daily Journal" and 4 "Louisville Mourning Courier," 1844-1850. Complete issues. Some with lithographs. Including ads for:

1. "Louisville Daily Journal," 7 June, 1844. Stickney's Circus, with illustration of an equestrian act. 

2. "Louisville Daily Journal," 5 September, 1844. New York Circus: Howes & Mabie, with illustration of an equestrian act. 

3. "Louisville Mourning Courier," 16 September 1847. Stickney's Great National Circus, with illustration of a woman balancing on a wire.

4. "Louisville Mourning Courier," 3 April 1848. With 3 advertisements for:
- General Tom Thumb, with illustration of a miniature figure balancing on the finger of an outstretched hand. 
- Rockwell & Co's New York Circus, with illustration of a jousting tournament.
- Spaulding's Master Circus (no illustration). 

5. "Louisville Mourning Courier," 27 September, 1850. Welch, Delvan & Nathan's National Circus!, with 2-column illustration of an equestrian balancing act performing in the ring.

6. "Louisville Mourning Courier," 21 October, 1850. Mammoth Circus and Roman Amphitheatre of Olympic Novelties, with 2-column illustration of uniformed figure holding a gun and sword standing on a horse who is trampling 2 figures. 

Condition

Minor toning, creasing, marginal tears, and handling wear. Overall good.

 

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