If you have not yet visited Circopedia you are missing a fantastic site… especially if you have an interest in both the Circus and Ephemera.

Cirque d’Hiver

Located in the heart of Paris, between the Place de la République and the Place de la Bastille, at the edge of the historical Marais, the Cirque d’Hiver is the world’s oldest extant circus building. It is also the world’s oldest circus still in activity: It first opened its doors in 1852. Its address, at 110 rue Amelot, may seem inconspicuous, but at that precise point, the rue Amelot opens onto the Boulevard du Temple through the small Place Pasdeloup: The Cirque d’Hiver is therefore quite noticeable, practically “on the Boulevards.”

The site is not that heavily devoted to Ephemera actually, but in most all of the references on the site you will find one or more vintage documents, posters, pamphlets, brochures and other pieces of ephemera.

The picture to the left is of Gaston Desprez, Director of the Cirque d’Hiver (Paris) from 1923 to 1934. It comes from the front page of a Cirque d’Hiver program, c.1925.

Circus Knie

If you are more into something modern, the picture below is the 2008 poster from the Circus Knie. Today the Knie Circus is one of Europe’s major circuses, traveling on two special trains with an important menagerie. It is renowned for its perfect organization, and the quality of its shows—which have become the standard against which other traditional circus shows are measured. Under the management of Frédy and Franco Knie, Circus Knie has maintained its unique position in Europe; it has also been at the vanguard of animal care, at a time when some circuses still had a hard time adapting to the audience’s change of sensitivity regarding the way animals were kept in traveling circuses.

I’m Tom Murphy and thanks for helping me give Ephemera the encore it deserves.

Tom

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Technorati tags: Bonanzle, Encore Ephemera, Ephemera, The Ephemera Network, Circopedia, The Circus, Cirque d’Hiver, The Swiss National Circus

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For those of you who are collectors of vintage circus materials, we have a wonderful old item for you.

Just listed on eBay is a near mint condition copy of Harry P. Bowman’s 1942 booklet entitled “As Told On A Sunday Run”.

The booklet is a compilation of circus shows Bowman was associated with over the years and with a list, with dates, of famous first-time circus events and mishaps. Also an alphabetical listing of circuses and tent shows held during the 19th and 20th centuries. An uncommon, war-time circus book.

The booklet is copyrighted 1942 and reads “The nation is fighting and there is little time out, but relaxation must sometimes relieve grim, determined endeavor.”

This 31 page booklet is in excellent condition with only minor signs of wear. It is more than 60 years old. There are no missing pages and the staples in the center are solid with only the very slightest of rust marks.

Here’s an excerpt from the front page:

“This book is a great story – but not in prose. It is a story of the Sawdust Trail, the Ring, the Aerial Artists, the Calliope and Pink Lemonade. But it is a story written entirely between the lines.

To all true followers of the Big Top, “As Told On A Sunday Run” will furnish the names and dates that will arouse memories old and new, conjuring up in the mind’s eye glorious days that were – and are – the history of The Circus.”

I’m Tom Murphy and thanks for helping me give Ephemera the Encore it deserves.

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