The Addams Family Goes On A Sleigh Ride

We experienced our biggest snowfall of the season yesterday evening, just in time for rush hour. As I sat completely stopped in traffic on the expressway, stuck in the snow for an hour and 15 minutes, I looked through a box of old photographs and postcards I'd found at the local antique mall on my lunch hour earlier in the day. I thought, well, this is rather unpleasant, but it could be worse: at least I'm not stuck in a sleigh behind a taxidermied deer with these people:

Early 1900s studio portrait with prop sleigh and taxidermy deer.

(Click to enlarge)

I really try not to be judgmental, but this antique photograph broke my resolve. These people remind me of the Addams Family. Especially the giant guy on the far right with the Frankenstein shoulderpads and the stunned expression. He could easily be Lurch's cousin, while the equally tall man second from left has the largest chin I've ever seen outside of a Dick Tracy comic. And the two men in the back just have something...unsettling...about their expressions. The one on the left in particular looks like he has some dark secret, doesn't he? The two ladies squashed in the middle of the sleigh remind me of the siamese twin sisters who once dated Gomez, before he married Morticia. 

(Actually, the more I look at this odd photo, the more I wonder if the ladies are, in fact, siamese twins; the big guy on the right and the man with the huge chin are, in fact, giants; and these might be circus performers???)

1950s Marx Circus Sideshow Playset

Here's another carnival-themed vintage toy that is, by today's standards, generally considered egregiously offensive. But it was phenomenally popular back in its day (the 1950s), when it allowed children the opportunity to run their own freak show!

The Marx Super Circus was a huge playset of plastic figures and tin litho structures that included a big top, ticket booth, circus performers both human and animal, and visitors. It also came with a two piece sideshow, complete with lithographed banners and a variety of plastic freaks.

My sideshow has only one  left: Chang and Eng, the famous real-life Siamese twins after whom all subsequent "siamese twins" have been named. (There's a great article about Chang and Eng, with lots of historical photographs, here.




The tin lithography on these pieces is really great and worth a closer look:

Vintage Cracker Jack Prize: Sideshow Panorama

I was fortunate to grow up in the 1970s, the last decade of really good Cracker Jack prizes, before those pesky "safety regulations" took effect. The best Cracker Jack prizes, though, are even older, like this one which dates from around the 1950s. The tiny paper booklet, about the size of a matchbox, separates into individual pictures, which, when connected via tabs and slots, create an astounding carnival sideshow panorama.

The assembled panorama looks like this:



Here are some closeups of the pictures. Each has a description of the performer and some interesting historical information on the back:

All in all, a pretty amazing "free" prize!

Vintage Circus & Sideshow Pop-Up Book

I found this amazing pop-up book last summer. Published in 1944, it features incredible 3-D scenes of a circus, complete with a sideshow. (Oh, how times have changed...can you imagine the freak show spread in a children's book of today?)

Musical Fisher Price Circus Wagon

Here's another vintage Fisher Price circus piece: the musical Circus Wagon, made in the early 1940s. The wooden pull toy measures about 13 inches long. As it's pulled, the band leader's arms move up and down, as if he's playing the pipe organ, and a melodious song plinks and plonks. The lithographed paper features wonderful anthropomorphic pipes and an elephant who looks suspiciously like an unlicensed "Dumbo" film clone.

Chein Ferris Wheel

Made in the 1930s by the Chein company, this tin litho ferris wheel is 16 inches tall. The little cars have images of children riding in them, and the center spoke bears the ride's name, "Hercules," along with a fabulous smiling face. This toy just makes me happy whenever I look at it.

 Here it is in its natural habitat, my display of circusy toys.

Circus Elephant Push-Toy

One of my favorite circus-themed toys is this vintage plush elephant on wheels, probably made in England in the 1950s. It's sized for a child to push as he or she walks behind it. My little Merrythought bear loves to go along for the ride.

Antique Electric Eye Circus Bear

I like old circus and carnival items for their color, their vibrancy, their novelty and historic appeal. But a sad presence in circuses of days gone by (still seen in some places today, I'm afraid) is the dancing bear. For centuries, traveling showmen have trained captive bears to dance at the end of a chain connected to a ring through the bear's nose. This of course, was cruel in the extreme, and nothing can excuse such a practice. From a historical standpoint, however, rare antique teddies designed as circus bears are quite desirable.

 This one dates to around 1906-1908, and is an American-made electric eye bear. His eyes are actually tiny lightbulbs. Inside his torso is a battery pack, which caused his eyes to flash when the switch hidden inside his ear was squeezed. Like most electric eye bears, he is quite large (23 inches tall) and has unjointed legs. 

These electric eye bears were a huge fad back in their day, sort of the 1900s equivalent of the 1980s Cabbage Patch Kid craze. Even so, they are hard to find today, especially with their fragile glass eyes intact. This one still has his nose ring and collar (which causes many visitors to quizzically ask if he's a punk rocker bear) but has lost his leash.

After his hard life in showbiz, he now lives comfortably in retirement at my house, where he regales the other bears with tales of life on the road.

 

1932 Fisher Price Big Performing Circus

One of my most beautiful circus toys, and one of the hardest to find, is this, the Big Performing Circus made by Fisher Price in 1932, its second year of business.

 The centerpiece of the set is a 16 inch long wooden circus wagon, complete with doors that open, a roof that lifts off for easy access, and a pull string. The wagon was actually strong enough for children to ride on, and it came filled with beautifully lithographed jointed wooden animals, along with props for them to perform with, like barrels and ladders, and a clown to organize the whole affair.

The large number of pieces and the heavy play use this popular item received over the years makes them scarce today. Fisher Price went on to produce circus themed playsets right up to current times, but this is by far their most wonderful.

Vintage Carnival Duck Pond Game Pieces

My favorite carnival game of all time is the Duck Pond, because, really, who doesn't like a game where you're guaranteed to win a prize, regardless of your lack of skill? All you have to do is pick up a little plastic duck floating in the artificial pond, turn it over, and the number marked underneath corresponds to the prize you win. Who cares that the prizes are flimsy plastic tchotchkes ordered by the ton: you won something! Yay!

I was very lucky to find some vintage Duck Pond ducks for sale recently. Those on the left are carnival-used, while those on the right, on the bobbing bases, are unsold old store stock.

Aren't they cute?!

These ones, I think, have a rather startled expression on their faces.

Vintage Al Tomaini Giant Souvenir Ring

One of the coolest rings in my premium ring collection isn't technically a premium, but more of a souvenir. Dating to the 1930s or 40s, it's a giant ring, measuring almost 1 1/2 inches in diameter (the photo below shows its size in comparison to my high school graduation ring). When I spotted it in a basket of junque at an antique store, I first thought it was a baby or large doll bracelet, that's how big it is!

These souvenir rings were sold in sideshows and circuses by giant performers, often right from the giant's hands. This one came from Al Tomaini, a giant who went on to become police and fire chief in Gibsonton Florida, where he and his wife, Jeanie the Half-Girl, ran a fishing camp and trailer court. They led a fascinating life: take a look here.
A great article about giant rings can be found at the Show History website.