Adam Forepaugh and Sells Bros Enormous Shows Combined
Equestrienne (1902)
Strobridge Litho Co. – One Sheet
This particular one sheet lithograph was first created by Strobridge Litho Co. for the Barnum & Bailey circus in 1894, and reworked in 1900 for the Adam Forepaugh and Sells Bros. Enormous Shows United. At that time The Greatest Show on Earth was in Europe, and James A. Bailey was using Forepaugh-Sells as a “second unit” to protect his territory.
In the 1870s and 1880s Forepaugh was nearly as well known as P.T. Barnum and when he died in 1890 Bailey had purchased his circus, operating it independently, later leasing the title, and in 1896 entering into a partnership with the Sells Bros. to start a new circus known as Forepaugh-Sells.
The oldest of the Sells brothers, Ephraim, died in 1898 shortly before Barnum & Bailey began their three-and-a-half year tour of Europe. James Bailey needed to maintain a presence in the United States and added respected circus owner W.W. Cole as a fourth partner.
When this poster was used in 1902 the Ringling Bros. were making great gains in areas that had previously been dominated by Barnum & Bailey, showing that they had the ability to route their circuses into the same large eastern cities where The Greatest Show on Earth had been popular.
After Barnum & Bailey returned to the United States in 1903, both the Sells and Cole sold their interest back to Bailey who – ironically – went into partnership with the Ringling Bros. in 1905. After Bailey died the next spring the Ringling brothers purchased the other half of the show from his widow, later acquiring Barnum & Bailey.
The Adam Forepaugh and Sells Bros. Circus was off the road in 1908-09, returning to the road under management of the Ringling Bros. in 1910-11.
In 1935 the title was briefly brought back – and tied to the Ringling-owned Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, and for that season the show was known as Hagenbeck-Wallace 4-Paw Sells. -Chris Berry
