Vintage Antique Old Ringling Brothers Barnum Bailey Circus Posters Memorabilia Collectibles For Sale
Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus Poster "Gargantua"
Original Vintage Circus Poster (22x28")
Rare striking 1943 half sheet poster promoting Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus Eighth Wonder "Gargantua".
Came from one of the most well known vintage circus poster collectors who collected only the most rare of posters. This collector appears to have been meticulous about stamping all his acquisitions. So if you have a poster with his stamp on it, you know you have a particularly Rare and desirable poster. You can find more information about him by researching online. Pete Mardo was a famous Barnum & Bailey Circus Clown who passed away in 1956. The Circus Fans Association in Mardo’s hometown of Akron OH started the Pete Mardo Tent Fans Association of America in the late 30s/early 1940s.
We found a 1942 article from Billboard April 25, 1942 mentioning the Pete Mardo Tent Fans Association of America.
Although some circus history collectors might not like the stamps on this poster, many will appreciate and be excited for the extraordinary provenance and history the stamps represent. And for those who want the more perfect aesthetic piece, a simply very inexpensive restoration minor tough up will remove these stamps which are all in insignificant background locations, NOT on the important art images.
Note: The poster is particularly RARE. Although we have owned a couple Ringling Brothers Gargantua posters, this is the First time we have owned this poster with both Mr and Mrs Gargantua !
Noted 1940s Circus Artist Bill Bailey captures Gargantua's signature sneer, and features the giant ape and his mate reminding everyone to buy war bonds. An unrestored circus poster that displays signs of use.
*See enlargeable images above and below
Circus Poster "Gargantua" (Ringling Bros./Barnum and Bailey, 1938). Half Sheet Style Poster (22" X 28").
"Buddy," was born in the Belgian Congo and lived on a freighter with the boat's captain. One day a drunk sailor threw acid in his face marking him for life physically and mentally. This heinous act left him with a grotesque and frightening look. Becoming aggressive, he was given to a wealthy New York woman who dressed him in clothes and drove him about in her car! After he climbed into bed with her for comfort from thunder (all 460 lb of him!) she sold him to John Ringling in 1937. Ringling immediately changed his name to "Gargantua" and exhibited him from 1938 to the gorilla's death in 1949. Ringling always admitted that millions of circus goers drawn to "Buddy's" exhibit saved Ringling Bros. from bankruptcy during the war years.
Noted 1940s Circus Artist Bill Bailey captures Gargantua's signature sneer, and features the giant ape and his mate reminding everyone to buy war bonds. An unrestored circus poster that displays signs of use.
Note: Cvtreasures stamp Not on original poster
