"40 Ferocious Kings of the Jungle"

By Chris Berry
email: circusposters@gmail.com

With the exception of perhaps Buffalo Bill (who was technically a Wild West performer), Clyde Beatty had more lithographs featuring his image than any other circus performer.

From the early 1930s through the mid-1960s at least 19 posters featuring Beatty were produced. During the period that Hagenbeck Wallace used this image (1933-34), Clyde Beatty's act did feature "40 Ferocious" big cats - though it was a mixture of lions, tigers and leopards rather than all male lions as depicted here.

This classic circus poster is eye-catching and during the 1930s was used not only by Hagenbeck-Wallace but, as seen below, it was reworked several times and used as late as 1938 for Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey.

Of the many posters depicting Clyde Beatty during his long career, the "Ringling-Barnum" version of "40 Ferocious Kings of the Jungle" is arguably the rarest, as there are only a handful of surviving examples known to exist, perhaps fewer than five. What makes this particular version so rare is the title. In all of his years performing, Clyde Beatty appeared with Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey only at the engagements in New York and Boston during the four seasons encompassing 1931-34. Beatty never appeared under canvas with "The Greatest Show on Earth" - so this design was ONLY used in New York and Boston - most likely only promoting those performances between March 30 and May 5 of 1934. Any examples of this poster that exist in collections today are those that were saved following those two engagements. A couple of things worth noting here. One - the abbreviated title of the Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey. The title "Ringling-Barnum" was not generally used publicly by the circus. It appears here and on a Dorothy Herbert half-sheet from 1933. The shortened "Ringling-Barnum" did, however, occasionally appear on date sheets during the 1930s. Secondly, the close observer will notice the stylized "H-W" (for Hagenbeck-Wallace) that the artist drew (gold on a red circle) on the lion pedestals seen in the foreground.

In 1938 the artists at Erie Litho and Printing reworked the poster to promote Terrell Jacobs on Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey. The copy was also changed to replace the reference to "40 Ferocious Kings of the Jungle." This particular example features a date tail for Dallas Texas late in the 1938 season. A union dispute in June of that year had closed the Ringling-Barnum circus, and in an effort to continue the route, certain acts including that of Terrell Jacobs were added to the Ringling-owned Al G Barnes and Sells Floto circus. Because of the strength of the Ringling name, posters originally printed for Ringling-Barnum were used along with those of Barnes-Sells Floto. Note the title on the date tail: "Al G. Barnes and Sells Floto Presents Ringling Bros Barnum & Bailey Stupendous New Features."

A note regarding reproductions, as this poster is frequently seen at flea markets and online auctions and presented as being "original and authentic." The "Terrell Jacobs" version of this poster was reproduced in the 1970s and sold by mail order and at the circus. The reproduction can be easily identified. The 1971 version is 24"x17" and has the number "P-114 1938" in the lower corner. A larger version from 1976 is 23 1/2" x 36 1/4" and has the number "P-11" in the corner. Originals of this poster do not have a "P" number and are either 28"x21" (half sheet) or 28"x42" (one sheet). Because of the sheer number of the reproductions that exist, they are only worth a few dollars.

Chris Berry
circusposters@gmail.com