Pawnee Bill Poster, Barnum & Bailey Memorabilia Available in Potter & Potter Auctions’ Circus and Sideshow Sale

Potter & Potter Auctions’ upcoming Circus, Sideshow & Oddities sale highlights a spectrum of circus-related memorabilia. Many items relate to American entertainment shows, such as Pawnee Bill’s Historic Wild West, Barnum & Bailey, and Ringling Brothers. Leading the catalog is a color lithograph poster promoting Pawnee Bill’s Historic Wild West show. It dates back to 1902 and maintains its bold colors with minimal discoloration. An American showman known for his Wild West shows and collaboration with “Buffalo” Bill Cody, Pawnee Bill (also known as Gordon William Lillie) started his career as an interpreter for Buffalo Bill’s show. He was later involved in the white settlement of Native American lands in present-day Oklahoma and was known for his traveling performers. The available lithograph depicts a cowboy and Native American riding beside a buffalo, shooting it. 

This circus and sideshow memorabilia auction continues with painted canvas advertisements and banners, including a work by Wyatt Snap for “World’s Strangest People.” This piece from the 1940s or 50s depicts a group of “odd” people, including a three-legged man and conjoined twins. Among Barnum & Bailey items in the catalog, a 1918 color lithograph poster is particularly notable. This piece advertises Bird Millman, a high-wire performer known as one of the biggest circus stars of the era. She appears in this poster in a pale pink dress. She is balanced gracefully on a wire while holding a parasol. An elephant headdress from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey is also available, as well as a Steiff mohair tiger toy jumping through a metal hoop and several French automaton dioramas. Visit Potter & Potter Auctions to browse the complete Circus, Sideshow & Oddities catalog, and

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