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Photo, Print, Drawing Ringling Circus Clown Emmett Kelly in Sarasota, Florida. The Circus Comes Home

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About this Item

Title

  • Ringling Circus Clown Emmett Kelly in Sarasota, Florida.

Other Title

  • The Circus Comes Home

Summary

  • Emmett Kelly (1898-1979), pictured here, portrayed the melancholy hobo-clown Weary Willie for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for more than a decade. His act differed from that of the typical jovial clown and made Weary Willie one of the most memorable components of the Ringling Brothers show. The Ringling Brothers built the show from humble beginnings in Baraboo, Wisconsin, into the largest and best-known American circus. They began their ascent in show business in 1884 when they combined with the Yankee Robinson circus. The following year the Ringlings bought out Yankee Robinson and became sole proprietors of the traveling show. The Ringling Brothers quickly acquired smaller circus shows and sought out the top performers from around the world. In 1919, the Ringlings merged their two largest ventures--Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey--into a single, combined circus, the "Greatest Show on Earth." In 1927, the circus moved its winter quarters from Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Sarasota, Florida. Members of the Ringling family had wintered in Sarasota since 1911. This photograph, taken in 1947, is by Joseph Janney Steinmetz, a world-renowned commercial photographer whose images appeared in such publications as the Saturday Evening Post, Life, Look, Time, Holiday, Collier's, and Town & Country. His work has been referred to as "an American social history," which documented diverse scenes of American life. Steinmetz moved from Philadelphia to Sarasota in 1941.

Names

  • Steinmetz, Joseph Janney, 1905-1985 Photographer.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1947-03-21.

Headings

  • -  United States of America--Florida--Sarasota
  • -  1947-03-21
  • -  Circus
  • -  Circus performers
  • -  Clowns
  • -  Costumes
  • -  Entertainers
  • -  Kelly, Emmett, 1898-1979
  • -  Pantomime
  • -  Portrait photographs
  • -  Portraits
  • -  Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Combined Shows
  • -  Theatrical makeup
  • -  Wagons

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: 1 photonegative : black and white ; 5 x 4 inches.
  • -  Original resource at: State Library and Archives of Florida.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021670723

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Steinmetz, Joseph Janney, Photographer. Ringling Circus Clown Emmett Kelly in Sarasota, Florida. Sarasota United States of America Florida, 1947. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, -03-21] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670723/.

APA citation style:

Steinmetz, J. J. (1947) Ringling Circus Clown Emmett Kelly in Sarasota, Florida. Sarasota United States of America Florida, 1947. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, -03-21] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670723/.

MLA citation style:

Steinmetz, Joseph Janney, Photographer. Ringling Circus Clown Emmett Kelly in Sarasota, Florida. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, -03-21] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021670723/>.