Wild, Weird, and Wonderful: The American Circus 1901-1927 as seen by F. W. Glasier, Photographer [Hardcover]

Mark Sloan (Author), F. W. Glasier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2002

Here, in both glory and grit, is the American circus during the most vibrant period in its history. These photographs, not seen for almost a century, capture both the intensity of the routines and the spirit of camaraderie of the performers. They show it all, from the parades and the Big Top to the train leaving town, from performers hanging by their teeth to hanging out the laundry.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dispensing entirely with circus clich‚s, Sloan (Hoaxes, Humbugs, and Spectacles) presents the photographs of Glasier (1865-1950), a commercial photographer in Brockton, Mass., who shot promotional photos of the various circuses that repeatedly came through town over the years. His photos, printed fully rather than as they were cropped for ads, reveal a subculture presenting itself unapologetically (even defiantly)-and fascinatingly. Sloan writes: "As a sustained document of circus life at this time, there is no known equivalent": "The Illeson Sisters, Acrobats" finds two child performers perched on large balls, hoisting the smallest (in a near perfect split) between them, with their prideful looks questioning the assumption of total exploitation; in "Sparks Circus, 1923," a clown, via barely perceptible wires, tows a skeleton behind him that seems to float as it mimics his movements; a group shot of a circus wedding party (the ceremony itself often "held in the center ring in front of the spectators during intermission") shows the participants extolling a solemnity-within-spectacle that also displays their intelligence and deliberate self-fashioning. An introduction by essayist Timothy Tegge ("born and raised performing as a clown in his family's one-ring circus," the press chat notes) vividly traces circus history back to Rome. Anyone interested in American cultural history will find that these 62 b&w photos reveal a great deal about how performers-often from a great diversity of backgrounds-comport themselves toward their art.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

A form of entertainment that claims to be the greatest show on earth had better deliver. That the circus does is confirmed by the photos F. W. Glasier made during the traveling spectacle's heyday--even more unequivocally than Edward J. Kelty's group portraits of circus personnel (see Miles Barth and others' Step Right This Way [BKL N 15 02]). For while Glasier also made portraits, he liked to get relatively candid shots, which the cumbersomeness of Kelty's huge "banquet" camera didn't allow. So here in this 10-by-11-inch album, we see people milling before the sideshow tent, already marveling at one of the "freaks" playing a violin; elephants lining up after unloading from the circus train; roustabouts driving tent stakes; and an eight-horse team pulling an ornately carved wagon in a small-town parade. Most astonishing is an image worthy of modern sports photography: Alexander Patty of the Ringling Brothers Circus caught between stairs as he does his stuff--hopping downstairs on his head! Hur-ry, hur-ry, and don't be ashamed to gawk. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Quantuck Lane Pr & the Mill Rd (December 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971454841
• ISBN-13: 978-0971454842
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 10.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,043,134 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rare and beautiful photos from the backlot, November 26, 2005

By 

James G. Mundie (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wild, Weird, and Wonderful: The American Circus 1901-1927 as seen by F. W. Glasier, Photographer (Hardcover)

Professional portrait photographer Fred Whitman Glasier maintained a studio in Brockton, Massachusetts. Glasier never traveled with a circus, but he did document every show that came through his neck of the woods during the first quarter of the twentieth century. Glasier became acquainted with many famous showmen, and provided promotional photographs for both the circuses and individual performers. Glasier's work evokes a relaxed elegance missing from the work of many previous photographers, and for that reason he is now considered among the finest circus photographers of all time.

Glasier's original glass plate negatives have been beautifully reprinted in this volume, allowing one to see the scope of his circus work, and occasionally gain an insight into his working methods when notes and cropping marks have been preserved. As a document of the traveling circus at a particular point in time, this book is unrivaled.

Circus historian Timothy Tegge provides a brief foreword discussing the origins of the American circus. Author Mark Sloan provides background information on the people and places depicted in Glasier's beautiful photographs.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars wild, weird, and wonderful: the American circus 1901-1927, August 7, 2007

By 

Discovery (Los Altos, California USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wild, Weird, and Wonderful: The American Circus 1901-1927 as seen by F. W. Glasier, Photographer (Hardcover)

Simply wonderful photographs helping the mind to call up mental pictures of a colorful and exciting era in our history.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bought Three Already, June 13, 2007

By 

M. Navarro (Phila., PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wild, Weird, and Wonderful: The American Circus 1901-1927 as seen by F. W. Glasier, Photographer (Hardcover)

This is a nice book. I gave two as gifts and am pleased with mine (as are my two gift recipients).