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Women of the American circus, 1880-1940 / Katherine H. Adams and Michael L. Keene.
Van Pelt Library GV1811.A1 A33 2012
Available
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Adams, Katherine H., 1954-
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Women circus performers--United States.
- Women circus performers.
- Circus performers--United States--Biography.
- Circus performers.
- Circus--United States.
- Circus.
- United States.
- Genre:
- Biographies.
- Physical Description:
- viii, 207 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 26 cm
- Place of Publication:
- Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, [2012]
- Summary:
- "In 1880 to 1940, glory days of American circus, one third to one half of cast members were women. Diaries, autobiographies, newspaper accounts, films, posters, route books, stories told by circus women, recount tableaux, freak shows, girlie shows, tiger acts, and aerial performance, beginning with representations of women as circus performers and moving to performances themselves"--Provided by publisher.
- Contents:
- Part 1 Media Depictions: The Stories Told About Circus People 19
- 1 Circus in the Established Media: Unnatural, Scandalous, Perilous 21
- 2 Circus by Press Agents: Contradictory Extremes 28
- 3 Circus Books for Children: Gendered Romantic Dreams 36
- 4 Romanticized Books for Men and Women 43
- 5 The Complexities of Filmic Representation 52
- Part 2 Circus Depictions: The Stories Circus People Told 59
- 6 Separation and the Status of Other 63
- 7 Entering a Circus Career 67
- 8 Behavior Rules for Women and Their Contracts 74
- 9 The Rigors of Practice 78
- 10 Life on the Road and Rails 83
- 11 Scanty Dress 85
- 12 The (Difficult) Road to Success 89
- Between pages 92 and 93 are 8 pages containing 8 color plates.
- Part 3 The Circus Comes to Town 93
- 13 The Power of the Poster 95
- 14 The Unloading and the Parade 103
- 15 To the Menageries, Games of Chance and the Sideshows 106
- 16 Into the Dressing Tents 111
- 17 The Big Show / The Circus Gaze 115
- 18 Late-Night Girlie Shows 120
- Part 4 Circus Women Ranked and Seen 123
- 19 Ballet Girls 124
- 20 Statuary/Tableaux Artists 129
- 21 Mostly Stationary Freaks 132
- 22 The Silent Assistant and the Magic Act 148
- 23 Equestrians 152
- 24 Trainers of Wild Animals 158
- 25 Aerial Artists 170
- 26 Bike/Car Tricksters 176
- 27 Sharpshooters 179
- 28 Clowns 183
- 29 Circus Managers/Owners 188
- 30 Toward the End of a Career 191.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN:
- 9780786472284
- 0786472286
- OCLC:
- 796760279
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