Photo: Mecum
In an age when television for the masses was unheard of, circus shows were among the few forms of entertainment for city dwellers. And in the history of circus entertainment, few names are as famous as P. T. Barnum and James Anthony Bailey.
Their combined company, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, was responsible from 1919 with the creation of one of the craziest circus shows on the planet, which became known down the ages as The Greatest Show on Earth.
As with any such enterprise, the two men’s creation was all about glamour, with the utmost attention given to every detail so that people would come watch the shown, and then come back for one more. The show was so successful that it ran continuously in various forms until 2017, when it was closed due to decreasing attendance, animal rights protest and so on.
With so much history to it, one would have thought we’d hear more about one of the shows that shaped the American entertainment scene. Sadly, that’s not the case, except when something like the 1915 Ford Model T we have here pops up.
Created as a tribute to The Greatest Show on Earth, this contraption sold in January at the Mecum auction in Kissimmee, Florida. And, just like the thing it honors, it too was built with glamour in mind.
It took five people 2,000 hours of work to bring the original Model T chassis to the shape shown here: on top of the body the builders mounted a wood body, fitted a black interior, and restored the original 4-cylinder engine and 2-speed manual transmission.
What’s more interesting about this circus wagon is that it has been recreated starting from a decades-old photo, down to the 24-karat gold that has been sprayed here and there on the body.
For effect, there are even three Siberian tigers sitting in the back (not real ones, of course).
As with any such enterprise, the two men’s creation was all about glamour, with the utmost attention given to every detail so that people would come watch the shown, and then come back for one more. The show was so successful that it ran continuously in various forms until 2017, when it was closed due to decreasing attendance, animal rights protest and so on.
With so much history to it, one would have thought we’d hear more about one of the shows that shaped the American entertainment scene. Sadly, that’s not the case, except when something like the 1915 Ford Model T we have here pops up.
Created as a tribute to The Greatest Show on Earth, this contraption sold in January at the Mecum auction in Kissimmee, Florida. And, just like the thing it honors, it too was built with glamour in mind.
It took five people 2,000 hours of work to bring the original Model T chassis to the shape shown here: on top of the body the builders mounted a wood body, fitted a black interior, and restored the original 4-cylinder engine and 2-speed manual transmission.
What’s more interesting about this circus wagon is that it has been recreated starting from a decades-old photo, down to the 24-karat gold that has been sprayed here and there on the body.
For effect, there are even three Siberian tigers sitting in the back (not real ones, of course).
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