Questionable Circus Etiquette

Ethics and truth in advertising? They flew out the door when a circus rolled into town. “Advance men” would ramp up the hype, weeks before a circus would arrive in a new area. Bluster, outright lying, and of course, bragging, was common among the world of circuses, and the exotic animals were a huge draw for audiences that would never have a chance to see such animals otherwise. These animals, regardless of the outlandish claims, made circuses the biggest and most profitable form of entertainment of the 19th century. By1865, P.T. Barnum was the biggest promoter of individual attractions the world had ever known. This portion of a 1921 advertorial promoted the recent acquisition of “Tusko” by the the Al G. Barnes circus. (Note– the average age of elephants is 20 to 40 years, the oldest elephant known was 86 years old.) – “‘Tusko’ is 12 feet 5 inches high, which is 11 inches taller than was ‘Jumbo’... Just how old ‘Tusko’ is cannot be definitely stated, but Al G. Barnes estimates that he is between 70 and 90 years of age. Barring accidents he should attain the ripe old age of 1150, as he is in perfect condition.” In reality,“Tusko” was born in 1892 and died at the age of 41 in 1933. –1921, Morning Press

Advance men coming to Santa Barbara in the interests of the Al G. Barnes circus still are talking about the time when the Barnes and the Sells-Floto circuses showed, in the argot of the circus, “day and date” in Oskosh, Wis., last summer. There were two street parades in the morning and the rival circus “lots” were directly across the street from each other. Although the rival managements had been having each other's bill posters arrested for “stealing” billboard space, circus etiquette demanded that each manager should invite his rival to be his guest at the afternoon performance.

Just how the question of which should play host and which guest was decided has not been made clear, but the Barnes version is that the Sells-Floto management were guests and while their own circus was playing to half a house, the management had to sit on pop cases to witness the Barnes performance, because all of the reserved seats were filled. The Barnes people among themselves refer to their show as the “cat opera,” the John Robinson circus to them is the “John Hog Show," the Ringling Brothers are habitually referred to as the “Ding Dong Sisters,” while the Gentry dog and pony show is known as the “Fido.” – The Morning Press, 1921

Etiquette Enthusiast, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Watering Hole Etiquette

Perhaps the most famous of Abyssinian elephants was “Jumbo.” Captured by Arab traders in 1861, and after trading hands several times, he wound up in England, before he was purchased by P.T. Barnum, resulting in a great public outcry in Victorian England. Eventually, he was moved to the U.S. He died in 1885 after being hit by a train. – Photo from “Poor Dear Jumbo”: Elephants, Empire and Empathy in Victorian Britain – Describing actions of the Victorian public after the popular elephant was first sold... “To ease Jumbo’s pain, zoo visitors regaled the elephant with copious cakes and pastries, either delivering these treats in person or sending them in the post. ‘Some nurses at a London hospital’ sent Jumbo a ‘box containing sponge-cakes and gingerbread’. Another female – ‘one who rode on your back as a child’ – forwarded Jumbo a generous slice of her wedding cake, a delicacy with symbolic resonance, since Jumbo himself was about to be separated from his ‘little wife’, the female elephant Alice. ‘May you enjoy my wedding cake’, read the accompanying letter, ‘and never have to part from your Alice’. Other Britons demonstrated their solidarity with Jumbo in even more bizarre ways. A lady whose husband had recently died sent ‘a parcel of crape and widow’s weeds’ to Alice, ‘that she might mourn over her bereavement’. One man christened his son ‘Jumbo’ in the elephant’s honour, while another more practical individual sent Jumbo ‘a box 2 feet square, full of corrective pills’ to prevent nausea during his transatlantic voyage.”

Stand Aside for Elephants

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Animals of the Jungle Have Well-Recognized Etiquette Observed at Drinking Places

A moving picture firm has been taking some remarkable pictures at a watering-hole in Abyssinia of animals which come there from miles around to quench their thirst. It is the etiquette of the Jungle for the elephant to drink first. No matter how many animals are around the water-hole, they all stand aside for the greatest beast of all. Many of the animals come 40 or 50 miles for a drink, and there is a truce between even the most deadly enemies. After the elephant, comes the rhinoceros. Although most of the other animals observe the water-hole truce faithfully, two rhinos will fight over their precedence. 

The cinematograph operator obtained wonderful pictures of two of these huge animals going at it hammer and tongs. The fight only ended with one of the animals being killed. When the rhinoceros had finished, the giraffes drink their fill, followed by zebras. Zebras always travel is herds, and sometimes 40 or 50 will arrive at the water-hole at a time. According to the etiquette of the jungle, however, they only come in fourth for the drinking stakes. The first foul animals are mixed in order, but the rest get a drink just how and when they can. —Pearson’s Weekly, 1912

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia