Sideshow Banner Vs. Reality
"It Is The Front Of The Show That Gets The Dough"
That maxim of the sideshow business from it's earliest days-- either originally coined by banner painter E.H. Caldwell, or at least popularized by him-- tells us all we need to know as to why sideshow banners must lie so well, and so often.
To put it another way-- and to paraphrase showman Kroger Babb-- the sideshow banner is "the sizzle that sells the steak."
In this article I hope to show various banners and the reality behind their performers.
(To be continued).

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FREAKS
- BEASTS
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FEATS
- Acrobats (37)
- Bag Puncher (2)
- Bicycle & Unicycle Acts (5)
- Buried Alive/Suspended Animation (3)
- Contortionists (26)
- Daredevils (37)
- Equilibrists (14)
- Funambulists (10)
- Fire Acts (35)
- Human-Fish (1)
- Iron Skull (7)
- Knife Throwers (6)
- Mechanical Man/Living Doll/Robot Man/Living Statue (3)
- Sharpshooters (5)
- Strong Folk (40)
- Whip-Crackers (1)
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WORKING ACTS
- Bed of Nails/Nail Board (9)
- Circassians (72)
- Electric, Magnetic, X-Ray Acts (7)
- Ethnic Curiosities (45)
- Fakirs (30)
- Glass Eaters (4)
- Gurners and Grimacers (10)
- Human Blockhead (2)
- Human Ostrich (7)
- Human Pincushions (10)
- Hunger Artists (23)
- Regurgitators and Water Spouters (14)
- Snake Acts (84)
- Sword-Box (1)
- Sword Ladders (10)
- Sword Swallowers (88)
- Tattooed People (112)
- Wild Folk (98)
- NOVELTY/VARIETY
- ODDBALLS
- EXHIBITS
- SIDESHOW
- DIME MUSEUM
- CARNIVAL
- CIRCUS
- VAUDEVILLE
- SEX ! ! !
- MISC.
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MORE
- Freak and Novelty Performer Advertising (14)
- The Unknown Performers (2)
- Showmen & Promoters (61)
- Balloons and Airships (1)
- Banners & Banner Painters (47)
- Confections, Snacks and Refreshments (11)
- Fortune Tellers, Psychics, Spirtualists, Mindreaders (15)
- Punch & Judy, Puppets, Marionettes (11)
- Trade Publications (13)
- Funhouse, Dark Ride, Spook Show (2)