From 1912-1930, Kraus Manufacturing Co. (Kraus Mfg. Co.) published both souvenir postcards and movie lobby cards. Generally their work consisted of half-tone lithography of lesser quality, i.e. cheaper to produce and sell. Their postcards featured freaks, vaudeville players, silent movie stars– including Lon Chaney as shown below– and Broadway stage plays and actors. Also see below a Kraus advertisement in the 1913 Moving Picture World magazine.
Interestingly, while Kraus was initially located at 14 East 17th Street in New York City, and then 34 West 33rd Street, they later moved to 220 W 42nd Street, just two doors down from Hubert’s Museum.
(Kraus also made photographic blowups used outside shows which were often hand painted)
There are at least four distinct series of Kraus sideshow performer postcards. The cards are all identified with the Kraus name printed on their verso.
Wood Bordered Series: Most well-known are the Kraus’ “wood-bordered” postcard series, that put a rather unattractive fake wood graphic frame around the edges of the cards.
Knock-Out Series: The “knock-out” or cut-out series of cards feature dramatic performer portraits cut out or shaped to the outlines of their bodies on a white background.
Full Bleed Series: Seemingly scarcer than the other series, the full-bleed series cards feature the background going all the way to the edge of the cards without a border, and sometimes with a white space at the bottom for the performer’s name and stats, including the Dreamland Circus Sideshow tag line.
White Bordered Series: The last series, and probably the earliest produced, is the white bordered series of cards with performers shown within a frame bordered in white.
All of the sideshow postcards seem to have been made initially, and often exclusively for performers who appeared at Coney Island, and to have been sold mainly at Coney Island. Some performers took the cards created by Kraus and distributed by them initially at Coney Island “on the road,” selling them at other venues, but this seems less common, and their distribution may not have been totally within each performer’s individual control. An example of a performer using the Kraus cards outside of Coney Island can be seen below, where Mlle. Gabriel had her Kraus card overprinted with Xs to cover up the Dreamland affiliation for use in other venues.
Evidence that the photographs used on the Kraus cards were taken specifically for this series of cards is that most, if not all, of these images are not be found elsewhere in other formats. In addition, many of the performers found on these cards are otherwise unknown but for their appearance on these cards. The Kraus sideshow cards are difficult to find, desirable, and unfortunately were so cheaply printed, on thin and inferior stock, that they are very often found in poorer condition– chipped, bent, and/or flaking.
Kraus’ branded postcards for the Coney Island Dreamland Circus Sideshow featured most of the famed freaks and sideshow performers who appeared at that venue beginning in the late teens to the mid-1920s.
A checklist of these Kraus cards is in the works.
Interestingly, while Kraus was initially located at 14 East 17th Street in New York City, and then 34 West 33rd Street, they later moved to 220 W 42nd Street, just two doors down from Hubert’s Museum.
(Kraus also made photographic blowups used outside shows which were often hand painted)
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THE FOUR SERIES OF SIDESHOW POSTCARDS BY KRAUS
There are at least four distinct series of Kraus sideshow performer postcards. The cards are all identified with the Kraus name printed on their verso.
Wood Bordered Series: Most well-known are the Kraus’ “wood-bordered” postcard series, that put a rather unattractive fake wood graphic frame around the edges of the cards.
Knock-Out Series: The “knock-out” or cut-out series of cards feature dramatic performer portraits cut out or shaped to the outlines of their bodies on a white background.
Full Bleed Series: Seemingly scarcer than the other series, the full-bleed series cards feature the background going all the way to the edge of the cards without a border, and sometimes with a white space at the bottom for the performer’s name and stats, including the Dreamland Circus Sideshow tag line.
White Bordered Series: The last series, and probably the earliest produced, is the white bordered series of cards with performers shown within a frame bordered in white.
All of the sideshow postcards seem to have been made initially, and often exclusively for performers who appeared at Coney Island, and to have been sold mainly at Coney Island. Some performers took the cards created by Kraus and distributed by them initially at Coney Island “on the road,” selling them at other venues, but this seems less common, and their distribution may not have been totally within each performer’s individual control. An example of a performer using the Kraus cards outside of Coney Island can be seen below, where Mlle. Gabriel had her Kraus card overprinted with Xs to cover up the Dreamland affiliation for use in other venues.
Evidence that the photographs used on the Kraus cards were taken specifically for this series of cards is that most, if not all, of these images are not be found elsewhere in other formats. In addition, many of the performers found on these cards are otherwise unknown but for their appearance on these cards. The Kraus sideshow cards are difficult to find, desirable, and unfortunately were so cheaply printed, on thin and inferior stock, that they are very often found in poorer condition– chipped, bent, and/or flaking.
Kraus’ branded postcards for the Coney Island Dreamland Circus Sideshow featured most of the famed freaks and sideshow performers who appeared at that venue beginning in the late teens to the mid-1920s.
A checklist of these Kraus cards is in the works.
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