Funding: National Endowment for the Arts Millennium Project.
Content: "National Show Co. Inc, Operators"--Upper left corner ; "High wire artists"--Upper right ; "Introducing the most difficult and dangerous feats ever devised by human ingenuity"--Lower right
Biographical/Historical: Walter L. Main founded his circus in 1885 and, four years later, sold it to the Schribner and Smith Circus. In 1890 his next circus was a wagon show, converted later to rails which toured on 27 cars. He sold this circus in 1889 but by 1901 had another. By 1904 he ceased personally managing circuses but for the next three decades he leased his popular name to various managers, including Andrew Downie, 1918-1924, Floyd and Howard King, 1925-1928, and others from 1930-1937.
Content: Treasures of the American Performing Arts, 1875-1923

Physical Description

Lithographs
Extent: 1 poster : col. ; 106 x 71 cm., on identically-sized linen backing.

Abstract

Illustrated poster for the Walter L. Main circus shows. Depicts a large crowd of people watching seven aerialists performing tricks on the high wire, including picking up a handkerchief from the wire, males carrying female partners, a solo female aerialist, and a male jumping onto or over a table held by two circus attendants. Four aerialist carry large Chinese parasols.

Languages

English

Identifiers

RLIN/OCLC: NYPG98-F963
NYPL Catalog ID (bnumber): b14426839
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 80a67670-c62c-012f-63f2-58d385a7bc34

Rights

The New York Public Library believes that this item is in the public domain under the laws of the United States, but did not make a determination as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. This item may not be in the public domain under the laws of other countries. Though not required, if you want to credit us as the source, please use the following statement, "From The New York Public Library," and provide a link back to the item on our Digital Collections site. Doing so helps us track how our collection is used and helps justify freely releasing even more content in the future.

Type Of Resource

Text
Still Image

Date Issued

1890

Cite this item

MLA format

Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library. "Walter L. Main 3 ring trained wild animal shows circus poster" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1890 - 1904. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/80a67670-c62c-012f-63f2-58d385a7bc34

APA format

Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library. (1890 - 1904). Walter L. Main 3 ring trained wild animal shows circus poster Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/80a67670-c62c-012f-63f2-58d385a7bc34

Chicago/Turabian Format

Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library. "Walter L. Main 3 ring trained wild animal shows circus poster" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed December 16, 2025. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/80a67670-c62c-012f-63f2-58d385a7bc34

Wikipedia citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/80a67670-c62c-012f-63f2-58d385a7bc34 | title= (text; still image) Walter L. Main 3 ring trained wild animal shows circus poster (1890 - 1904) | author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library | accessdate=December 16, 2025 | publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>