Attention sideshow banner collectors! I’ve just been informed that an original Snap Wyatt banner of The Viking Giant has turned up at an estate and will be sold at a public auction in Kansas City, MO on May 20th at 10 am. (Click here to view auction details.) Although it’s not the clearest image, you [...]
On Saturday, May 14, in Frederick, Maryland, several sideshow banners, hand-painted by the famed Johnny Meah, will be up for grabs at the Mosby & Company’s Spring Auction. The banners reportedly come from Meah’s collection of work that was commissioned by the World of Wonders Sideshow and will include two marquee banners, the “Strange Change” [...]
The History Channel series American Pickers has garnered quite the following since it’s debut in January, 2010, and I’m often surprised to find that many of my fellow sideshow nerd comrades are obsessed with this show. Apparently there’s some genetic link between the love of the freakshow and that of old, Americana junk. For those [...]
This banner marketed a Girl-To-Gorilla illusion, a show in which a young lady would seem to morph into a gorilla as you watched. This popular and mystifying illusion was invented in the 1800′s, originally consisting of a statue in the form of a ballerina; she would appear to come to life, leap from her pedestal, [...]
Johnny Meah, banner painter, historian, and circus performer. Meah grew up a short distance from Coney Island, and as a child, he worked alongside his father at carnivals and circuses creating caricatures and line portraits for sale. At about the age of nine, Meah stood beneath a banner painting and was so dazzled it that [...]
If you look at traditional banner art, the backdrop and borders were almost always orange. This, along with most features of banner art, served a practical purpose. The orange served to “disguise stains caused by the rusting iron rings situated in each corner of a banner, which were necessary to pass rope through for hanging. [...]
Burlington, Vermont-based artist Toni-Lee Sangastiano has taken up the traditional art of banner painting. Her journey into the banner art world has led her to interesting people and places, including Coney Island and Johnny Meah to name a few. Today, Toni-Lee discusses this journey and shares some of her work. Enjoy! This movie requires Flash [...]
The sideshow banner is an iconic element of circus and sideshow life. While originally thought of as cheap advertisement, the sideshow banner has now been elevated to the status of folk art and a few scholars and enthusiasts are documenting these rich traditions. For an educational and thoroughly entertaining review of banner art history, I [...]
I recently stumbled into a debate on the best type of paint to use for sideshow banners. Allow me to summarize for you kind readers: 1 Shot Enamel is an industry standard for painting signs. It is specifically made for fine letter work on anything from vehicles to store fronts. It is oil based and [...]