From bearded ladies to contortionists to sword swallowers, circus performers brought feats of strength and oddities that ordinary people had never seen. The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey made clowns and acrobats a normal experience during a circus performance. I mean, we are talking about “The Greatest Show on Earth.” (And no we aren’t referring to the Hugh Jackman movie, okay maybe we are a little). Anyways, we’ve compiled photos from the circus that you probably haven’t seen before. Brace yourself.
Kitty
Nope, this is not some kind of optical illusion. You really are looking at a trainer working with a leopard so that the feline will perform tricks for circus audiences. 1906 is when this photo was snapped.
Kitty
Training
This photo is from 1940! As you can see, the trainer Walter McClain is working with his elephants at the Ringling Circus stop in Sarasota, Florida. Elephants are often a crowd favorite.
Training
