Sites, Sights, and Sounds of Circus showcases many different facets of the Circus and Allied Arts Collection, which is part of the library's Special Collections. This series of exhibits features installations on every floor of Milner Library and contains posters, models, children’s books, letters, costumes, and much, much more.
Exhibit Locations
- Floor 1
Selections from the Dave and Mary Jane Price Clyde Beatty Collection
This exhibit features a selection of ephemera, photos, and circus models from the Dave and Mary Jane Price Clyde Beatty Collection, along with some highlights of the interactions between longtime circus enthusiast and author Ernest Hemingway and legendary big cat trainer Clyde Beatty.
Inside the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts area—through the glass doors.
- Floor 2
My Season With the Circus: Artwork by Yetti Frenkel
Artist Yetti Frenkel spent a season working as a groom on the Big Apple Circus the year she graduated from college with a degree in painting. The drawings and paintings showcased here document some of the behind-the-scenes moments with people and animals she observed and worked with during her time on the show.
Benway Student Art Exhibit Area—SW corner near the reference desk. On view through October.
The Grandest, Greatest, Most Glorious & Sublime
This exhibit features posters, handbills, heralds, and other circus advertisements with a focus on the printing processes that were used to create them.
NW corner near the Circulation Desk.
Wondrous, Dazzling & Dangerous: The Circus in Children's Literature
This exhibit features rare and important illustrated children’s picture books and children’s circus novels that were published between the 1880s and 1920s.
Central stairwell. On view through September 24.
- Floor 3
Selections from the Ueckert Circus Wardrobe Collection
This display features spectacular costume pieces worn by equestrian rider Jeanette Williams during performances in the 1970s and early 1980s alongside costumes worn by her grandchildren, Violet and Vincent Valla-Bertini, who are also circus performers.
In the central stairwell and in the hallway just inside of the glass doors across from the elevator.
- Floor 4
Most Spectacularly Sublime Sumptuous Circus Spectacles
This exhibit features photographs and artifacts from various circus spectacles, which were lavish performances that highlight the grand scale of the circus operation. Among the objects on display are costume pieces and advertisements for the 1912 Joan of Arc spectacle staged by the Ringling Bros. Circus.
In the central stairwell and in the hallway just inside of the glass doors across from the elevator.
- Floor 5
Sugar, Sawdust and Sundries
This exhibit features photographs of some of the concessions that are deeply embedded in the popular image of circuses. The exhibit includes some rarely viewed photographs by Arnold Riegger, who was himself a performer, alongside images from the 1920s Ringling Bros. lot captured by aerialist Charles Clarke. Lush Kodachrome photographs taken by avid circus fan Sverre O. Braathen in the mid-20th century round out featured selections.
In the hallway just inside the glass doors across from the elevator.
The Wonderful World of Taggart Miniature Circus Wagons
Highlights of the miniature circus creations of Joseph W. Taggert, including photographs, drawings, ephemera, and a miniature circus wagon model.
Starts on the same wall as noted above and wraps around the corner.
- Floor 6
Gamma Phi Circus Annual Performance Posters and Photographs
The photographs in this display show annual performances by ISU’s Gamma Phi Circus, the oldest collegiate circus in the nation, alongside a selection of posters advertising the yearly performance.
Located in the central stairwell.
Mesmerizing Marketing and Enchanting Extravaganzas
Amazing posters and photographs alongside business records that reveal some of the movements, negotiations, procedures, conflicts, and competitions that fueled the business side of circuses.
In the hallway just inside the glass doors across from the elevator. On view through October.
Echoing Voices: People & Stories in the Sverre O. Braathen Circus Collection
Sverre O. Braathen attended his first circus as a child in the early 1900s and this shaped the course of his life. For over 40 years he and his wife traveled to circuses where he photographed performers, performances, and behind-the-scenes action. As a tireless collector, Braathen meticulously labeled his images with names, dates, and circuses, leaving an astonishingly thorough archive. He also corresponded with all the great performers of the day, in many cases striking up lasting friendships. The works in this exhibit highlight just a few of the performers and their interactions with Braathen that make up this monumental collection.
Special Collections Reading Room