Call Number
CWM Mss 2
Title
Route Book-Route Card Collection, 1842-2007. 24 c.f. (9 drawers, one box)
History
Circuses produce a number of different types of advertisement and souvineer materials in the course of a performance season. In addition to printing posters, heralds, curriers, and programs circuses would also print route books or route cards containing performance dates and locations.
Early versions of route books, published in the mid 1830s, only included lists of the show dates, locations, and roster of the circus staff. Between the1870s and 1890s the books evolved into elaborate productions and could include complete staff listings, a daily diary, photographs, statistics, as well as the itinerary for the show for a given year. The route book was published at the end of the season and gave a fairly accurate account of the show’s activities for the year. The books were sold to employees who had been on the show that season and often were advertised to circus fans.
During the first half of the 20th century the route book steadily declined in the amount of the content it contained and eventually was replaced by the route card or route sheet, a simple listing of the itinerary of a show for a given year. Route cards were also distributed in advance of arrival providing a guide as to where a show was going to play in the future. This allowed circus staff to have their mail sent to them at the various locations.
Scope and Content Note
The route book collection is an artificial creation compiled by library staff from multiple accessions over many years and documents the history of a wide variety of circuses. The quantity and quality of information varies widely. The collection is arranged into two series; ROUTE BOOKS, and ROUTE CARDS.
The ROUTE BOOKS series contain bound publications distributed by the circuses at the end of a performance season. Route books contain the show itinerary, program and official diary. Route books often include information on important events which occurred during the season and the names of performers and personnel involved with the circus, equipment statistics, and photographs. A performer or staff member was generally not included in a route book unless they were involved with the circus for the entire year. The production quality of a route book could vary with some books bound in hard cover, others in paper, and still more with elaborate wood or even metal covers.
The ROUTE CARDS series contain only itineraries distributed in advance of a shows arrival and listed by week where a circus was going to be for a given year. In many cases the lists were printed on card stock, in some circumstances multiple cards exist for the same year. Later in the 20th century the route cards were often printed on sheets of letter or legal sized paper.
The Route Collection is generally arranged alphabetically by circus title and then chronologically by year. However given the variation of circus titles and the fact that the same circus may alter their title occasionally from year to year the alphabetical arrangement may vary slightly.
Occasionally one may find additional information added to a file title. Such is the case with the Barnum and Bailey Route Book for the years 1897-1901 which is also known under the title Barnum and Bailey in the Old World. This kind of supplementary information is included in parenthesis at the end of the file title.
CWM Mss 2
Title
Route Book-Route Card Collection, 1842-2007. 24 c.f. (9 drawers, one box)
History
Circuses produce a number of different types of advertisement and souvineer materials in the course of a performance season. In addition to printing posters, heralds, curriers, and programs circuses would also print route books or route cards containing performance dates and locations.
Early versions of route books, published in the mid 1830s, only included lists of the show dates, locations, and roster of the circus staff. Between the1870s and 1890s the books evolved into elaborate productions and could include complete staff listings, a daily diary, photographs, statistics, as well as the itinerary for the show for a given year. The route book was published at the end of the season and gave a fairly accurate account of the show’s activities for the year. The books were sold to employees who had been on the show that season and often were advertised to circus fans.
During the first half of the 20th century the route book steadily declined in the amount of the content it contained and eventually was replaced by the route card or route sheet, a simple listing of the itinerary of a show for a given year. Route cards were also distributed in advance of arrival providing a guide as to where a show was going to play in the future. This allowed circus staff to have their mail sent to them at the various locations.
Scope and Content Note
The route book collection is an artificial creation compiled by library staff from multiple accessions over many years and documents the history of a wide variety of circuses. The quantity and quality of information varies widely. The collection is arranged into two series; ROUTE BOOKS, and ROUTE CARDS.
The ROUTE BOOKS series contain bound publications distributed by the circuses at the end of a performance season. Route books contain the show itinerary, program and official diary. Route books often include information on important events which occurred during the season and the names of performers and personnel involved with the circus, equipment statistics, and photographs. A performer or staff member was generally not included in a route book unless they were involved with the circus for the entire year. The production quality of a route book could vary with some books bound in hard cover, others in paper, and still more with elaborate wood or even metal covers.
The ROUTE CARDS series contain only itineraries distributed in advance of a shows arrival and listed by week where a circus was going to be for a given year. In many cases the lists were printed on card stock, in some circumstances multiple cards exist for the same year. Later in the 20th century the route cards were often printed on sheets of letter or legal sized paper.
The Route Collection is generally arranged alphabetically by circus title and then chronologically by year. However given the variation of circus titles and the fact that the same circus may alter their title occasionally from year to year the alphabetical arrangement may vary slightly.
Occasionally one may find additional information added to a file title. Such is the case with the Barnum and Bailey Route Book for the years 1897-1901 which is also known under the title Barnum and Bailey in the Old World. This kind of supplementary information is included in parenthesis at the end of the file title.