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Call Number
CWM Mss 17

Title
Billboard Circus Correspondence Worksheets, 1950-1960   3 c.f. (3 boxes)

History
Billboard was founded in Cincinnati on November 1, 1894, by William H. Donaldson and James Hennegan. Originally titled Billboard Advertising, the magazine was a trade journal for the bill posting industry. Within a few years of its founding, The Billboard began to carry news of outdoor amusements, a major consumer of billboard space. Eventually The Billboard became the paper of record for circuses, carnivals, amusement parks, fairs, vaudeville, minstrels, whale shows and other live entertainment.

With each passing decade the magazine expanded to cover new and emerging forms of entertainment. In 1909 the magazine began coverage of motion pictures. During the 1920s radio was added and in the 1930s also included music charts for pop, country & western, and rhythm & blues genres. The 1950s saw an introduction of a section covering the television industry. The magazine continued to carry news of fairs, carnivals, theme parks and other outdoor entertainments until the early 1960s.  In1961, The Billboard was renamed Billboard Music Week and became primarily focused on the music industry.  The various departments that covered the outdoor entertainment industry were reorganized into a new weekly publication titled Amusement Business which was published until 2006.

Scope and Content
The collection contains circus press reports submitted to The Billboard from 1950 through 1960 and is arranged alphabetically by circus title. The reports consist of standardized forms sent in to the magazine by local newspaper reporters detailing information about various performances around the country. Each report provided general information relating to audience estimates, weather, local sponsors, reasons for delay in arrival or departure from a site, problems involving show equipment and personnel, and whether any other circus played in the same area within two weeks.  Magazine editors used the reports for writing current news reports.

Presented by Tom Parkinson to Circus World Museum, 1970

Container List
Box      Folder
Box 1   Folder 1           Billboard – Form Letters
Box 1   Folder 2           Billboard, Misc
Box 1   Folder 3           Adams Seils Bros. Circus 1959-1960
Box 1   Folder 4           Adams Bros. 1958-1959
                                    Al G. Kelley and Miller Bros. Circus
Box 1   Folder 5                       1950   
Box 1   Folder 6                       1951
Box 1   Folder 7                       1952
Box 1   Folder 8                       1953
Box 1   Folder 9                       1954
Box 1   Folder 10                     1955
Box 1   Folder 11                     1956
Box 1   Folder 12                     1957
Box 1   Folder 13                     1958
Box 1   Folder 14                     1959
Box 1   Folder 15                     1960
Box 1   Folder 16         Antioch Shrine-Red Fez, 1957
Box 1   Folder 17         Bailey Bros., 1959
Box 1   Folder 18         Bailey Bros. and Cristiani, 1954
Box 1   Folder 19         Bailey Bros. and Cristiani, 1955
Box 1   Folder 20         Beers and Barnes, 1952
Box 1   Folder 21         Beers and Barnes, 1956-1959
Box 1   Folder 22         Benson Bros., 1956-1957
Box 1   Folder 23         Bill McGraw, 1957
Box 1   Folder 24         Biller Bros., 1950
Box 1   Folder 25         Biller Bros., 1951
Box 1   Folder 26         Burling Bros., 1952
Box 1   Folder 27         Campa Bros., 1951
Box 1   Folder 28         Capell Bros., 1951-1953
Box 1   Folder 29         Carson and Barnes, 1957
Box 1   Folder 30         Carson and Barnes, 1959
Box 1   Folder 31         Castle’s Circus, 1959
                                    Clyde Beatty
Box 1   Folder 32                     1950
Box 1   Folder 33                     1951
Box 1   Folder 34                     1952
Box 1   Folder 35                     1953
Box 1   Folder 36                     1954
Box 1   Folder 37                     1955
Box 1   Folder 38                     1956
Box 1   Folder 39                     1957
Box 1   Folder 40                     1958
Box 1   Folder 41                     1959
Box 1   Folder 42         Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros., 1960
Box 1   Folder 43         Clyde Bros., 1955-1957
Box 1   Folder 44         Clyde Bros., 1958-1959
Box 1   Folder 45         Cole Bros., 1950
Box 1   Folder 46         Cole & Walters, 1950
Box 1   Folder 47         Cole & Walters, 1951-1953
                                    Cristiani Bros.
Box 1   Folder 48                     1956
Box 1   Folder 49                     1957   
Box 1   Folder 50                     1958
Box 1   Folder 51                     1959
Box 1   Folder 52                     1960
Box 2   Folder 1           Dailey Bros., 1950
Box 2   Folder 2           Diano Bros., 1953
Box 2   Folder 3           Duke of Paducah Circus, 1960
                                    Famous Cole
Box 2   Folder 4                       1954
Box 2   Folder 5                       1955
Box 2   Folder 6                       1956
Box 2   Folder 7                       1957
Box 2   Folder 8                       1958
Box 2   Folder 9                       1959
Box 2   Folder 10         Fred J. Mack, 1955    
Box 2   Folder 11         Gaineville Circus, 1953
Box 2   Folder 12         Garden Bros., 1959
Box 2   Folder 13         Gil G. Gray, 1954-1955
Box 2   Folder 14         Hagen-Wallace, 1951-1952
Box 2   Folder 15         Hagen Wallace, 1953
                                    Hagen Bros.
Box 2   Folder 16                     1952
Box 2   Folder 17                     1953
Box 2   Folder 18                     1954
Box 2   Folder 19                     1955
Box 2   Folder 20                     1956
Box 2   Folder 21                     1957
Box 2   Folder 22                     1958
Box 2   Folder 23                     1959
Box 2   Folder 24                     1960
Box 2   Folder 25         Hamid-Morton, 1957-1959
Box 2   Folder 26         Hamid-Morton, 1960
Box 2   Folder 27         Howe’s Famous Hippodrome, 1952
                                    Hunt Bros.
Box 2   Folder 28                     1952-1953
Box 2   Folder 29                     1954-1955
Box 2   Folder 30                     1956
Box 2   Folder 31                     1957-1958
Box 2   Folder 32                     1959-1960
Box 2   Folder 33         James-Christy, 1959    
Box 2   Folder 34         Jay Gould, 1953-1956
Box 2   Folder 35         John A. Strong, undated
                                    Kelley-Morris
Box 2   Folder 36                     1952
Box 2   Folder 37                     1953
Box 2   Folder 38                     1954-1955
                                    King Bros.
Box 2   Folder 39                     1950
Box 2   Folder 40                     1951   
Box 2   Folder 41                     1951
Box 2   Folder 42-43                1952
Box 2   Folder 44-45    King Bros. & Cristiani, 1953
                                    King Bros.
Box 2   Folder 46-47                1954
Box 2   Folder 48-49                1955   
Box 2   Folder 50                     1956
Box 2   Folder 51                     1959
Box 2   Folder 52                     1960
Box 2   Folder 53         Leonard Bros., 1956
Box 2   Folder 54         Miller Bros., 1956
                                    Mills Bros.
Box 2   Folder 55-56                1950
Box 2   Folder 57                     1951
Box 3   Folder 1                       1952
Box 3   Folder 2                       1953
Box 3   Folder 3                       1954
Box 3   Folder 4                       1955
Box 3   Folder 5                       1956
Box 3   Folder 6                       1957
Box 3   Folder 7                       1958
Box 3   Folder 8                       1959
Box 3   Folder 9                       1960
Box 3   Folder 10         Nat Lewis, 1955
Box 3   Folder 11         Orrin Davenport, 1957-1959
                                    Polack Bros.
Box 3   Folder 12                     1954-1957
Box 3   Folder 13                     1958-1959
Box 3   Folder 14         Richard Bros., 1954     
                                    Ring Bros.
Box 3   Folder 15                     1954
Box 3   Folder 16                     1955
Box 3   Folder 17                     1956
                                    Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey
Box 3   Folder 18-19                1950
Box 3   Folder 20                     1951
Box 3   Folder 21-22                1952
Box 3   Folder 23                     1953
Box 3   Folder 24                     1954
Box 3   Folder 25-26                1955
Box 3   Folder 27                     1956
Box 3   Folder 28                     1957
Box 3   Folder 29                     1958-1959
Box 3   Folder 30                     1960
Box 3   Folder 31         Rizpah Temple, 1957
                                    Rogers Bros.   
Box 3   Folder 32                     1951
Box 3   Folder 33                     1952
Box 3   Folder 34                     1953
Box 3   Folder 35         Stephens Bros., 1950-1952
Box 3   Folder 36         Tex Carson, 1955-1956          
Box 3   Folder 37         Tiger Bill’s Wild West, 1952
Box 3   Folder 38         Tom Pack’s Circus, 1954-1959
Box 3   Folder 39         Von Bros., 1953-1956
Box 3   Folder 40         Wallace & Clark, 1952-1953
                                    Wallace Bros.
Box 3   Folder 41                     1952
Box 3   Folder 42                     1953
Box 3   Folder 43         Ward-Bell, 1955         
Box 3   Folder 44         Zell Bros., 1959