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Call Number
CWM Mss 74

Title 
Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus Engagement Fact Sheets, 1976-1999                                      1 box (1 c.f.) 

History
The Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus was created in 1919 when the surviving Ringling brothers consolidated their circus with the Barnum and Bailey Circus which they had acquired in 1908. The combined show has remained the largest, longest running and most successful circus operation in American history. The circus remained in Ringling family hands until 1967 when it was sold to Irvin Feld (1918-1984). Feld, who started his career as a producer of rock and roll acts, had been working for the circus for ten years as one of the national promoters for the show. 
Under Feld’s direction the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus which had been steadily declining through much of the 1950s and 1960s rebounded and steadily grew to an immense size. Upon Irvin Feld’s death in 1984 control of the circus was passed onto his son Kenneth. 

Kenneth J. Feld joined the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1970 and soon became a co-producer. Under his tenure Feld Inc. expanded its operations to include various ice shows including Disney on Ice!, Doodlebops Live, Monster Jam, and the AMA Supercross Championship. The circus remains a central piece of Feld Inc. which currently operates three independent circus units Red, Blue, and Gold. The Gold Unit, created in 2004, is a truck based one ring circus designed for smaller venues. 

Currently, the circus maintains two train based shows organized into two units, Red and Blue. Each train consists of approximately 40 passenger and 20 freight cars. The Blue and Red Units present a full three-ring production for two years each visiting alternating major cities each year. Both units take off the month of December. Each Unit presents a different "edition" of the show. The Blue Unit presents the even-numbered editions on a two-year tour (beginning each even-numbered year), and the Red Unit presents the odd-numbered editions on the same two-year tour (beginning each odd-numbered year). 

Scope and Content 
Engagement fact sheets are documents issued in advance of the arrival of the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus to designated individuals in order to coordinate the publicity and other preparations necessary to set up the show. Fact sheets often contained such information as the name and location of arena, show dates, performance schedules, ticket prices, ticket sales outlets, and important personnel contact information such as the area manager, box office manager, and publicist. The collection is arranged primarily by show unit and then by year. Also included are fact sheets for the World on Ice, another Feld production and a series of change/update sheets which were distributed in the event of significant alterations to the original fact sheet. The Fact Sheet Changes/Updates are arranged only chronologically. The vast majority of the sheets are stamped “C.P. Fox” indicating that these may have originally been issued to Charles Philip “Chappie” Fox a former Executive Director of Circus World Museum. 



Container List
Box       Folder

                                Blue Unit
Box 1     Folder 1            1976
Box 1     Folder 2            1977
Box 1     Folder 3            1977-1978
Box 1     Folder 4            1979
Box 1     Folder 5            1980
Box 1     Folder 6            1981
Box 1     Folder 7            1984 year 1
Box 1     Folder 8            1985 year 2
Box 1     Folder 9            1986 year 1
Box 1     Folder 10          1986-1987 year 2
Box 1     Folder 11          1987-1988 year 1
Box 1     Folder 12          1988-1989 year 2
Box 1     Folder 13          1989-1990 year 1 
Box 1     Folder 14          1990-1991 year 2
Box 1     Folder 15          1991-1992 year 1
Box 1     Folder 16          1992-1993 year 2
Box 1     Folder 17          1993-1994 year 1
Box 1     Folder 18          1994-1995 year 2
Box 1     Folder 19          1996 year 2
Box 1     Folder 20          1997
Box 1     Folder 21          1998
Box 1     Folder 22          1999
                                Red Unit
Box 1 Folder 23              1976
Box 1 Folder 24              1977
Box 1 Folder 25              1978
Box 1 Folder 26              1979
Box 1 Folder 27              1980
Box 1 Folder 28              1984
Box 1 Folder 29              1984-1985
Box 1 Folder 30              1986
Box 1 Folder 31              1987
Box 1 Folder 32              1987-1988 year 2
Box 1 Folder 33              1988-1989 year 1
Box 1 Folder 34              1989-1990 year 2
Box 1 Folder 35              1990-1991 year 1
Box 1 Folder 36              1991-1992 year 2
Box 1 Folder 37              1993 200 year 1
Box 1 Folder 38              1994 year 2
Box 1 Folder 39              1995 year 1
Box 1 Folder 40              1996 year 2
Box 1 Folder 41              1997
Box 1 Folder 42              1998
Box 1 Folder 43              1999
Box 1 Folder 44       World on Ice 1984-1992
                                Fact Sheet Changes
Box 1 Folder 45              Prior to 1980
Box 1 Folder 46             1894-1985
Box 1 Folder 47             1986-1987
Box 1 Folder 48             1988-1989
Box 1 Folder 49             1990
Box 1 Folder 50             1991
Box 1 Folder 51             1992
Box 1 Folder 52             1993
Box 1 Folder 53             1994
Box 1 Folder 54             1995