Call Number
CWM PH 261
Title
Gorrow, Mitch (1897-1972) Slide Collection (1950-1964)
3 cubic feet (21 archive boxes)
Historical/Biographical Note
Mitchell “Mitch” G. Gorrow was born on March 1, 1897, in Appleton, Wisconsin. After serving in the Army during World War I, he attended Lawrence University in Appleton, and later the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Gorrow worked for the Wisconsin-Michigan Power Company, eventually becoming manager of operations and construction before retiring in 1962.
As a life-long circus fan, Gorrow’s interest started in childhood when he would get up early and help arriving circuses set up for free admission to the show. Over the years, he built an extensive collection of circus memorabilia while traveling across the country. He traveled with his camera and tape recorder to document the sights and sounds of the circus.
He was a member of the American Circus Historical Society and served as the president of the National Circus Fans Association (CFA) in 1962. As a member of the CFA, Gorrow had the opportunity to appear as an extra in the Academy Award winning, circus focused movie, Greatest Show on Earth. Gorrow was a long-time friend of Circus World Museum and made annual visits until his death in 1972 at the age of 75.
The Stereo Realist Camera was released in 1947 by the David White Company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Originally a manufacturer of drawing and survey equipment, the company entered the field of stereo photography after being approached by engineer Seton Rochwite. Rochwite had created a way to combine two lenses into a single camera that captured two separate images, one from each viewpoint. When viewed together, these images created the illusion of depth, producing a 3D effect.
The Stereo Realist camera used standard 35mm film instead of the specialized film previously needed for stereo photography, making it accessible for the everyday photographer. The David White Company also manufactured mounting kits, projectors and viewers for displaying the slides. The release of the Stereo Realist sparked a resurgence in the popularity of stereo photography, which continued until the camera’s production ceased in 1971 due to declining interest.
Scope and Content
The stereoscopic slides cover over 30 different circuses with about a third of the collection consisting of images of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus. Other circuses include Hamid-Mortin, Clyde-Beatty, and the Christiani Bros. There are also images from Circus World Museum as well as multiple circus parades including the Great Circus Parade in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Notable performers featured in the slides include Otto Griebling, Pinito del Oro, and Unus. These slides cover the year 1950 up to the year 1964. Non-ringling circus slides are organized alphabetically by title and chronologically by date in boxes 1-12. Boxes 12-19 are strictly Ringling Bros. organized by date. 20-21 are miscellaneous circus views from parades and Circus World Museum.
Contents List
Box
Box 1 Adam Bros. Circus 1958-1959
Box 1 Carson Barnes Circus 1959
Box 1 Clyde Beatty Circus 1951-1958
Box 1 Clyde Beatty-Cole Circus 1959-1962
Box 2 Clyde Beatty-Cole Circus 1962-1963
Box 2 Clyde Brothers Circus 1960
Box 2 Cole Bros. Circus 1951-1962
Box 2 Cristiani Bros. Circus 1956-1959
Box 3 Cristiani Bros. Circus 1959-1960
Box 3 Diano Bros. Circus 1953
Box 3 Disney Land 1957
Box 3 Gainesville Community 3 Ring Circus 1952
Box 4 Gainesville Community 3 Ring Circus 1952
Box 4 Gil Grey Circus 1961
Box 4 Hagen Bros. Circus 1954
Box 5 Hagen Bros. Circus 1954-1961
Box 5 Hagan Wallace Circus 1953
Box 5 Hamid-Morton Circus 1951-1953
Box 6 Hamid-Morton Circus 1953-1962
Box 7 Hamid-Morton Circus 1962-1963
Box 7 Harold Circus n.d
Box 7 Howes Hippodrome 1952
Box 7 Hubert Castle Circus 1959
Box 7 Hunt Bros. Circus 1955
Box 7 INT C 1962
Box 7 International Trade Fair 1961
Box 7 James Cristy Circus 1959
Box 7 Jungleland 1957
Box 7 Kay Productions 1962
Box 8 Kay Productions 1962
Box 8 Kelly-Miller Circus 1952-1963
Box 8 Kelly-Morris Circus 1951
Box 8 King-Cole Circus 1955
Box 9 King-Cold Circus 1955
Box 9 Leonard Bros. Circus 1956
Box 9 McGaws Circus 1957
Box 9 Miller Bros. Circus 1956
Box 9 Mills Bros. Circus 1951-1960
Box 9 Orrin Davenport Circus 1953
Box 10 Orin Davenport Circus 1953-1959
Box 10 Polack Bros. Circus 1953
Box 11 Polack Bros. Circus 1953-1957
Box 12 Polack Bros, Circus 1957-1960
Box 12 Seymour Fair 1956-1960
Box 12 Terrill Jacobs Circus 1958
Box 12 Wallce & Clark Circus 1952
Box 13 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 1950-1951
Box 14 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 1951-1953
Box 15 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 1953-1954
Box 16 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 1954
Box 17 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 1954-1959
Box 18 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 1959-1960
Box 19 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 1961-1964
Box 20 Circus Historical Society 1952
Box 20 Circus World Museum 1959-1964
Box 20 Circus Fans Association Parade 1952
Box 20 Great Circus Parade 1963-1964
Box 21 Great Circus Parade 1964
Box 21 Circus Festival 1959
Box 21 Miscellaneous circus views 1954-1964
CWM PH 261
Title
Gorrow, Mitch (1897-1972) Slide Collection (1950-1964)
3 cubic feet (21 archive boxes)
Historical/Biographical Note
Mitchell “Mitch” G. Gorrow was born on March 1, 1897, in Appleton, Wisconsin. After serving in the Army during World War I, he attended Lawrence University in Appleton, and later the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Gorrow worked for the Wisconsin-Michigan Power Company, eventually becoming manager of operations and construction before retiring in 1962.
As a life-long circus fan, Gorrow’s interest started in childhood when he would get up early and help arriving circuses set up for free admission to the show. Over the years, he built an extensive collection of circus memorabilia while traveling across the country. He traveled with his camera and tape recorder to document the sights and sounds of the circus.
He was a member of the American Circus Historical Society and served as the president of the National Circus Fans Association (CFA) in 1962. As a member of the CFA, Gorrow had the opportunity to appear as an extra in the Academy Award winning, circus focused movie, Greatest Show on Earth. Gorrow was a long-time friend of Circus World Museum and made annual visits until his death in 1972 at the age of 75.
The Stereo Realist Camera was released in 1947 by the David White Company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Originally a manufacturer of drawing and survey equipment, the company entered the field of stereo photography after being approached by engineer Seton Rochwite. Rochwite had created a way to combine two lenses into a single camera that captured two separate images, one from each viewpoint. When viewed together, these images created the illusion of depth, producing a 3D effect.
The Stereo Realist camera used standard 35mm film instead of the specialized film previously needed for stereo photography, making it accessible for the everyday photographer. The David White Company also manufactured mounting kits, projectors and viewers for displaying the slides. The release of the Stereo Realist sparked a resurgence in the popularity of stereo photography, which continued until the camera’s production ceased in 1971 due to declining interest.
Scope and Content
The stereoscopic slides cover over 30 different circuses with about a third of the collection consisting of images of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus. Other circuses include Hamid-Mortin, Clyde-Beatty, and the Christiani Bros. There are also images from Circus World Museum as well as multiple circus parades including the Great Circus Parade in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Notable performers featured in the slides include Otto Griebling, Pinito del Oro, and Unus. These slides cover the year 1950 up to the year 1964. Non-ringling circus slides are organized alphabetically by title and chronologically by date in boxes 1-12. Boxes 12-19 are strictly Ringling Bros. organized by date. 20-21 are miscellaneous circus views from parades and Circus World Museum.
Contents List
Box
Box 1 Adam Bros. Circus 1958-1959
Box 1 Carson Barnes Circus 1959
Box 1 Clyde Beatty Circus 1951-1958
Box 1 Clyde Beatty-Cole Circus 1959-1962
Box 2 Clyde Beatty-Cole Circus 1962-1963
Box 2 Clyde Brothers Circus 1960
Box 2 Cole Bros. Circus 1951-1962
Box 2 Cristiani Bros. Circus 1956-1959
Box 3 Cristiani Bros. Circus 1959-1960
Box 3 Diano Bros. Circus 1953
Box 3 Disney Land 1957
Box 3 Gainesville Community 3 Ring Circus 1952
Box 4 Gainesville Community 3 Ring Circus 1952
Box 4 Gil Grey Circus 1961
Box 4 Hagen Bros. Circus 1954
Box 5 Hagen Bros. Circus 1954-1961
Box 5 Hagan Wallace Circus 1953
Box 5 Hamid-Morton Circus 1951-1953
Box 6 Hamid-Morton Circus 1953-1962
Box 7 Hamid-Morton Circus 1962-1963
Box 7 Harold Circus n.d
Box 7 Howes Hippodrome 1952
Box 7 Hubert Castle Circus 1959
Box 7 Hunt Bros. Circus 1955
Box 7 INT C 1962
Box 7 International Trade Fair 1961
Box 7 James Cristy Circus 1959
Box 7 Jungleland 1957
Box 7 Kay Productions 1962
Box 8 Kay Productions 1962
Box 8 Kelly-Miller Circus 1952-1963
Box 8 Kelly-Morris Circus 1951
Box 8 King-Cole Circus 1955
Box 9 King-Cold Circus 1955
Box 9 Leonard Bros. Circus 1956
Box 9 McGaws Circus 1957
Box 9 Miller Bros. Circus 1956
Box 9 Mills Bros. Circus 1951-1960
Box 9 Orrin Davenport Circus 1953
Box 10 Orin Davenport Circus 1953-1959
Box 10 Polack Bros. Circus 1953
Box 11 Polack Bros. Circus 1953-1957
Box 12 Polack Bros, Circus 1957-1960
Box 12 Seymour Fair 1956-1960
Box 12 Terrill Jacobs Circus 1958
Box 12 Wallce & Clark Circus 1952
Box 13 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 1950-1951
Box 14 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 1951-1953
Box 15 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 1953-1954
Box 16 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 1954
Box 17 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 1954-1959
Box 18 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 1959-1960
Box 19 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 1961-1964
Box 20 Circus Historical Society 1952
Box 20 Circus World Museum 1959-1964
Box 20 Circus Fans Association Parade 1952
Box 20 Great Circus Parade 1963-1964
Box 21 Great Circus Parade 1964
Box 21 Circus Festival 1959
Box 21 Miscellaneous circus views 1954-1964