Vintage Carnival Items

(Above) Abstract carnival game board. Made by the St. Louis Carnival Company. There is a faint mark on the back from the company. Great primary colors. The object was to get your ring around the box to win the prize. Click image for larger view!

(Above) 1930’s/1940’s A highly vivid and entertaining stool of circus origins. Possibly used as a clown or elephants prop, etc. An Americana sculptural curiosity with contemporary visual allure and appeal. Click image for larger view!
(Above) Here’s a nice collection of three vintage Knock Down Dolls or Punks from a Carnival or Circus. All 3 characters have their own personality— all double sided and retain their original wood bases. Click image for larger view!


(Above) Large carnival midway game clown head. Made by the Game Time Company in Litchfield, Michigan. C. 1950’s. Click image for larger view!
(Above) Penny toss boards were a feature in traveling carnival midways. Essentially a con game, the gathered crowd would toss pennies in the hope of landing in a square without touching bordering lines. It goes without saying that the carnie kept most of the pennies. An extremely colorful and graphic, and by now relatively rare bit of American carnival history. Click image for larger view!
(Above) Great pair of carnival “knock-down” punks found in the south, c. 1930s. Quite possibly one-of-kind. Click image for larger view!
(Above) Decorative boxing banner in beautiful pastel colors painted on canvas for the Robert N. Clark show in Bakersfield, California, c. 1930. Click image for larger view!


ONCE FOUND AT CARNIVALS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, these vintage items are highly collectible today and are found in museums and private collections all over the world. I found these items on the site called 1stDibs. All are for sale.

Gamesmanship

(Above) Rare, Hand Painted Ring-toss Game, c. 1930s. Click image for larger view.

(Above) Pennsylvania Game Wheel With Striking Graphics, c. 1890-1900. Click image for larger view.


(Above) Parcheesi Marble Game, c. 1940s. Click image for larger view.


(Above) Oversized Primitive Checker Board With Numbers. Click image for larger view.

(Above) St. Louis Carnival Company Marble Game. Click image for larger view.

(Above) 19th Century Painted Chinese Checkers Game Board.
(Above) Carnival Penny-Pitch Board, 1930s. Click image for larger view.

(Above) Three Extraordinary Carnival Knockdown Heads. Click image for larger view.

(Above) New England Parcheesi Game Board Table (1840-1860). Click image for larger view.


EVERYONE LOVES GAMES. We played with them as children and hopefully still do as adults.

These hand made games from yesteryear were found on the Web site 1st Dibs. Enjoy.

The Carnival Man

CARNIVAL KNOCK-DOWNS, OR “PUNKS,” AS THEY ARE OFTEN CALLED, were originally made by the carnival workers themselves. Made of wood, cotton duck canvas and other materials, these dolls were painted and very often named. Unfortunately, by the late 1950s, these “punks” were being manufactured by carnival supply houses and silk screened—not handmade with the unique hand painted features of the early ones.

In all my years of looking at photographs, often those of carnival workers and sideshow acts, I have never seen a photo of a person I could say was an actual “maker” of these highly collected folk art objects. In this photograph, we see a proud man with two carnival punks, sitting for his picture against a painted backdrop. To me, there is no question this is the artist, which makes this photograph a special and unique piece of the American story.

Photo collection © of Accidental Mysteries and may not be used or reproduced in any fashion without permission.