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.

New Math

(Above) Primitive general store nut and bolt bin with 87 drawers; c. 1900.
(Above) Hand hooked and mounted rug (shirred), found in Pennsylvania; dated 1916.


(Above) Early 20th century folky 1915 banner weathervane.


(Above) Metal 7-Up advertising sign, 1950s.

(Above) Early 20th century circus banner, 7’ 11” tall x 9’ 2” wide.

(Above) Hand pieced and hand sewn early 20th century Amish mounted crazy quilt sham, 1914.

(Above) Primitive, over sized game board, c. 1940.


NUMBERS FASCINATE ME, ALTHOUGH I WAS ALWAYS TERRIBLE AT MATH. So, whenever I see numbers incorporated into a work of art, or on an object, I take an extra look. These numerical things were found on 1st Dibs.

Revel Today in Some Great Objects

(Above) Late 19th century canvas circus banner “Thompson’s American Museum of Genuine Curiosities” with original grommets and binding rope intact, all professionally hand painted with great detail, in as found old surface and condition, professionally lined and mounted in a shadow box. 109” high x 88” wide.
(Above) Circa 1930 wood double sided triangular sign “Silver Lake Camp” with an applied horse head and lettering in crisp white on a bright green ground in the best age cracked surface and original condition. 30” high x 33” wide x 2.25” deep.
(Above) Circa 1930 sheet iron Pontiac Indian weathervane in exceptional and original red painted surface. 54” overall wide x 42” overall high.
(Above) Rare 19th century cast iron mooring head in the figure of a young black man, probably used as a riverboat tie down, in excellent and untouched original surface, ex-Savino collection, as pictured in the book “Horsing Around 19th Century Cast Iron Hitching Posts,” page 55, catalog item #94. 9.25” high x 7” deep x 8” wide.


Circa 1860 highly unusual diminutive cast iron optometrist trade sign in original and as found cobalt and red glass, surface, paint and condition. 21.75” long x 11” high.

AMERICAN GARAGE, located in Los Angeles, CA has a new selection of objects for sale. I have selected 5 lovely objects for you today, to view and enjoy. The Pontiac symbol is my fav!

The World Was Just as Strange 150 years Ago

(Above) IRON BOOTJACK: Here’s a very unusual cast iron bootjack in the form of a devil, whose horns are shaped to aid in the removal of tall boots. Simple and very graphic. The identical bootjack is pictured in Jean Lipman’s Flowering of American Folk Art, pg. 257. Size is 10-1/4 inches. www. onegoodeye

(Above) SYPHILIS GLASSES: Also from onegoodeye, is a rare set of green tinted four-lens spectacles commonly worn by sufferers of syphilis in the early 19th century. The design was patented by J.R. Richardson in 1797 and these ‘double D’ frames were hand made somewhere between 1800 and 1820.