Materiality and Spectacle 2015

Circus Labor Strike

Dublin Core

Title

Circus Labor Strike

Description

These two photographs are the labor strike at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus on June 22, 1938. The circus executive John Ringling North informed his employees that all of the circus would have to take a 25% pay cut because the circus wasn’t doing well this season. The afternoon show was cancelled because of the strike. This was first time in over fifty years “The Greatest Show on Earth” didn’t go on.

Creator

The times-tribune

Source

http://blogs.thetimes-tribune.com/pages/index.php/2013/06/22/labor-trouble-under-the-big-top/

Date

1938

Files

Circus-Strike-1w.jpg
Circus-Strike-2w.jpg

Citation

The times-tribune, “Circus Labor Strike,” Materiality and Spectacle 2015, accessed November 27, 2025, https://ds-omeka.haverford.edu/materiality-and-spectacle-2015/items/show/73.