Extraordinary Animals

Although not as highly advertised as their exotic counterparts, domesticated animals including dogs, cats, and birds have always been popular performers in the circus ring. Horses, pigs, and goats also have been trained to perform astonishing displays of intelligence and feats of skill. These animal acts rely on the combination of the familiar with the unexpected to entertain. Posters celebrating the remarkable intelligence and highly developed skills of these four-legged performers once covered walls and fences across America. Today these historic posters can be seen as part of the exhibit Amazing Animals on display in the Circus Museum’s Tibbals Learning Center

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website