14 Fascinating and Unusual Vintage Circus Posters from between the 1910s and 1930s

Creepy clowns, flying acrobats, performing cats: circuses were big business at the turn of the 20th century. These posters, drawn from the Circus Museum in the Netherlands, demonstrate some of the wide-ranging themes used by European circuses across the 20th century.

1910. "Circus Corty-Althoff — The Banola Family. Known as the greatest gymnasts in the world. The flying family."

1913. "Circus Busch. Peter Alupka. The first ever talking cat."

1913. "The Ring of the Nibelung. Circus Busch."

1915. "Circus Strassburger"

1916. "Circus Busch. Saxon, the strongest Man in the World."

c. 1920s. "Cirque Bureau presents. The plane of hell. The 3 antarès. An acrobatic trio flying and spinning in the big top pulled by a plane."

1923. "Circus Busch. Aero-star. The Mexican Circus Sensation."

1923. "Circus Busch. The Sensational! Marino, Destroyer of cars. The strongest driver in the world."

1923. "Arthur Klein-family."

1926. "Circus Maxo — The Carre Building. Omikron. The living gasometer."

1927. "The Urmann's Circus Knie. 2 ladies. 5 gentlemen."

1930

1932. "Looping the loop in the open ring. Laughing in the face of death! The World Champion Nic. Diavolo. Circus Maxo."

1935

(Images: The Circus Museum/Europeana, via Mashable/Retronaut)