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BEFORE Bidding or Using Buy-it-Now:

This Auction is for...

1

VINTAGE

PHOTOGRAPH

NOT SURE OF YEAR?

NOT SURE IF ORIGINAL?

MIGHT BE A REPRINT?

THE QUALITY OF IMAGE IS GOOD IN CENTER!

HAZY-FUZZY ON SIDE EDGES

FROM UNITED KINGDOM



AI SAYS ORIGINAL!

HERE'S WHAT AI SAID:


This is an original vintage photographic print, not a modern reproduction.
While it lacks a photographer's ink stamp like some others in your collection, the mechanical and structural details establish it as a genuine piece from the mid-20th century.
Physical Authentication Indicators
  • Faint Numerical Batch Stamp: The back features a very faint, mechanical ink stamp reading 1 83. The classic serif font style, slight ink fade, and wide spacing are typical of old processing laboratory sequence numbers used during darkroom development batches.
  • Silver Halide Fiber-Based Paper: The front image possesses a soft contrast, organic grain structure, and a thin white outer border. This confirms it was individually exposed onto traditional fiber paper rather than a modern digital printer layout.
  • Natural Corner Wear: The edges and corners show microscopic fiber separation and a faint yellowed tone from decades of resting in storage.
Historical Scene Details
  • The Show: This photograph captures a traveling fairground menagerie or wildlife sideshow booth.
  • The Attractions: The painted banners and structural signs advertise a variety of exotic animal exhibits popular in British fairgrounds, including:
    • "LIVING REPTILES" (painted on the right, above an illustration of giant snakes).
    • "MONKEY" (on a hanging sign near the left staircase entrance).
    • Painted artwork of a trainer performing with lions in the central ring.
  • The Era: The Union Jack flags strung across the top ridge and the layout of the staging platform firmly date this scene between the late 1930s and the 1950s.
  • Your guess of the 1950s era is highly accurate for this specific setup.
    Several visual details in the photograph strongly back up your timeline:
    Why the 1950s Fits Perfectly
    • Post-WWII Menagerie Revival: While exotic animal shows peaked earlier in the century, traveling reptile and monkey sideshows saw a massive, final resurgence in British fairgrounds during the late 1940s and 1950s as entertainment restrictions eased after World War II.
    • The Electric Lamp Fittings: Look closely at the metal industrial light fixtures hanging over the front banners. That specific dome shape and conduit style became the standard, affordable choice for fairground operators illuminating their booths in the 1950s.
    • The Banner Art Style: The painting style of the lions and snakes shows signs of mid-century wear and updates, rather than the heavily ornate, Victorian-era scrollwork seen on pre-1930s shows.
    By the 1960s, animal welfare awareness and changing tastes caused these specific types of traveling wildlife booths to disappear almost entirely from UK fairs, making your 1950s window the absolute sweet spot for this photograph.


" VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPH FREAK SHOW REPTILES LIONS SNAKES GORILLA CIRCUS IN ENGLAND OLD PHOTO "


THE PHOTO IS CLEAR IN CENTER!

HAZY-FUZZY ON SIDE EDGES

IT'S A GOOD QUALITY PRINT IN CENTER!

PHOTO VIEWS CLEAR HOLDING 1-2 FEET AWAY



THE PHOTO IS CLEAR 1-2 FEET AWAY, THE PHOTO IS CLEAR UNDER MAGNIFY GLASS, HAZY-FUZZY ON SIDE EDGES, BUT VIEWS CLEAR HOLDING 1-2 FEET AWAY, BIT DARK.


CAPTION ON ALBUM

" NONE "


CAPTION ON BACK:

" READ "


OLD 

PHOTO


THIS IS A PHOTO

NOT A POSTCARD


SHADES & COLORS

CAN VARY



JUST IN CASE ANY OF MY LISTINGS 

HAVE WRONG INFO, I CANNOT ID PHOTO OR POSTCARD,

SEND INFO, I WILL INSERT CORRECT INTO INTO LISTING, TIA. 



LISTING 200 PHOTOS STARTING ON 5/9/26


THERE IS NOT MUCH INFO, THE PHOTOS APPEAR TO BE FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM, MOST OF THEM SEEM TO BE REPRINTS OF THE ORIGINALS AND A FEW MIGHT BE ORIGINAL?, MOST SEEM TO HAVE BEEN PRODUCED IN THE 1950'S, 1960'S AND A FEW 1970'S AND 1980'S ERA, A LOT CAME FROM MUSEUMS, LOTS OF INFO ON SOME BACKS, MOST ARE POSTCARD SIZE AND MADE FROM CARDBOARD, BUT ARE NOT POSTCARDS!, ALL ARE CIRCUS RELATED.

I BELIEVE MOST ARE NOT ORIGINAL AND ARE REPRINTS, SOME I COULD NOT TELL AND MIGHT BE ORIGINAL?



SELLER INFO ONLY ON THIS LINE ( 1100 - CIRCUS - 463 ) 108-09

THANK YOU FOR VISITING MY AUCTION!


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING:

PLEASE LOOK AT PHOTO FOR DAMAGE:

DAMAGE RATINGS:

RANKING TO EDGES ( 2 )

( 1 )-LITE DAMAGE TO EDGES HARDLY ANY DAMAGE

( 2 )-MILD DAMAGE TO EDGES, SOME MINOR DINGS, CHIPPING & WEAR.

( 3 )-HEAVY DAMAGE TO EDGES, LOTS OF CREASES AND OR RIPS & TEARS.

RANKING TO CORNER TIPS ( 2 )

( 1 )-LITE DAMAGE TO CORNER TIPS, HARDLY ANY DAMAGE

( 2 )-MILD DAMAGE TO CORNER TIPS, SOME MINOR DINGS & WEAR.

( 3 )-HEAVY DAMAGE TO CORNER TIPS, BAD CREASES, BAD WEAR, MISSING TIPS.

CLARITY RANKING TO PHOTO ( 2 )

( 1 )-VERY CLEAR, LOTS OF DETAIL

( 2 )-PRETTY CLEAR SOME DETAIL IN CENTER

( 3 )-CLEAR 1-2 FEET AWAY, HAZY-FUZZY UNDER MAGNIFY GLASS

( 4 )-HAZY-FUZZY 1-2 FEET AWAY AND UNDER MAGNIFY GLASS

CLARITY FROM 2 DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES, WILL BE RATED YES OR NO

CLARITY GOOD HOLDING 1-2 FEET AWAY ( YES ) BIT DARK

HAZY-FUZZY UNDER MAGNIFY GLASS ( NO ) CENTER CLEAR ONLY

CLEAR UNDER MAGNIFY GLASS ( YES ) CENTER CLEAR ONLY

HAZY-FUZZY IN BACKGROUND ( NO ) CENTER CLEAR ONLY

HAZY-FUZZY ON SIDE EDGES ( YES ) 

WRINKLE/CREASE/WAVINESS TO PHOTO FROM SHRINKAGE ( YES-LITE )

WRINKLE/CREASE/WAVINESS FROM BEING PULLED/SCRAPED OFF ALBUM PAGE ( NO )

DEPRESSED CORNER MARKS IN CORNERS FROM CORNER HANGERS ( YES-MILD )

DEPRESSED GLUE DIMPLE MARKS IN PHOTO FROM GLUE ON BACKSIDE ( NO )

RUBS FROM BEING IN AN ALBUM FOR YEARS ( YES-LITE )

OVERALL CONDITION OF PHOTO, WHICH INCLUDES DAMAGE AND CLARITY IN RATING, WILL BE RATED ON A ( 1-10 ) SCALE.

( 1 ) BEING VERY BAD & ( 10 ) BEING VERY GOOD

OVERALL CONDITION OF PHOTO ( 4-5 )

MADE OF PHOTO TYPE PAPER

BACK SOME DISCOLOR, FEW MARKS

FRONT FEW MARKS, SOME DISCOLOR

OTHER DAMAGE NOTED HERE: 

ALSO HAS USUAL SCRATCHES, MARS, DINGS, ETC.

DAMAGE A FEW SCRATCHES, DINGS & CREASES, LITE WAVINESS THROUGHOUT OUT FROM SHRINKAGE, ALL TIPS HAVE DEPRESSED MARKS FROM HANGERS, ALL TIPS SHOW WEAR, DINGS OR TIP CREASES.

PHOTO SIZE SMALL 5-1/2 BY 3-1/2 INCHES



 

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I try to describe all items to the best of my ability, if theres any flaws, chips, tears, etc, i will try to point them out for you. 

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Thanks for Looking and Happy Digging

 "SunkenTreazure"