Secrets of the Sideshows

Name: Secrets of the Sideshows
Price: 9.94 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9780813191959

ISBN-10: 0813191955

ISBN-13: 9780813191959

Edition: 2008

Authors: Joe Nickell

List price: $19.95

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Description:

The carnival sideshows of the past have left behind a fascinating legacy of mystery and intrigue. The secrets behind such daring feats as fire-eating and sword swallowing and bizarre exhibitions of human oddities as "Alligator Boys" and "Gorilla Girls" still remain, only grudgingly if ever given up by performers and carnival professionals. Working alongside the performers, Joe Nickell blows the lid off these mysteries of the midway. The author reveals the structure of the shows, specific methods behind the performances, and the showmen's tactics for recruiting performers and attracting crowds. He also traces the history of such spectacles, from ancient Egyptian magic and street fairs to the…

Book details

List price: $19.95
Copyright year: 2008
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Publication date: 9/26/2008
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 424
Size: 5.50" wide x 8.50" long x 1.25" tall
Weight: 1.430
Language: English

Joe Nickell (Amherst, NY) has been called "the modern Sherlock Holmes" and "the real-life Scully" (from the X-Files). He has been on the trail of man-beasts and other mysterious creatures and phenomena for four decades.



List of Illustrations


Acknowledgments


Preface



Origins of the Sideshow


Early Roots


The Fair and Beyond


Beginnings of the Modern Circus


Barnum the Showman


The Greatest Show


Carnivals and More



On The Midway


Creating the Midway


Concessions


Games


Rides and Amusements


Sideshows



The Ten-in-one


The Banner Line


The Bally Platform


On the Inside


The Blowoff



Human Oddities: Large and Small


Giants


Fat People


Living Skeletons


Dwarfs


Midgets



Human Oddities: Between a Half and Two


Siamese Twins


One-and-a-Halfs


Armless and Legless Wonders



Other Human Oddities


"Animal" People


Hirsute Women-and Men


And More



Anatomical Wonders


Contortionists


India-Rubber People


Special-Effects Performers


Mr. Anatomical Wonder



Created Oddities


Tattooed People


Pierced Ones


Other "Made" Oddities


Gaffed Oddities


Gaffed Acts



Working Acts


Fire-eaters


Sword Swallowers


Phenomenal Ingesters


Human Pincushions


Blockheads


Other Torture Acts


Electric Marvels


Snake Charmers


Knife Throwers



Illusions


Magicians


Psychic Marvels


Torture Box Illusions


Living Heads


Headless People


Floating Lady


Gorilla Girl


Girl in the Goldfish Bowl


Other Illusions



Animal Shows


Menageries


Single-Animal Acts and Exotics


Freak Animal Exhibits


Flea Circuses



Curios


Pickled Exhibits


Other Preserved Exhibits


Bogus Creatures


Other Curios



The Egress


References


Index