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The weird sideshow banner art of Fred G. Johnson – One of the finest sideshow banner painters in the history of the circus and sideshow world

 

Fred G. Johnson (January 1892, Chicago, Illinois – 11 May 1990, Sun City, Arizona) was a prolific sideshow banner artist whose career spanned 65 years. He is considered to be one of the finest sideshow banner painters in the history of the circus and sideshow world.

His banner paintings were displayed at the Chicago World’s Fair of 1933, called A Century Of Progress, and by circuses such as Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey, and Clyde Beatty. He has been called the “Picasso” of circus art.

 

Two top performers among banner-line artists are Fred Johnson (left) and Neiman Eisman. source
Two top performers among banner-line artists are Fred Johnson (left) and Neiman Eisman. source

 

 

2 Headed Baby
2 Headed Baby

 

 

3 Legged Chicken
3 Legged Chicken

 

 

5 Legged Cow
5 Legged Cow

 

 

Armless Girl
Armless Girl

 

 

Beared Lady Brenda Beatty
Beared Lady Brenda Beatty

 

 

Buried Alive
Buried Alive

 

 

Cardiff Giant
Cardiff Giant

 

 

Cavalcade World Of Wonders, Freaks Past And Present
Cavalcade World Of Wonders, Freaks Past And Present

 

 

Defies Death
Defies Death

 

 

Dolly Reagan, Half Lady Half Baby
Dolly Reagan, Half Lady Half Baby

Fred Johnson, one of nine boys in a Chicago family, was employed at age 14 as an errand boy by the United States Tent & Awning Co. of Chicago, but was soon dismissed for neglecting his work to play baseball. He was hired by banner painter H. D. Cummins to clean equipment and tack up banners. Cummins also taught him to paint banners, though he never received any formal art training. Johnson resumed working for the United States Tent & Awning Co. after World War I, producing banners for owners Walter and Charles Driver between 1921 and 1930.

 

 

Falabella Horse
Falabella Horse

 

 

Father And Daughter Lobster Family
Father And Daughter Lobster Family

 

 

Freak Oddities
Freak Oddities

 

 

Jeri Boy Wonder
Jeri Boy Wonder

 

 

Half Girl
Half Girl

 

 

Half Man
Half Man

 

 

Harold Smith Music From Glasses
Harold Smith Music From Glasses

 

 

Human Corkscrew
Human Corkscrew

 

 

Human Frog Baby, World’s Strangest Birth
Human Frog Baby, World’s Strangest Birth

 

 

Human Pin Cushion
Human Pin Cushion

 

 

 

 

Sideshow and circus banners first appeared in Europe during the early 1800s. Hung outside shows or booths, they served the same function as that of decorative shop signs, advertising the contents within. At the height of their popularity from the 1870s to the late 1960s, sideshow banners were strung up at carnivals and travelling shows throughout the world. Early circuses routinely used brightly painted ones to lure paying customers to their quirky sideshows of freaks and curiosities – snake charmers, sword swallowers, two-headed babies and five-legged cows were some of the exaggerated attractions offered for ‘your shock and amazement for just five cents!’.

 

 

Jungle Land Voodoo Torture
Jungle Land Voodoo Torture

 

 

Master Juggler
Master Juggler

 

 

Master Of Magic
Master Of Magic

 

 

Monkeys And Porcupines
Monkeys And Porcupines

 

 

Nellie The Dog Child
Nellie The Dog Child

 

 

Obby Dobby
Obby Dobby

 

 

Ostrich Girl
Ostrich Girl

 

 

Circus banners were usually about 8 feet (2.4 m) high, but commissions could be any size. The largest Johnson ever produced was 50 feet (15 m) by 15 feet (4.6 m) “for a bughouse” which took him about 40 hours. On average, however, he turned out four a day. He also painted the side-panels on circus trailers and merry-go-rounds. His artwork portrayed lions and tigers, clowns, fat women, plastic men, sideshow characters and animal oddities such as five-legged cows and two-headed calves.

 

 

Percy Pape
Percy Pape

 

 

Professor Milo
Professor Milo

 

 

Robert And Ralph, Siamese Twins
Robert And Ralph, Siamese Twins

 

 

 

Charles Driver later started his own business, taking Johnson with him. When it went bankrupt, Johnson continued painted banners in a garage on Chicago’s northwest side. Undaunted, Driver joined the O. Henry Tent & Awning Co., persuading Johnson to follow him. Johnson worked for that company for some 40 years from 1934 to 1974. He later retired at the age of 89 and moved to Sun City, Arizona, where he died at the age of 98. He was survived by son Ellsworth, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

 

 

Rosemary’s Baby
Rosemary’s Baby

 

 

Spider Girl And Sponge Girl
Spider Girl And Sponge Girl

 

 

Sylvia, Big Footed Girl
Sylvia, Big Footed Girl

 

 

Tanagra Live Mermaid
Tanagra Live Mermaid

 

 

The Last Mile Death Row
The Last Mile Death Row

 

 

Tomb Of Terror Cemetery Creep
Tomb Of Terror Cemetery Creep

 

 

Most of his banners were lost, but survivors are preserved in circus museums in Baraboo, Wisconsin – home to Ringling Brothers – and Sarasota, Florida. Some were auctioned by Sotheby’s in 1981, with titles such as “Minnie Ha-Ha the Monkey Girl” and “Dickie the Penguin Boy”. In July 1989, the State of Illinois Art Center Gallery had an exhibit of his work. In an episode of the television show American Pickers, pickers Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz purchased two banners, which appraiser William Leroy later identified as being by Johnson. Though not in the best of shape, the pair were resold for $10,000.

Fred Johnson was the oldest living sideshow banner artist until his death at 98 years old in 1990.

 

 

Two Headed Calf
Two Headed Calf

 

 

Dwarf African Goat
Dwarf African Goat

 

 

Wild European Mountain Sheep
Wild European Mountain Sheep

 

 

World’s Smallest Cow
World’s Smallest Cow

 

 

Photos found here

 

David Goran

David Goran is one of the authors writing for The Vintage News