BOOK LISTBOOK LISTThis list is gathered for and by those who want to dig into the history of sideshows. Much of it is possible through the curtesy of Slim Price who is the official RCOF and Master of Ceremonies of the illustrious sideshow discussion group http://www.joebates.com/sideshow_discussion2/index.htm Also, Ms. Kotcher who gave Slim permission to "borrow" information from James Taylor's "Shocked and Amazed, On and off the Midway", http://www.atomicbooks.com/shocked.htmlwhere you can find even more titles. And some have been added by me. Many of these are long out of print, but can be found, (sometimes) in your local library.
Slim recomends, "For the terminally serious: Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine: Being an encyclopedic collection of the rare and Extraordinary. Julian Press 1956. This one is a hard read, but if you want to dig deep, I recommend it 958 p.Illustrated, ETC call no. Gould, George Milbry. 616.043 (science and Industry."
By the way, Slim will be publishing his own book "Freaks, Frauds, and Fakirs" which I hope to be adding to this list soon.
A Pictorial History of The American Carnival, Vol 1-111, Joe McKennon, Carnival Publishers of Sarasota, 1972
All About Carnivals, Gene Sorrows, American Federation of Police, 1985
America In Wax, Gene Gurney, > Crown Publishere Inc. 1977
P.T. Barnum: America,s Greatest Showman, Phillip Kunhardt, Jr., Phillip B. Kunhardt 111, and Peter W. Kunhardt, Alfred A. Knopf, 1995
Buckland,s Curiosities of Natural History, Francis Buckland. The BatchworthPress, 1948
Carnival Gaffs, Walter Gibson, Gambler,s Book Club, 1976
Carnival, Arthur H. Lewis, Trident Press, 1970
Circus Lingo, Joe McKennon, Carnival Publishers of Sarasota, 1980
The County Fair Carnival - Where the Midway Meets the Grange, Chemung County Historical Society, 1992
Curiosities Of Human Nature, S.G. Goodrich, Bradbury & Soden, 1843
Eve and The Apes. Emily Hahn, Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1988
Freak Show: Sideshow Banner Art, Carl Hammer and Gordon Bosker Chronical Books 1996
Freak Show Man - The Autobiography of Harry Lewiston, as told to Jerry Holtman, Holloway House Publishing Co. 1968
Freaks! Vol 1 - 5, Chris Fellner
Freaks - We Who Are Not As Others, Daniel P. Mannix, Pocket Books, 1976
Freaks,Geeks, and Strange Girls - Sideshow Banners Of The Great American Midway, R. Johnson, J. Secreto, & T. Varndell eds., Hardy Marks Publications, 1995
Weird & Wonderful: The Dime Museum in America. New York University Press, 1997.
Special Cases: Natural Anomalies and Historical Monsters. Rosamund W. Purcell. Chronicle Books, San Francisco. 1997.
Freaks: Myths & Images of the Secret Self. Leslie Fiedler. New York: Anchor Books, 1978. Collectors & Curiosities: Paris and Venice, 1500 - 1800. Krzysztof Pomian. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1990.
Finders Keepers: Treasures and Oddities of Natrual History, Collectors from Peter the Great to Louis Agassiz. Jay Gould New York: W. W. Norton, 1992.
Signs & Portents: Monstrous Births from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment. Dudley Wilson. London: Routledge, 1993.
On Monsters & Marvels. Ambroise Pare translated by Janis L. Pallister. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1982.
Anomalies & Curiosities of Medicine. George M. Gould and Walter L. > Pyle. New York: Bell Publishing, 1973.
"The Petrified Man," in A Curtain of Green and Other Stories. Eudora Welty. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1979.
"Those Extraordinary Twins," in Pudd'nhead Wilson and Other Tales. Mark Twain. Many editions. Oxford University Press.
On Longing: Narratives of the Miniature, the Gigantic, the Souvenir, the Collection. Susan Stewart. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1993.
Freak Shows. Robert Bogdan. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988.
Grind Show - Weirdness As Entertainment, Fred Olen Ray, American - Independent Press, 1993
Historical Fairground Scenes, Michael E. Ware MoorlandPublishing Co, Inc., 1989
The History Of Noell's Ark Gorilla Show, Mae Noell, Noell,s Ark Publisher, 1979
Human Oddities Of The Circus And Sideshow Of Yesterday And Today -Complete List And Descriptive Text, Bernard L. Kobel , 1974
Humbug - The Art Of P.T. Barnum, Neil Harris, Little, Brown and Company, 1973
Indian Circus, Mary Ellen Mark, > Chronicle Books, 1993
Inside Teradome: An Illustrated History Of Freak Film, Jack Hunter , > Creation Books, 1995
The Life Of Buffalo Bill, William F. Cody > Senate Western Classics, 1994
The Little People - An Illustrated Look At Some Of The World's Most Engaging Men and Women, Hy Roth and Robert Cromie, > Everest House, 1980
The Loves And Lives Of The Hilton Sisters, Daisy and Violet Hilton, Wonder Book Co. - No Date
The Making Of The Wizard Of Oz, Aljean Harmetz, Pavillion Books Limited, 1989
Modern Primitives, V.Vale and Andrea Juno eds. RE/ Search Publications, 1989
Monster Midway - An Uninhibited Look At The Glittering World Of The Carny, William Lindsay Gresham, Rhinehart & Company, Inc., 1953
The Monster Show,: A Cultural History Of Horror, David J. Skol, W. W. Norton and Company, 1993
My Very Unusual Friends, Ward Hall, 1991
Nightmare Alley, William Lindsay Gresham, > Carrol & Graf Publishers, Inc. 1974
Pandemonium, - "Special Freaks, Magicians, and Movie Stars issue, > Living Color Productions, 1989
Step Right Up!, Dan Mannix, > Harper & Brothers, 1951
Sir Benjamin Stone,s Pictures: Records Of National Life And History, Vol 1, Festivals, Ceremonies And Customs, Sir Benjamin Stone, Cassel and Co. Lmtd ,No date.
Struggles And Triumphs, P.T. Barnum > Penguin Classics, 1981
Very Special People - The Struggles, Loves And Triumphs Of Human Oddities, Frederic Drimmer Amjon Publishing, 1973
James Taylor,s Shocked And Amazed! On and Off The Midway, Volume 1 - 5 James Taylor, Dolphin - Moon Press and Atomic Books Of Baltimore, Maryland
Memoirs Of A Sword Swallower, First Photo - Illustrated Edition, Daniel P. Mannix, V/Search Publications, 1950 - 1951
The Two, The Story Of The Original Siamese Twins, A Biography, Irving Wallace and Amy Wallace, Simon and Shuster, 1978
Freakery: Cultural specticals of the extraordinary body. Edited by Rosemarie Garland Thomson. New York University Press 1996.
The Biggest, The Smallest, The Longest, the Shortest, A chronical of the American Circus fron its heartland. Dean Jenson, Wisconsin House Book Publishers, 1975
Step Right Up! The Adventure Of Circus In America, LaVahn G. Hoh & William H. Rough, Betterway Publications, Inc.1990 "- Note: Not a mistake!
Feel free to send suggestions for additions to this list.
The Banner at the top of this page is apx 5' x 7' & was painted on canvas for one of the the coolest bookstores in the world The Book Mill in Montague, MA
