Auction Reports

Potter and Potter Auctions

Auction Info

Sale Name
Circus, Sideshow and Oddities
Auction Date
04/30/2022 - 04/30/2022
Year of Sale
2022
Sale Number
#1132
Total Lots
502
Sold Lots
493
Lots Sold
98.2%
Unsold Lots
9
Price Unknown
0
Total Sales (USD)
240,792.00
Low Estimate of Lots Sold (USD)
118,685.00
High Estimate of Lots Sold (USD)
197,110.00
Low Estimate of All Lots (USD)
121,975.00
High Estimate of All Lots (USD)
202,910.00
Total Sales as a % of High Est.
118.67%
Currency
USD
Inflation Adjusted Price in U.S. Dollars
222,270.00

Top twenty five by sale price

View All Auction Lots.
Lot Number Author Name Book Title Year Published Estimate Actual Price
368 La Femme Araignée / Cirque Daniellis.

ca. 1937

 USD 1,500.00 - 2,500.00 13,750.00
36 A scrapbook of circus dancers and “side show girls” snapshots and photographs.

Circa 1930s/40s.

 USD 600.00 - 900.00 6,875.00
612 [CRIME & POLICE—NEW JERSEY]. Crime scrapbooks with shocking murder and crime scene photographs of a New Jersey state trooper.

bulk mid-1920s-30s).

 USD 1,000.00 - 2,000.00 5,040.00
611 Unusual photograph archive of Florence Reed, “The Perfect Prisoner,” modeling a collection of handcuffs, restraints, and military devices.

1960s (principally 1967/8).

 USD 700.00 - 900.00 4,250.00
188 Barnum & Bailey Circus / 108 Cage Zoo.

1916

 USD 800.00 - 1,200.00 3,750.00
189 Barnum & Bailey Circus / Giant Rhinoceros.

1909

 USD 800.00 - 1,200.00 2,750.00
149 [SIDESHOW & ODDITIES]. Archive of Bernard Kobel sideshow, tattooed people, and human oddity photographs, with related ephemera.

USD 700.00 - 900.00 2,640.00
540 Tales of Magic and Mystery.

1927-8.

 USD 900.00 - 1,400.00 2,640.00
194 Sells Brothers Enormous United Shows / The Great Costellos.

1895

 USD 1,200.00 - 2,400.00 2,500.00
81 Sixth plate ambrotype of a clown.

Circa 1860s.

 USD 1,500.00 - 2,500.00 2,280.00
201 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus / Europe’s Greatest Trained Animals.

ca. 1920s.

 USD 600.00 - 800.00 2,250.00
179 VAVASSEUR, Lil’ Al. Archive of 100 portrait photographs of wrestlers.

ca. 1970s.

 USD 1,500.00 - 2,500.00 2,160.00
86 Six tintypes of circus and theatrical performers.

Circa 1860s/70s.

 USD 300.00 - 500.00 2,040.00
190 Ringling Bros. Circus / World’s Biggest Menagerie.

1916

 USD 800.00 - 1,200.00 2,000.00
450 BAILEY, Bill. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus / [Lion and Tiger]. Billboard poster,

USD 500.00 - 1,000.00 1,875.00
567 [BARNUM & BAILEY]. Group of 13 circus couriers.

Circa 1900s/10s.

 USD 300.00 - 500.00 1,875.00
543 CINQUEVALLI, Paul. Cinquevalli The Marvel of the Century! Liverpool: S.

1897

 USD 250.00 - 500.00 1,875.00
568 [BARNUM & BAILEY]. Group of 12 circus spectacle couriers.

Circa 1900s/10s.

 USD 400.00 - 600.00 1,875.00
143 Collection of Vintage Juggling Photographs, Some Signed.

USD 600.00 - 900.00 1,680.00
572 [RINGLING BROS. CIRCUS]. Group of 9 spectacle programs and couriers.

Circa 1900s/10s.

 USD 300.00 - 500.00 1,625.00
571 [RINGLING BROS. CIRCUS]. Group of 10 programs and couriers.

Circa 1900s/10s.

 USD 300.00 - 500.00 1,625.00
115 Cabinet photo of a ventriloquist.

Circa 1900s.

 USD 150.00 - 250.00 1,560.00
364 GEORGE, Grover. George / Supreme Master of Magic. Billboard Poster.

ca. 1922

 USD 1,000.00 - 2,000.00 1,500.00
177 FOX, Johnny (1953-2017). Archive of carnival, sideshow, and oddity photograph negatives.

ca. 2001/02.

 USD 400.00 - 600.00 1,500.00
214 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus / Polar Bear.

ca. 1930s.

 USD 250.00 - 500.00 1,440.00
View All Auction Lots.

  • <b><center>Heritage Auctions<br>Rare Books Signature Auction<br>December 15, 2025</center></b> <b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633. <b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> Edgar Rice Burroughs. <i>Tarzan of the Apes.</i> <b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> F. Scott Fitzgerald. <i>Tender is the Night. A Romance.</i> <b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> Bram Stoker. <i>Dracula.</i> Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1897. <b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> Jerry Thomas. <i>How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…</i>
    Heritage Auctions
    Rare Books Signature Auction
    December 15, 2025
    Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Bram Stoker. Dracula. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1897.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
  • <b><center>Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!</center></b>
    Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
  • <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
  • <center><b>Sotheby’s<br>Book Week<br>December 9-17, 2025</b></center> <b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 17:</b> Francesco Colonna. <i>Hypnerotomachie,</i> Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000. <b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 17:</b> Nausea. <i>De principiis dialectices Gorgias,</i> and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000. <b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 17:</b> Billon. <i>Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur,</i> Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000. <center><b>Sotheby’s<br>Book Week<br>December 9-17, 2025</b></center> <b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000. <b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000. <b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
    Sotheby’s
    Book Week
    December 9-17, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
    Sotheby’s
    Book Week
    December 9-17, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.