Author: Anonymous
Title: See the First Division Circus at Montabaur, Germany. Two Whole Days July 11-12, 1919
Description: Coblenz, Gorres-Druckerei, 1919. Poster; 14 1/2 x 9 1/4; thin, beige stock, printed and illustrated in red and black; small creases to corners; intersecting crease lines with small splits to edges and a tiny puncture at intersection; overall in about very good condition. An unrecorded poster, advertising the First Division Circus performances at Montabaur, it depicted a sinister-looking clown with a smiling pig by his side. If history is to be believed, there has been a peculiar symbiosis between armed forces and circuses consistently through the ages. During WWI, with soldiers facing danger and/or monotony on a daily basis, some apparently held hidden circus talent and would entertain their comrades with full-blown mini-circuses. The culmination of it all would be the American First Division Circus performances during the Occupation of 1919. For two days, the entire town of Montabaur, outside of Coblenz, would be transformed into a circus extravaganza with a street parade with elephants, horses, and floats, three-ring acts, and side-shows. It would also be remembered for a remarkable performance by the First Engineers, who managed to construct a military pontoon bridge across the Rhine in the record time of forty-one minutes and eight seconds. Very good .

Keywords: Wwi, Circus


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