These vintage shots dug up by How to Be a Retronaut are some of the earlier color photographs of circus folk you’ll ever see. Culled from The Circus Book: 1870-1950 , they were shot at traveling camps in the ’40s and ’50s, they’re absolute eye candy for any fan of vintage glamour and girl power. A lovely aerialist flashes a daring smile from a curved headstand on the grass. Girls pose with their pet puppies and baby lions. From the most gussied up showgirl striding between the trailers in red feathered wings, to the cheerful brunette dressed down to slacks and a crop top, carrying buckets, all these girls sparkle with something so enviably fresh, free-spirited and charming, we might just run off to the circus.
Circus Showgirl, 1950. Courtesy Taschen
Barnum & Bailey Showgirl, 1946. Courtesy Taschen
Circus girl, 1950s. Courtesy Taschen
Circus people, 1955. Courtesy Taschen
Circus women, 1956. Courtesy Taschen
Aerialist Pinito del Oro, 1953. Courtesy Taschen
Performer Lottie Brunn, 1949. Courtesy Taschen
Birthday flowers, 1941. Courtesy Taschen
Mardi Gras girl, 1952. Courtesy Taschen. Courtesy Taschen
Dailey Brothers Circus, 1950. Courtesy Taschen
Circus Performer Couple, 1954. Courtesy Taschen
Aerial ballet showgirl, 1949. Courtesy Taschen
King Brothers Circus, 1950. Courtesy Taschen
Wardrobe wagon, 1959. Courtesy Taschen
