Sideshow Banners of America’s Golden Age

Description

Step right up! Freaks, Geeks & Strange Girls captures the wild, painted poetry of American carnival sideshows in their heyday. This colorful volume reproduces dozens of hand-painted banners that once fluttered outside tents, luring in passersby with promises of bearded ladies, mystery boys, and sword-swallowing specters. Lavishly illustrated and oddly moving, it’s a visual history of the American midway’s outer limits—where exploitation meets artistry and myth gets screen-printed on canvas.

The book’s production values match its oversized spirit. Distributed by Last Gasp, it’s packed with full-color reproductions and historical context—celebrating the banner painters (Hildebrandt! Snap Wyatt!) as folk artists whose bold, brash brushwork shaped American pop iconography. From the world of dime stores and ten-in-one shows, it’s a tribute to what once was—and a window into how we sold strangeness to the masses.

Step into the tent before it’s gone.