Mr Monkey found that the banners were celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of the American showman, P.T. Barnum, as was a figure depicting him as a cross between a human and an insect. All the banners show things or people he claimed to display in his American Museum. The banners were painted by Mark Copeland of the Insect Circus and the sculpture was created by Anthony Bennett. Mr Monkey went to see some of the old Blackpool sideshows he'd seen as part of the Circus of Wonders in 2009. This year the shows were displayed inside small tents, which made the illusions more effective, but meant he couldn't take pictures.
You can read about P.T. Barnum at the How Stuff Works website, about the sculptor at the Anthony Bennett website and about the sideshows at the Sideshow Illusions website.
Return to Mr Monkey at Showzam Central
Copyright Rik Shepherd and Mr Monkey.