1916 Signed John T Owens Armless Musician Carnival Sideshow Photo Circus Estate

Description

1916 pencil signed photograph of John T. Owens, the famous armless musician, and his wife amongst the many instruments that he could play.  It is signed on the reverse, in pencil.  His name and date is also written in blue ink on the bottom of the obverse; this was done by one of the members of the family that this photo belonged to. The photograph has had its left and right edge trimmed, which did removed a small part of the bottom loop of the letter J in his first name; but it does not interfere or disturb the main subject matter of this photograph.  It measures approximately 3 7/16" wide x 5 7/16" tall and has excellent detail and tonality.  This photo was produced on cardstock, which makes me believe this was made by Owens, to be given to people, as a keepsake or souvenir.  This is a real photograph and not a reproduced lithograph, as many of his photos are.  I have seen this same picture in litho, on cardstock, that was used as a pitch card.  This is the actual photograph that lithograph was made from (not the actual specific specimen they used to create the lithographic copy from; just the real photograph that was used to make it.).  It has some mild discoloration to the reverse, which is very common with cardstock photographs of this time period and has some pieces of black photo album paper fasteners still attached to the obverse.  These could be removed, however there is some risk to doing so; therefore I am going to leave this to the end buyer to decide whether or not they would like to remove them or not.  None of these interfere or obstruct the main subject matter of the photograph.
This photo came from a Ruskin, FL, carnival and circus family's estate and photograph and memorabilia collection from the 1910's-30's  They were involved with the C.R. Leggette Shows, St. Louis Amusement Company, De Kreko Bros, and a few others.  They traveled all over the United States and worked with some of the famous sideshow performers and "freaks" of the time.  I have been fortunate enough to acquire this amazing collection of photographs and RPPCs and will be listing them a few listings at a time.  These listings will include signed photos and RPPCs of many performers and "freaks;" as well as many very rare photographs of performances, booths and games, circus train cars, the devastating 1934 Maine fairgrounds grandstand fire, rides, people and animals involved with these circuses, personal photographs of the families, and more.  In this collection was also a number of non-circus related important historical photographs and RPPCs, from their travels.  For example they have a photo of Admiral Byrd inspecting his ship to head out on his second expedition to the Antarctic, they have a photo from Chief Osceola's great-granddaughter's wedding, one of the first Goodyear Blimps picking up riders, and more.
See The Attached Photos For Exact Item Details And Condition. These Pieces Are From A Smoke Free Home. If You Have Any Questions Or Concerns Or Would Like To See More Photos Of This Item, Please Do Not Hesitate To Contact Me. Thank You For Viewing My Item. :-)
I Strive To Get The Color And Tonality Accurate In My Photos. However, Color, And Especially Tonality, May Vary From Monitor To Monitor; Meaning Object May Appear Slightly Different In Color Or Tone On Yours.
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