From the rivers of sub-Saharan Africa, hippos came to fill the menageries of circuses in Europe and America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Their massive size, gaping mouths, and giant tusks make them immediately recognizable and perfect icons of circus advertising. You will marvel at a selection of circus posters, spanning almost a century, featuring images of performing hippos and “blood sweating” behemoths.

Image: Erie Lithograph, circa 1941 Children’s Favorite Circus, Tibbals Circus Collection, ht2001906