So Rare! Original Ringling Brothers Circus Show Animal Cart Panels Circa early 1900’s 
This is a unique two panel pair that hung over the cage of the carts of the lions and tigers as they were wheeled in to the show. The faux cage covers were compositions of plaster of paris and wood. Most of these did not survive life after the show. 
1906 purchased from Ringling family in LA. (Museum quality from their own collection)
This is a rare Ringling Brothers piece of history. 
Dimensions: 43.5 “ wide x 33” 
Condition Report
Good overall condition, minor losses and dirt commensurate with age. 
Price is for the pair (they must remain together)
One of the larger users of circus trains was the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, a famous American circus formed when the Ringling Brothers Circus purchased the Barnum and Bailey Circus in 1907. In 1872 the P.T. Barnum Circus had grown so large that it was decided that they would only play at large venues, and that they would travel by train. P.T. Barnum had two of his partners, William Cameron Coup and Dan Costello, come up with a system to load the circus wagons on to railroad flat cars. Using a system of inclined planes, called runs, and crossover plates between cars, they developed a system of ropes and pulleys, along with a snubber post" to get the wagons on and off of the flat cars. They used horses to pull the wagons up the run and then would hitch a second team to pull it down the run cars (flats). The off-loading was much the same as loading, but a snubber post was used to help brake the wagons' descent down the run. That system, first used in 1872, was used by the RBBBC until its closing, although through more modern methods. When the circus switched to travel by train they began by using flatcars from the Pennsylvania Railroad, which turned out to be hazardous because the Pennsylvania Railroad's cars were in poor shape. In mid-season it was decided that they would buy their own cars, and when the P.T. Barnum Circus left Columbus, Ohio, it travelled on the first circus-owned train. It was made up of 60 cars, including 19-45 flatcars carrying about 100 wagons. Circus trains have proven well-suited for the transportation of heavy equipment (tents, rolling wagons, vehicles and machinery) and animals (elephants, lions, tigers and horses), despite tragic accidents over the years. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circuses separately and together grew to dominate live entertainment through their frequent purchases of many other American circuses. In modern times, they travelled in two circus trains, the blue unit and the red unit, following an alternating two-year schedule to bring a new show to each location once a year. The RBBB circus trains were more than one mile (1.6 km) in length, and included living quarters for the performers and animal keepers. There were also special stock cars for the exotic animals and flatcars for the transportation of circus wagons, equipment, and even a bus used for local transportation at performance sites