- Sells Floto Circus
The Sells Floto Circus was a combination of the Floto Dog & Pony Show and the Sells Brothers Circus that toured with sideshow acts in the United States during the early 1900s.
Frederick Gilmer Bonfils andHarry Heye Tammen owned the first outfit as well as theDenver Post , and the "Floto" name came from the Post's one-time sportswriter, Otto Floto.During the 1914-1915 seasons the circus featured
Buffalo Bill Cody .By 1929 the Sells Floto was part of the
American Circus Corporation , along with theHagenbeck-Wallace Circus , theJohn Robinson Circus , theSparks Circus , and theAl G. Barnes Circus .John Nicholas Ringling bought the conglomerate organization outright for $1.7-million. With that acquisition, Ringling owned virtually every traveling circus in America.cite web |url=http://www.ringling.com/explore/history/bailey_2.aspx |title=Bailey and the Ringlings |accessdate=2008-07-21 |quote=In 1929, reacting to the fact that his competitor, the American Circus Corporation, had signed a contract to perform in New York's Madison Square Garden, Ringling purchased American Circus for $1.7-million. In one fell swoop, Ringling had absorbed five major shows: Sells-Floto, Al G. Barnes, Sparks, Hagenbeck-Wallace, and John Robinson. |publisher=Feld Entertainment ]ee also
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Marcks Family Miniature Circus External links
* [http://www.playland-not-at-the-beach.org/marcks-family-circus.htm Marcks Family Circus - a miniature replica of the Sells Floto Circus]
* [http://www.karlking.us/sells_floto.htm Sells Floto Page] 1914-1916 photos from the Karl King Website - includes Sells Floto routes for 1912, 1914-1916References
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