The Circus category has been subdivided. Along with a general folder, you will find Circus – Acrobats, Circus – Clowns, and Circus – Posters & Advertisements. Please enjoy the below selections from the Clowns folder, which has 42 items packed clownishly into one folder. They run the gamut, from the manic and frightening, to the heartbroken and cabbage-coddling.

© National Geographic Society 1948. Photos by Harold E Edgerton and Edwin L Wisherd.

Sunpak Camera Ad

© Geo, Volume II, June 1980. Photo: Richard D Gordon. This clown is “One of the actors in a skit on the Gang of Four.”

© National Geographic Society 1948. Photo by J Baylor Roberts.

Ringling Bros Barnum & Bailey “Circus Clown Alley” Troupe