Frank Ashton - the most illustrious equillibrist & contortionist on earth

A flexible male figure in green shorts demonstrates several gymnastic and acrobatic feats such as balancing in various poses on chairs, ladders, and on top of poles. He is performing in a room with black and white checkered tiles that opens out onto a veranda with planters and a view of trees in the distance. Ashton is billed as the "most illustrious equilibrist and contortionist on earth" who is the "hero of 100 somersaults."

This poster is one of many fine examples of circus posters printed by the Strobridge Lithograph Company of Cincinnati in the early 1880s when American entrepreneur and cultural icon P.T. Barnum first negotiated the merger of his circus to form "P.T. Barnum's and Great London Combined."

ca. 24 1/2" x 31"