[CIRCUS—CLYDE BEATTY]. CLYDE BEATTY POSES WITH TWO YOUNG TIGERS IN A CIRCUS PUBLICITY IMAGE

[CIRCUS—CLYDE BEATTY]. CLYDE BEATTY POSES WITH TWO YOUNG TIGERS IN A CIRCUS PUBLICITY IMAGE

CLYDE BEATTY. Original black-and-white publicity photograph, approximately 179 × 255 mm (7.0 × 10.0 in.). The image shows circus animal trainer Clyde Beatty in costume with two young tigers, one held close to his chest and another positioned above him in a staged vertical composition. The theatrical arrangement, visible rigging, and bold animal patterning emphasize the performance context. The print has edge wear, surface abrasions, creasing, and a pronounced vertical fold or tear through the image; the verso carries a pasted newspaper clipping, red pencil editorial marks, and faint library handling.

The pasted verso clipping is headed ‘FIRST IMPRESSION’ and identifies Beatty as a noted animal trainer, describing him with two young tigers and referring to his memory of finding a nest of rabbits. A red pencil circle marks the central tiger, while additional blue and red manuscript marks record editorial use. The clipping is partly cropped, so the publication title and exact date are not preserved.

Clyde Beatty was one of the best-known American circus animal trainers of the twentieth century, celebrated for staged big-cat performances combining risk, spectacle, and carefully controlled presentation. This photograph is significant as a surviving publicity artifact: it preserves the visual rhetoric of the circus trainer as both performer and animal authority, together with the clipping and editorial marks through which the image was prepared for publication.

Provenance: From the Eric C. Caren Archive.