[CIRCUS APOLLO IN ISTANBUL / MODERN EPHEMERAS] Circus Apollo: Program

WACKER, EMIL (Prepared by).

[N.p.], [Istanbul], [very early 1950s].

Original pictorial wrappers. Roy. 8vo. (24 x 17 cm). In Turkish. [14] p., profusely b/w ills. Slight foxing on cover and pages, a horizontal fold trace in the centre. Overall, a good copy.

Rare first Turkish program booklet of the Circus Apollo founded and led by Emil Wacker, one of the German circus entrepreneurs in the period of post-WWII Germany, with a cover design by “Ludwig”.

This is the first program of Circus Apollo in Turkey. It includes detailed and amusing information with b/w photographic illustrations on Emil Wacker, Gert Simonite and his lions, Bela May, and his bears, two full paged program, Carlo Medini, John Cuper, Ernst Ross and his horses, a large and unbelievable artificial pool of Apollo, Paolo the Jongleur King, flying men named Pierre Alize and his friends Maurice and Jak, the Zoo, and others. Each page has original advertisements of Turkish and foreign companies like Titus Watches, Sahibinin Sesi (early Turkish recording company), Royal Chocolates, Gripin, Puro, Air France, Omega Watches, Philips Refrigerators, and Kemal Basaran, Turkish insurance agent of the Circus Apollo during their program in Istanbul.

REFLECTIONS IN TURKEY

The program also indicates that the circus management, which is very meticulous in the selection of artists, is proud to choose the famous Danish trainer Aage Nielsen as the trainer of the elephant group. Some rumours started to spread in Istanbul a while ago about the elephants and other wild animals in the circuses. According to them, circus workers were feeding wild animals with stray cats in the city, and for this reason, there was a decrease in the number of these cats in Istanbul streets and districts. Because of such rumours, the first circuses to perform in modern Istanbul, such as the Apollo and Medrano, could not stay in the city for very long. (Akçura).

As of May 2024, we couldn’t trace any copies in OCLC, or KVK.