Ringling Circus clown Emmett Kelly in a bubble bath.

Title

• Ringling Circus clown Emmett Kelly in a bubble bath.

Image Number

• JJS1346

Year

• 1955

Series Title

• General: Steinmetz collection.
• Specific: Steinmetz collection N2011- 7, Photographic collection, 1930s-1970s; Box 9

General Note

• Shown as his hobo tramp pantomine character "Weary Willie".
• Photo taken as a favor to Kelly, who wanted the image for his Christmas card. Joe's wife, Lois Foley Steinmetz, was crouched down out of sight behind the chair that held Kelly's clothing, with an egg beater in her hand. After every shot Joe took, Lois would leap out of hiding, use the egg beater to increase the foam in the tub, and conceal herself once again.

Biography Note

• Joseph Janney Steinmetz was a world-renowned commercial photographer whose images appeared in such publications as the Saturday Evening Post, Life, Look, Time, Holiday, Collier's, and Town & Country. His work has been referred to as "an American social history," which documented diverse scenes of American life from affluent northeasterners to middle-class Floridians. Steinmetz moved from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Sarasota, Florida in 1941.

Title of Work

• The Circus Comes Home

Photographer/Personal Author

• Steinmetz, Joseph Janney, 1905-1985.

Physical Description

• 1 photoprint - b&w - 10 x 8 in.

Subject Term

• Circuses and shows
• Community culture--Florida--Sarasota
• Entertainment
• Occupational groups--Florida--Sarasota
• Service industries--Florida--Sarasota
• Tourism--Florida--Sarasota
• Attractions--Florida--Sarasota
• Amusements--Florida--Sarasota
• Circus--Florida--Sarasota
• Baths
• Costume
• Theatrical makeup
• Circus workers
• Circus performers
• Clowns
• Entertainers--Florida--Sarasota

Geographic Term

• Sarasota County (Fla.)
• Sarasota (Fla.)

Personal Subject

• Kelly, Emmett, 1898-1979.

Subject Corporate

• Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Combined Shows--Employees.

Shelf Number

• Location: 30713, C.

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