Florida Memory is administered by the Florida Department of State, Division of Library and Information Services, Bureau of Archives and Records Management. The digitized records on Florida Memory come from the collections of the State Archives of Florida and the special collections of the State Library of Florida.
State Archives of Florida
- ArchivesFlorida.com
- State Archives Online Catalog
- ArchivesFlorida.com
- ArchivesFlorida.com
State Library of Florida
Related Sites
Ringling Circus fat lady, Alice from Dallas, reading a magazine on the circus train in Sarasota, Florida.
Image Number
Photographer
Date
Collection
N2011- 7, Photographic collection, 1930s-1970s; Box 14
Geographic Term
Subject Term
Entertainment
Reading
Service industries--Florida--Sarasota County--Sarasota
Tourism--Florida--Sarasota County--Sarasota
Attractions--Florida--Sarasota County--Sarasota
Amusements--Florida--Sarasota County--Sarasota
Circus--Florida--Sarasota County--Sarasota
Entertainers--Florida--Sarasota County--Sarasota
Circus workers
Overweight women
Circus performers
Personal Subjects
Corporate Subject
Physical Description
General Note
Slide is a copy of an original print.
In early years the Fat Lady's salary was determined by her weight. She had to weigh in every payday and received fifty cents per pound. Note the box of Milk-bone dog biscuits.
Biographical 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.
Order Prints
Please select the size and options
Order Scan
Please select the size and options
Title
Subject
Creator
Date
Identifier
Image URL
Thumbnail
Geographic Term
Color
Physical Description
Series Title
Shelf Number
General Note
Biography Note
Subject - Person
Subject - Corporate
Title of Work
Collection ID
Chicago Manual of Style
Steinmetz, Joseph Janney, 1905-1985. Ringling Circus fat lady, Alice from Dallas, reading a magazine on the circus train in Sarasota, Florida. 1940 (circa). State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. <https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/254424>, accessed 13 June 2026.
MLA
Steinmetz, Joseph Janney, 1905-1985. Ringling Circus fat lady, Alice from Dallas, reading a magazine on the circus train in Sarasota, Florida. 1940 (circa). State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.<https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/254424>
AP Style Photo Citation
(State Archives of Florida/Steinmetz)
Listen: The Blues Program