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.
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State Library of Florida
Related Sites
Image Number
Photographer
Date
Collection
N2011- 7, Photographic collection, 1930s-1970s; Box 14
Geographic Term
Subject Term
Community culture--Florida--Sarasota County--Sarasota
Entertainment
Occupational groups--Florida--Sarasota County--Sarasota
Theatrical makeup
Costume
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
Circus performers
Clowns
Mules
Personal Subjects
Corporate Subject
Physical Description
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.
Lou Jacobs (born Johann Ludwig Jacob in 1903 in Bremerhaven, Germany), was an Auguste Master Clown who performed for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for about 60 years from 1925 to 1985. In 1966, Jacobs' now-famous clown face was put on a newly issued United States postage stamp. He was later inducted into the International Clown Hall of Fame in 1989. Jacobs died on Sunday, September 13, 1992 in Sarasota, Florida.
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Title
Subject
Creator
Date
Identifier
Image URL
Thumbnail
Geographic Term
Color
Physical Description
Series Title
Shelf Number
Biography Note
Subject - Person
Subject - Corporate
Collection ID
Chicago Manual of Style
Steinmetz, Joseph Janney, 1905-1985. Ringling Circus clown Lou Jacobs and another performer with a mule in Sarasota, Florida. 1953. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. <https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/254517>, accessed 8 June 2026.
MLA
Steinmetz, Joseph Janney, 1905-1985. Ringling Circus clown Lou Jacobs and another performer with a mule in Sarasota, Florida. 1953. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.<https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/254517>
AP Style Photo Citation
(State Archives of Florida/Steinmetz)
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