1890 FRAMED PHOTO~MAT WIXOM CIRCUS MULE~NELLIE BLY*INFO* & 1962 CLIPPING~RARE

Description

This approximately 12" by 10" by 3/4" wood frame, holds a matted 5" by 6 1/2" picture of "
NELLIE BLY
", a circus mule acquired by
Mat Wixom's circus
from
Stowe Bros. circus
in 1890 in LaPeer, Michigan. Stowe Bros. agreed to give up the animal because it had been discovered that they had covered Wixon's circus posters with their own, thus hurting Wixon's business at the time. Two sections of typed paper (which may be either pasted or secured onto the photo under plexiglass) provide information about the transaction that caused Stowe Bros. to agree to give Wixom's the mule, and information on the mule's namesake. An envelope attached to the back of the frame holds a yellowed news clipping, dated 1962, recalling the incident with an interview of Mat Wixom's grandson Clyde, who noted that the family had not known the name of the circus that caused lot business to his grandfather until he had recently searched LaPeer newspaper archives. Family mystery solved!
The antique item of circus history, showing wear and some soiling to the frame, will make an interesting addition to any
collection.