Busch. Giornale Illustrato Busch. Numero Unico. Annata 1931 - 1932.

[Milano]: [Rizzoli & Co.], [1931]. 19-1/2" x 14. [8] pp. Cream paper printed in black, burnt orange, and blue, with color lithographed illustrations throughout. Center fold line and lighter vertical crease; light foxing to outer pages; several nicks and occasional minor loss to margins; long tear to head of last leaf, progressively shorter in successive leaves; few other tears, minimally affecting text on last page; some splitting to folds. Good. Large promotional newspaper/program for this travelling German circus, in Italy only from 1931-32. The circus featured "la sua grandiosa pantomima acqua", a grand water pantomime in which the ring was flooded with 500,000 litres of water, with fountains "whose splashes touch the top of the tent, jets of water illuminated by reflectors with the force of 2,000,000 candles, luminous waterfalls, a thousand water games complete with the entire artistic staff, with actors, singers, and international dance beauties" (our translation). "In the late 1920s, Jakob Busch made his mark as one of the first circus directors to adapt water spectaculars (popularized by Paula Busch in her Berlin circus) to an itinerant big top, and to bring to his traveling show, under the artistic direction of Alfred Delbosq, the hitherto purely urban concept of the revue—replete with chorus line, singers, and theatrical tableaux. Using equipment especially designed for his traveling circus, Jakob Busch dedicated the full second half of his shows to carefully dramatized water pantomimes, for which the ring was completely flooded. Their themes ranged from oriental tales to Venetian feasts, and even to an elaborate six-part spy story, From the Equator to the Pole, which included all sorts of exotic animals, and a polar tableau with penguins, sea lions, and a couple of ice skaters. ... [Circus Busch] performed regularly in neighboring Czechoslovakia and Austria, and even became popular in Italy, which it visited in 1931 and 1932, due to the close ties between the Fascist and Nazi regimes" (circopedia.org/Jakob_Busch). This program is from the circus's premier in Carrara, on Friday, January 29th. Apparently unrecorded. We find no holdings in OCLC, Copac, or KVK.