This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 5/11/2001.
There were some who regarded Babe Ruth as the greatest show on earth. Certainly, the Babe could go toe to toe with any circus elephant in size and appetite, so it wasn't surprising that Ruth liked to frequent the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus when it brought its three rings to New York's Madison Square Garden each spring. The lucky owner of this circus program from 1932 – a marvelous keepsake in its own right – got a double shot of thrills when Babe signed the program in an appropriate spot, smack in the middle of a schematic seating chart of the Garden. The signature, in black fountain pen, could not be clearer or a more definitive Ruth autograph, and rates nearly a perfect 10. This very good program has color illustrations of a smiling clown, circus animals and highwire acts, and an unidentified signature on the cover, which is frayed at the corners and especially on the upper right. The inside pages are lightly yellowed and have general wear damage but still convey the excitement of the circus and the Ruth era.