“Circus on Parade”: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This sheet music is for the song “Circus on Parade.” The song’s lyrics were written by Jon Arthur and Billy Collins, and the music was composed by Albert Van Dam. The song was published by the Beacon Music Company, owned by Joe Davis, around 1951. The red and white cover features an image of Big Jon Arthur, the host of a children’s radio show called Big Jon & Sparkie. The show consisted of stories and songs featuring Sparkie, Benny the Bug, and Twinkle, all depicted on the cover.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1951
• maker: Beacon Music Co.
• Object Name: sheet music
• Physical Description: paper (overall material)
• Physical Description: ink (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 12 in x 9 in; 30.48 cm x 22.86 cm
• place made: United States: New York, New York
• ID Number: 1983.0424.002
• accession number: 1983.0424
• catalog number: 1983.0424.002
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.