Description
LIFE Magazine – April 8, 1946 features one of the era’s most distinctive circus covers, with legendary Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey clown Lou Jacobs appearing with a giraffe. Inside, LIFE goes behind the scenes with the circus in Florida, capturing performers, animals and the elaborate preparations that brought the traveling spectacle to life. Contemporary listings identify the issue as Volume 20, No. 14, with 124 pages.
Published less than a year after the end of World War II, the issue also reflects the rapidly changing political and social landscape of 1946. LIFE covers a Soviet walkout at a United Nations session, the election of Walter Reuther as president of the United Auto Workers, and President Harry S. Truman’s first year in office. Cultural features range from an essay by Evelyn Waugh to wildlife art by Roger Tory Peterson, along with LIFE’s substantial photographic examination of juvenile delinquency.
The result is a broad snapshot of postwar America—politics, labor, social issues, entertainment, science and the enduring spectacle of the American circus.
Inside This Issue
- Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus — LIFE visits the circus during preparations in Florida, with an inside look at performers and circus life.
- Harry S. Truman — “A Year of Truman,” examining the president’s first year in office following Franklin Roosevelt’s death.
- United Nations and Russia — coverage of Russia walking out of a United Nations session during the tense opening phase of the postwar era.
- Walter Reuther and the UAW — coverage of the UAW convention that elected Reuther president, an important moment in American labor history.
- Juvenile Delinquency — an extended LIFE photographic essay examining a growing postwar social concern.
- Evelyn Waugh — the noted British novelist contributes the article “Fan-Fare.”
- Roger Tory Peterson — paintings of mockingbirds by the renowned ornithologist, artist and field-guide author.
- A Vacation from Marriage — LIFE’s movie coverage of the 1945 British film released in the United States under that title.
- Plastic Lenses — a science feature examining new developments in optical technology.
- Postwar American Life — additional coverage includes inflation, Japanese elections, theater, fashion and other news and cultural subjects.
Original LIFE Magazines are authentic issues published between 1936 and 2000.
Pg… 29 The Week’s Events: Russia Walks Out on UNO Session
Pg… 36 The Week’s Events: Editorial: How to Stop Inflation
Pg… 37 The Week’s Events: Ex–Wrestling Champion is Candidate in Japanese Election
Pg… 38 The Week’s Events: California Couple Gets Married on Horseback
Pg… 40 The Week’s Events: U.A.W. Convention Elects Reuther President
Pg… 42 The Week’s Events: Fathers and Sons Suffer Together for Murder
Pg… 45 The Week’s Events: Bethanie Convent Turns Thieves into Nuns
Pg… 77 The Week’s Events: Tokyo Actors Give Japanese Version of “Abraham Lincoln”
Pg… 53 Article: Fan–Fare, by Evelyn Waugh
Pg… 94 Close–Up: A Year of Truman, by Noel F. Busch
Pg… 83 Photographic Essay: Juvenile Delinquency
Pg… 85 Movies: “A Vacation from Marriage”
Pg… 68 Modern Living: Flat Heels
Pg… 72 Animals: Mockingbirds, Paintings for Life by Roger Tory Peterson
Pg… 107 Theater: “Apple of His Eye”
Pg… 113 Science: Plastic Lenses
Pg… 4 Other Departments: Letters to the Editors
Pg… 12 Other Departments: Speaking of Pictures: Actress Parodies Movie Star’s Day
Pg… 16 Other Departments: LIFE’s Reports: Army Requisitioning, by Robert Neville
Pg… 118 Other Departments: LIFE Visits the Circus in Florida
