Entertainment Photos and Posters
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, Courier Litho CoCo., 1899
Circus Acrobats, 1890
In addition to Burlesque advertisements, entertainment companies often provided saloons with prints, posters, and photographs for area performances, such as circuses, Wild West Shows, plays, musicals, and events featuring singers and actresses. In many cases, these promotional materials were so colorful and lively that they stayed on the walls for years after the performance.
At other times, these promotional materials featured beautiful women, often in provocative poses. These might very well stay on the walls indefinitely. In fact, at Judge Roy Bean’s Saloon in Langtry, Texas, he was so enamored with Lillie Langtry that he called his saloon the Jersey Lilly and filled the walls with her images.
Lillie Langtry, 1890
The Great Gotham, 1898
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated October 2026.
Also See:
Saloons, Women & Gambling Photo Gallery
See Sources.