John Ringling Autographs
John Nicholas Ringling (May 31, 1866 – December 2, 1936) was an American entrepreneur who is the best known of the seven Ringling brothers, five of whom merged the Barnum & Bailey Circus with their own Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows to create a virtual monopoly of traveling circuses and helped shape the modern circus. In addition to owning and managing many of the largest circuses in the United States, he was also a rancher, a real estate developer and art collector. He was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 1987.
John was born in McGregor, Iowa, the fifth son in a family of seven sons and a daughter born to a French mother, Marie Salomé Juliar, and German father, August Ringling (a farmer and harness maker). The original family name was "Ruengeling". Five of those sons worked together to build a circus empire.
The Ringlings started their first show in 1870 as "The Ringling Bros. United Monster Shows, Great Double Circus, Royal European Menagerie, Museum, Caravan, and Congress of Trained Animals", charging a penny for admission. In 1882, it was known as "The Ringling Bros. Classic and Comic Concert Company". By 1889, the circus was large enough to travel on railroad cars, rather than animal-drawn wagons.
Read more about John Ringling on Wikipedia
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Traded items with a signature of John Ringling
The most expensive item with a signature of John Ringling (John Ringling SIGNED “Barnum & Bailey” CIRCUS Letter / CLOWN “Poodles” Hanneford) was sold in March 2025 for $1,500.00 while the cheapest item (1993-signed-(JOHN) RINGLING-THE FLORIDA YEARS 1911-1936-TRADE PB) found a new owner for $1.29 in November 2019. The month with the most items sold (3) was March 2025 with an average selling price of $614.99 for an autographed item of John Ringling. Sold items reached their highest average selling price in August 2016 with $1,400.00 and the month that saw the lowest prices with $23.50 was October 2014. In average, an autographed item from John Ringling is worth $199.99.
Most recently, these items with a signature of John Ringling were sold on eBay - click here for more items.
| Picture | Item Title | Price | Store |
 | 1916 Alfred T. Ringling SIGNED Barnum & Bailey CIRCUS Letter / John Ringling TOO | $614.99 |  |
| 1932 John Ringling Typed Letter Signed | $199.99 | |
| 1938 Letter From Estate Of John Ringling Signed John Ringling North | $21.50 | |
| 1953 Typed & Signed Letter From John Ringling North | $275.00 | |
| JOHN RINGLING - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 01/12/1920 | $1,200.00 | |
| John Ringling North Hand typed and Signed letter on circus letterhead..with COA | $145.00 | |
| JOHN RINGLING SIGNED - RINGLING BROS CIRCUS SEASON 1927 Ticket RARE | $899.98 | |
| JOHN RINGLING SIGNED - RINGLING BROS CIRCUS SEASON 1929 Ticket RARE | $899.98 | |
| JOHN RINGLING Signed Autograph on 1927 BARNUM BAILEY CIRCUS Contract PSA/DNA COA | $796.00 | |
 | John Ringling SIGNED “Barnum & Bailey” CIRCUS Letter / CLOWN “Poodles” Hanneford | $950.00 | |
 | John Ringling SIGNED “Barnum & Bailey” CIRCUS Letter / CLOWN “Poodles” Hanneford | $1,000.00 | |
| John Ringling SIGNED “Barnum & Bailey” CIRCUS Letter / CLOWN “Poodles” Hanneford | $1,325.00 | |
| John Ringling SIGNED “Barnum & Bailey” CIRCUS Letter / CLOWN “Poodles” Hanneford | $1,300.00 | |
| John Ringling SIGNED “Barnum & Bailey” CIRCUS Letter / CLOWN “Poodles” Hanneford | $1,500.00 | |
| Vintage JOHN RINGLING NORTH Autograph | $40.00 | |
