Step Right Up!

Book excerpt: Explore the naive art of late 19th and early 20th century shooting gallery targets, whole galleries, and arcade forms. Commonly seen on early midways and carnivals, as well as in saloons and other public places of amusement, here, in a presentation of compelling color photographs, are the rarest and most aesthetically pleasing decorative targets and arcade forms known. The progression from the world of shooting gallery and arcade forms, as well as painted American fixtures and accessories, to contemporary art and sculpture has been a natural evolution. Also featured are examples of other amusement attractions to which the visitor to the carnival, circus, or midway would have been exposed. A few European forms are included to illustrate the difference between them and American forms.