Circus Franconi Hand-Colored Screen Leaf or Fan. Circa 1800. Elaborate bottle-shaped hand-colored etching depicting scenes from the Cirque Franconi, and including a harlequin and Mr. Punch aboard rival chariots, equestrians performing while standing on horseback, as well as musicians, contortionists, and jugglers at the apex of the print presenting various tricks. A bright sun figure with a human face looks down over the show. 14 x 7 ¼” at widest points. Mounted to an album page. Tiny chips and pinholes at corners, else very good. Philip Astley, the famous horseman and circus impresario, founded the Cirque Franconi in Paris in 1782. It was the first purpose-built circus theatre in France. Astley leased the building to Franconi during the French revolution, and never returned to France. The enterprise flourished for another half century under various names in a variety of locations under the directorship of Franconi, his sons, and other owners. It closed in 1862.