Tableaus

Hagenbeck-Wallace "Fairy Tale" tableau, restored.  Though most circus wagons are identical on either side, the opposite side of this wagon is Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.  The original murals on this wagon were painted by the famous clown, Emmett Kelley.

Gollmar Brothers kangaroo tableau, restored.

Carl Hagenbeck lion tableau, built in 1904.

The Chivalry Wagon was built for the Barnum & Bailey homecoming of 1903.  It was driven by two men dressed as feudal knights, and the dragon was ridden by a "fair maiden in distress."  The dragon heads and wings had to be removed and stored inside the wagon during transport.

Telescoping "Europe" tableau

Originally, tableau wagons (or "tabs" in circus parlance) were a way for circuses to get two wagons for the price of one.  Fundamentally a decorated box on wheels, tabs were used to transport equipment or baggage, which would be unloaded upon the train's arrival.  The wagon would then head out to participate in the parade.  Tableaus were decorated with carvings, mirrors, and sometimes painted murals.  Tableaus were also often used as bandwagons for secondary bands.

Later on, the word was used to also describe wagons which had no purpose other than to be paraded.  Telescoping tableaus and others only had room to carry their own extravagant decorative elements.  Only the most prosperous circuses could afford the expense and the space on a train for such a wagon.  For this reason, these parade-only vehicles were usually jettisoned or later adapted for multiple uses.