--- description: In 1938, Alfred Eisenstaedt went to a fair in West Virginia, and -- true to form -- came back with marvelous portraits of the fairgoers. title: LIFE Goes to a County Fair, West Virginia, 1938 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb1e8bdb1cf184f87/698847c935ba6f492ac0c5ee/08_05555909.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [photography](/tag/photography/) ## photography Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # LIFE Goes to a County Fair, 1938 by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 18, 2014 1:28 AM CUT  Caption from LIFE. "Girl without body." Caption from LIFE. "Girl without body."Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 18, 2014 1:28 AM CUT There’s a certain vibe to a state or county fair that simply doesn’t exist anywhere else. The sights, sounds and—of course—the smells (grass crushed by thousands of footsteps; fried dough; the indeterminate, unmistakable mingled aroma of cattle, horses, poultry and people) call to mind the slowly shortening days and cooler, thrilling nights of late summer as surely as back-to-school sales and brawls at NFL training camps. In 1938, LIFE magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt went to a fair in West Virginia, and, true to form, “Eisie” came back with marvelous portraits of the fairgoers as well as wonderfully atmospheric shots of the displays, attractions and the fairgrounds themselves. But, above and beyond Eisenstaedt’s photographs, LIFE took pains to point out that in the late 1930s, even in the country’s rural bastions, “city slickers” were finding ways to entertain themselves. In fact, in the magazine’s description of the fair and its visitors, one can hear faint echoes of contemporary conversations about “authentic” versus “ironic” Americana. As LIFE put it in an article in the September 26, 1938, issue of the magazine: --- > “” --- --- > “” ---  Published on the cover of the September 26, 1938, issue of LIFE; Greenbrier Valley Fair, W. Virginia. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Mr. Whaley has a stomach but pulls it in until it seems he hasn't." Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Man without stomach performs." Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Dwarf man barked for hermaphrodites." Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Greenbrier Valley Fair, W. Virginia, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Spectator, Greenbrier Valley Fair, W. Virginia, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Greenbrier Valley Fair, W. Virginia, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Girl without body." Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "For the kiddies and for the adults who weren't interested in gypsy dancers, the big attractions were the twin Ferris wheels and the monkey auto race." Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Greenbrier Valley Fair, W. Virginia, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Greenbrier Valley Fair, W. Virginia, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Greenbrier Valley Fair, W. Virginia, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Greenbrier Valley Fair, W. Virginia, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Greenbrier Valley Fair, W. Virginia, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Greenbrier Valley Fair, W. Virginia, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Greenbrier Valley Fair, W. Virginia, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Greenbrier Valley Fair, W. Virginia, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "The free show open to everyone who paid the 50 cent admission to the grounds, was billed as 'an intricate and pleasing dance routine.' It was performed by the Polly Ann dancers who, after the show, were closely chaperoned and protected against the wiles of country slickers." Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "The daily chores of carnival life were done between performances by the Polly Ann dancing girls. Students of a Reading Pa. dancing teacher, the Polly Ann girls are all young, get $20 a week, do precision dancing in the best big-movie-palace fashion." Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Greenbrier Valley Fair, W. Virginia, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Comedic horse act, Greenbrier Valley Fair, W. Virginia, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Greenbrier Valley Fair, W. Virginia, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Greenbrier Valley Fair, W. Virginia, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Shorthorn fattened on Greenbrier Valley's bluegrass." Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Greenbrier Valley Fair, W. Virginia, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Greenbrier Valley Fair, W. Virginia, 1938. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3880510/county-fair-life-magazine-photos-1938/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3880510/county-fair-life-magazine-photos-1938/"},"headline":"LIFE Goes to a County Fair, 1938","datePublished":"2014-07-18T01:28:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:03:39.352Z","description":"In 1938, Alfred Eisenstaedt went to a fair in West Virginia, and -- true to form -- came back with marvelous portraits of fairgoers, performers, attractions and the fairgrounds themselves.","url":"https://time.com/3880510/county-fair-life-magazine-photos-1938/","keywords":["photography","West Virginia","carnival","alfred eisenstaedt","1938"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb1e8bdb1cf184f87/698847c935ba6f492ac0c5ee/08_05555909.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ben Cosgrove","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb1e8bdb1cf184f87/698847c935ba6f492ac0c5ee/08_05555909.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"West Virginia County Fair 1938","caption":"Caption from LIFE. \"Girl without body.\"","creditText":"Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/photography/","name":"photography"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3880510/county-fair-life-magazine-photos-1938/","name":"LIFE Goes to a County Fair, 1938"}}]}] ```