Robert Aylwin. THE BERTRAM MILLS BOOK OF THE CIRCUS. Naldrett 1954. 1st. Small 4to. 137 pp. Drawings and photos. Endpapers browned. Minor foxing. Very good. £10

P T Barnum. STRUGGLES & TRIUMPHS OF P T BARNUM TOLD BY HIMSELF. Macgibbon & Kee 1967. (Fitzroy Edition). 1st thus. Edited by John G O'Leary. 188 pp. Illustrated. Fine in very good dw. £10

Clyde Beatty & Earl Wilson. JUNGLE PERFORMERS. Robert Hale 1946. 1st UK. 223 pp. Plates. Autobiography of the famous American animal-trainer, the first man to work 40 lions and tigers together in the circus ring. Minor foxing. otherwise fine. £15

Fred Bradna THE BIG TOP. My Forty Years with the Greatest Show on Earth. As told to Hartzell Spence. Hamish Hamilton 1953. 1st UK. 253 pp. Illustrated with unique photos, many pre 1930. Insider's account of American circus life in the early decades of the twentieth century with particular emphasis on the Ringling and Barnum and Bailey Circuses. Boards worn and damp-stained with split to side of spine. Page edges foxed. Internally otherwise very good. £10

Cecil H Bullivant. HOME FUN. TC & EC Jack 1919. Large 8vo. 555 pp. Pictorial boards. Profusely illustrated with drawings. A fascinating compendium of do-it-yourself entertainments ranging from theatre through ventriloquism, clog-dancing and conjuring to indoor fireworks and scientific experiments. Includes a section on "The Home Circus", juggling and how to rig up and walk a tight-rope in your drawing-room. Edges foxed; extremities rubbed. Otherwise very good. £17

Bertha Bennet Burleigh. CIRCUS. Collins 1937. 1st. Folio. 32 pp text + 92 pp b/w drawings and scraperboard illustrations, with particular emphasis on animals, and pictorial endpapers by the author. Corners and spine ends worn. Otherwise very good. £20

Edward Chaflin. STREET MAGIC. An Illustrated History of Wandering Magicians and their Conjuring Arts. In collaboration with Jeff Sheridan, Street Magician. Dolphin Books, New York 1977. 1st. 4to paperback. 157 pp. Numerous fascinating illustrations. Very good. £10

Dick Chipperfield. MY FRIENDS THE ANIMALS. Souvenir Press 1963. 1st. 196 pp. 24 photos. Inscription on front pastedown. Near fine in VG protected pictorial dw. Scarce. £35

Kimberley A Christen. CLOWNS AND TRICKSTERS. An Encyclopaedia of Tradition and Culture. ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara 1998. 1st. Small 4to. 271 pp. Bibliography & index. Laminated pictorial boards. Illustrated. A fascinating compendium of tricky characters and their stories from across the world. Fine. £15

John S Clarke. CIRCUS PARADE. Batsford 1936. 1st. 120 pp. A book of circus lore; a fascinating interpretation of the finer points of the circus. Illustrated from old prints and pictures and modern photos. Fine. £16

Alfred Court. WILD CIRCUS ANIMALS. Burke 1954. 1st English. 192 pp. Plates. Autobiography of the French animal-trainer, the first performer to combine dancing-girls and leopards. Page edges slightly browned. Very good. £15

Rupert Croft-Cooke. THE CIRCUS BOOK. With a note on the Tenting Show by W SMeadmore. Sampson Low nd [1948]. 192 pp. Interesting plates. anthology of extracts and snippets from many different writers on the circus. Very good in frayed and rubbed pictorial dw. £18

Rupert Croft-Cooke. THE CIRCUS HAS NO HOME. Falcon 1950. Revised and augmented edition. Drawings by Laurence Scarfe. A vivid account of 5 years travelling with Count Rosaire's Circus interspersed with the story of its early years. Near fine. £14

Rupert Croft-Cooke & W S Meadmore. THE SAWDUST RING. Odhams Press nd [1951]. Small 4to. 160 pp. Illustrated. Historical survey of all aspects of the circus from Astley through to the 1950s. Fine in very good dw. £15

Rupert Croft-Cooke & Peter Cotes. CIRCUS. A WORLD HISTORY. Elek 1976. 1st. 4to. 192 pp. Sumptuously illustrated in colout and b/w. Fine in near fine pictorial dw. £30

Hermine Demoriane. THE TIGHTROPE WALKER. Secker & Warburg 1989. 1st. 160 pp. Many colour and b/w illustrations. A history and survey of tightrope walking interwoven with excerpts from the author's diary chronicling her progress in learning the art herself. Fine in fine dw. £15

M Willson Disher. GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH As Performed for over a Century at Astley's (afterwards Sanger's) Royal Amphitheatre of Arts, Westminster Bridge Road. Bell 1937. 1st. 306 pp. With illustrations from contemporary sources. Slight soiling/browning to edges. Otherwise VG+ in VG protected pictorial dw with remains of "Offered 5/-" label on spine. £35

Frederick Drimmer. VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE. The Struggles, Loves and Triumphs of Human Oddities. Brownhills Marketing 1973. 1st. Laminatedpictorial boards. 357 pp. Numerous photos. Small pen mark & slight foxing to top edge. Otherwise fine. £8

Evelyn Eaton. CANADIAN CIRCUS. Nelson 1939. 1st. 240 pp. Children's adventure story illustrated with authentic circus photos. Very good. £8

Paul Eipper. CIRCUS. Men, Beasts, and Joys of the Road. Routledge 1931. 1st. 213 pp. With 47 fascinating photos by Hedda Walther. Translated by Frederick H Martens. Twenty days travelling with the circus in Sweden. Spine ends worn, corners bumped. Otherwise very good. £15

Jill Freedman. CIRCUS DAYS. Harmony Books, NY, 1975. 1st. 4to paperback. 128 pp of which 20 contain text with small photos; the rest consists of fabulous full-page photos of the American Beatty-Cole Circus. Near fine. £15

Grock. GROCK KING OF CLOWNS. Methuen 1957. 1st UK. 221 pp. Illustrated. Near fine in VG+ protected pictorial dw. £25

Grock. GROCK KING OF CLOWNS. Methuen 1957. 1st UK. 221 pp. Illustrated. Spine faded. Stain to foot of front board. Page edges slightly browned. Very good. £14

Wolf Harhammer. ZWEI WIRKLICHKEITEN. [Two Realities] Zirkus & Rummelportrats. Trikont-dianus Buchverlag,Munich 1981. Large 8vo paperback. 11 pp German text and drawings. The rest of the book comprises a collection of portraits of circus folk. Very good indeed. £12

Katie Hickman. A TRIP TO THE LIGHT FANTASTIC. Travels with a Mexican Circus. Flamingo 1994. Paperback. 302 pp. Photos. Colour pictorial cover. Fascinating accountof a year with Circus Bell's. Mint. £5

Michael Howell & Peter Ford. THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE ELEPHANT MAN. Alison & Busby 1980. 194 pp. Plates. Very good in very good dw. £10

Richard Hubler. THE CHRISTIANIS. The Adventurers Club 1968. 1st. 220 pp. Chronicle of the prolific circus family famous both in Europe and the USA for their dazzling bareback riding and spectacular acrobatics. Very good indeed in edge-rubbed pictorial dw. £10

Bery Hugill. BRING ON THE CLOWNS. David & Charles 1980. 1st. Folio. 224 pp. Profusely illustrated history of the clown from antiquity to the present. Near fine in fine pictorial dw. £25

Paul Hyland. KICKING SAWDUST. Bloodaxe 1995. 1st. Paperback. 79 pp. Collection of poems including the title sequence devoted to the various archetypal circus characters. Signed. Mint. £6

D Jamieson & S Davidson. THE LOVE OF THE CIRCUS. Octopus 1980. 1st. Folio. 96 pp. Many colour illustrations. Survey of all the elements of a circus including life behind the scenes, with the emphasis on circuses of the last few decades. Fine in near fine pictorial dw. £9

Ricky Jay. LEARNED PIGS & FIREPROOF WOMEN. A History of Unique, Eccentric & Amazing Entertainers. Robert Hale 1987. 1st UK. 4to 343 pp. Profusely illustrated in colour & b/w. Includes many circus acts. Fine in fine dw. £25

Sam Keen. LEARNING TO FLY. Trapeze - Reflections on Fear, Trust, and the Joy of Letting Go. Broadway Books, New York 1999. 1st. 244 pp. Illustrated with drawings by Jon Worden. At the age of sixty-one Sam Keen started on the trapeze training programme at the San Francisco School of Circus Arts. "An unprecedented adventure of the soul and psyche". Fine in fine dw. £10

Alex Kerr. NO BARS BETWEEN. Cassell 1957. 1st. 215 pp. 19 photos. The life and experiences of the famous wild-cat trainer of Bertram Mills Circus. VG+ in VG price-clipped protected dw with a couple of small repaired tears. £20

Rhina Kirk. CIRCUS HEROES & HEROINES. Hammond Inc, Maplewood, 1972. 1st. Small 4to. 93 pp. A narrative history of the American circus, focussing on many of its most famous stars. Well illustrated in colour & b/w. Inscription on front free endpaper. Otherwise fine in VG+ price-clipped pictorial dw. £9

H J Lijsen. CLASSICAL CIRCUS EQUITATION. Liberty, High School, Quadrille and Vaulting. J A Allen 1993. 1st thus. 4to. 166 pp. Numerous diagrams and illustrations, some in colour. Translated by Antony Hippisley Coxe; described and explained by Sylvia Stanier. Pictorial endpapers. Mint in mint dw. £40

Fred A Lord. LITTLE BIG TOP. Angus & Robertson 1965. 1st UK. 265 pp. Illustrated. The story of Seymour's Family Circus touring in Australia in the early years of the twentieth century. Ex library with card pocket, labels and stamps. Scruffy dw stuck down with yellowed tape. Page edges browned. Internally VG. £7

Howard Loxton. THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE CIRCUS. Grange Books 1997. 4to. 112 pp. Sumptuously illustrated in colour and b/w. Circus history and account of each of the traditional acts. Mint in mint pictorial dw. £20

Pamela Macgregor-Morris. CHIPPERFIELDS' CIRCUS. Faber & Faber 1957. 1st. 214 pp. Colour frontis & 17 b/w photos. Near fine in VG price-clipped protected pictorial dw with a few repaired tears to edges and lacking a small piece on the front. Scarce. £30

Wolf Mankowitz. MAZEPPA. The Lives, Loves and Legends of Adah Isaacs Menken. Blond & Briggs 1982. 270 pp. Many illustrations. The enigmatic lady whose adventurous life included a sensational horse-back routine at Astley's. Very good in very good slightly torn pictorial dw. £10

Ruth Manning-Sanders. THE ENGLISH CIRCUS. Werner Laurie 1952. 1st. 359 pp. Numerous plates & drawings. A history and survey of the circus in England including chapters on such famous travelling circus families as the Stephensons, Cookes, Ginnetts and Fossetts. VG+ in VG protected pictorial dw with a few nicks & browning to back panel. £20

Dan Mannix. MEMOIRS OF A SWORD-SWALLOWER. Hamish Hamilton 1951. 1st UK. 230 pp. Plates. Very good. £8

Michael Mardon. A CIRCUS YEAR. Putnam 1961. 1st. 232 pp. Illustrated. A year with Florio's Circus by Cuthbert the Clown. Very good in near fine pictorial dw. £9

Cyril Bertram Mills. BERTRAM MILLS CIRCUS: ITS STORY. Hutchinson 1967. 1ST. 272 pp. 19 photos. Fine in VG price-clipped protected pictorial dw. £20

Tom Ogden. TWO HUNDRED YEARS OF THE AMERICAN CIRCUS. From Aba-Daba to the Zoppe-Zavatta Troupe. Facts on File Inc. 1993. 1st. Large 4to. 402 pp. Many interesting and unusual b/w illustrations. Mint in mint pictorial dw. £15

Oleg Popov. RUSSIAN CLOWN. Macdonald 1970. 1st UK. 164 pp. Illustrated with photos. Autobiography ofone of the most famous of all clowns who revolutionised the art of clowning, abandoning the exaggerated slap-stick elements to create a quieter and more subtle character. Fine in VG+ dw. £18

Roman Proske. MY TURN NEXT. Museum Press 1957. 1st. 208 pp. Plates. Autobiography of the Austrian aristocrat who, aged 13, ran away to join the circus and became a great animal-trainer. Slight foxing to page edges. Near fine. £15

Lady Eleanor Smith. BRITISH CIRCUS LIFE. Harrap 1948. 1st. 208 pp. Illustrated from original photos in colour and b/w by John Hinde. Eleanor Smith's last book in which she tells the story of a summer tenting season with Reco's Circus, completed with an account of what happens to the circus through the winter by W J Turner, based on a diary kept by John Hinde. Boards somewhat faded and mottled. Otherwise very good indeed. £15

Diana & George Spear. CIRCUS DOWN UNDER. Hammond 1960. 1st. 220 pp. The adventures of an English family who, quite by chance, join an Australian travelling circus. Top edge a little dusty. Very good in frayed pictorial dw. £8

Noel Streatfield. THE CIRCUS IS COMING. Dent 1945. Classic children's novel with sketches by Steven Spurrier made on the spot while tenting with a circus. Edges foxed. Good. £4

R Toole-Stott. CIRCUS AND ALLIED ARTS. A World Bibliography 1500 - 1970. Vol IV only. Harper & Sons (Derby) Ltd 1971. 1st. 4to. 335 pp + 23 plates. Near fine in near fine dw. Scarce. £85

Peter Verney. HERE COMES THE CIRCUS. Paddington Press 1978. 1st. Small 4to. 287 pp. Many interesting illustrations. Ex library with just a few stamps & library endpapers. Comprehensive survey of the highways and byways of circus history. Front free endpaper torn out. Very occasional slight soiling. Very good in edge-rubbed pictorial dw with a repaired tear. £12

Irving Wallace. THE FABULOUS SHOWMAN. Hutchinson 1960. 1st UK. 236 pp. Frontis portrait. Biography of P T Barnum. Very good in slightly marked dw. £8

Paul White. FAIRS AND CIRCUSES. Adam and Charles Black 1972. (Black's Junior Reference Books) 1st. Small 4to. 64 pp. Illustrated with photos or drawings on every page. Near fine in very good slightly marked dw with small repaired tear. £10

COME TO THE CIRCUS. P R Gawthorn nd [1950s] Large 8vo. Decorated cloth & pictorial endpapers. 186 pp. A children's miscellany of circus history, stories by various authors including Elinor Brent-Dyer, photos (some colour), drawings and colour illustrations by Wyndham Payne. Lacks back free endpaper and 1 plate. Otherwise very good indeed. £15

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