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 with Edward Anthony. FACING THE BIG CATS. My World of Lions and Tigers. Heinemann 1965. 1st UK. 306 pp. Plates. "Not only the story of a very courageous man but also a fascinating study of the minds and motives of the great beasts who have often been Clyde Beatty's challengers but never his enemies. Lacks front free endpaper. Very good in worn and rubbed dw. £28

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

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. Ex library in library binding with usual stamps & card pocket. No dw. Page edges soiled. Internally otherwise clean & tidy. £15

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. £28

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

Charles B Cochran. SHOWMAN LOOKS ON. Dent 1945. 1st. 323 pp. Colour frontis & numerous photos. Reminiscences of an authority on all aspects of the stage, with chapters on Circus Memories and Famous Clowns.Inscription on front free endpaper. Corners rubbed. Very good in very good protected dw. £8

Rupert Croft-Cooke. THE CIRCUS BOOK. With a note on the Tenting Show by W S Meadmore. 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. Spine ends slightly rubbed; name on front free endpaper. 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. Edges browned and a bit grubby. Otherwise very good. £25

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

Jean Goodman. EDWARD SEAGO. The Other Side of the Canvas. Jarrold 1990. 2nd ed. 256 pp. Numerous plates. A biography of the painter, one of whose many passions was the circus. He travelled with a show for a time and painted many circus scenes and wrote three books on his circus experiences. Dw spine a little faded & worn at the top. Near fine in very good dw. £12.50

Grock. LIFE'S A LARK. Heinemann 1931. 276 pp. Illustrated with photos and drawings. Extremities a bit worn. Boards & page edges a little soiled/browned. Otherwise a good clean tight copy. £16

Arthur Groom FRONTIER CIRCUS. Based on the Television Series. Purnell 1962.4to. 93 pp. Collection of Wild West circus stories, some as comic strips, illustrated with drawings by John Burns. Laminated colour pictorial boards. Pictorial endpapers. Corners & spine ends worn. Page edges browned. Very good. £8

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

David Jamieson. CHIPPERFIELD'S CIRCUS. An Illustrated History. Aardvark Publishing 1997. 1st. 192 pp. Profusely illustrated. Dw edge-rubbed and a bit worn at corners and spine ends. Otherwise fine. £60

Emmett Kelly with F Beverly Kelley. CLOWN. Robert Hale 1956. 1st UK. 239 pp. Plates. Autobiography of the original American hobo clown who broke into the movies. £25

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

Ann Kramer. STUNTMEN AND DAREDEVILS.Galley Press 1980. 4to. 93 pp. Profusely illustrated in colour & b/w. £6.50

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. Fine in very good protected dw. £15

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

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

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

Henry Morley. MEMOIRS OF BARTHOLOMEW FAIR. Hugh Evelyn 1973. Facsimile of the 1859 edition. 506 pp. Foreword by David Braithwaire. Illustrated with wood-engravings by the Brothers Dalziel. Near fine in very good price-clipped protected pictorial dw. £15

Jean Nohain & F Caradec. DE PETOMAAN. 1857-1945. Zijn Leven-Zijn Werk. Een hulde aan een unieke kunst die de wereld schockte. H J Paris, Amsterdam, 1968. Paperback. 120 pp. Profusely illustrated. Dutch translation of the original French biography of Joseph Pujol, who made the audience of the Moulin Rouge roar with laughter at his farting tricks, musical and otherwise! Page edges a little tanned & marked. Four stamps of the "Nationaal 1 April Komite Zandvoort" on first and last couple of pages. Otherwise a very good copy of an extremely scarce title. £35

Oleg Popov. RUSSIAN CLOWN. Macdonald 1970. 1st UK. 164 pp. Illustrated with photos. Autobiography of one 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

Marjorie Priceman. EMELINE AT THE CIRCUS. Knopf 1999. 4to.Informative children's book with gorgeous bright illustrations.Very good. £12.50

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

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

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

Sir Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake. THE ENGLISH CIRCUS AND FAIR GROUND. Methuen 1946. 1st. 215 pp. 16 photos & 10 line illustrations. A history of the English circus and the author's own experiences as a circus proprietor. Top page edge a little dusty. Edges rubbed. A very good clean tight copy in chipped and frayed protected pictorial dw, lacking small pieces at corners and spine ends. £20

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

Alan Wykes. CIRCUS! An Investigation into what makes the sawdust fly. Jupiter Books 1977. 1st. 139 pp. Illustrated throughout with charming drawings and reproductions. Boards very slightly warped. Otherwise fine in fine protected dw. £16

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