Lord George Sanger Circus (Established c1880)
Dates
- Existence: Established c1880
Biography
Lord George Sanger Circus was founded by George Sanger after disolving his business partnership with his brother John Sanger.
George and John were the founders of the Sanger Allied Circus in 1854, which they operated with a few family members and friends. The business grew from strength to strength and by 1858 Sanger’s circus could boast of presenting the largest stud of horses ever seen in the European continent. By the 1860s the Sanger emporium owned ten permanent circuses between Plymouth and Aberdeen.
The Sanger brother’s acquired two of the most famous and reputable circus venues in London; the Royal Agricultural Hall at Islington in 1870 and Astley’s New Royal Amphitheatre in 1871.
George and John eventually decided to go their separate ways and split their various business ventures amicably.
During his career as a circus proprietor George Sanger presented two Royal performances before Queen Victoria, the first at Sandringham on 8 January 1885 and the second at Balmoral Castle on 17 June 1898.
George Sanger was a respected member of the showland community and although he spent most of his later life in the circus, he maintained a strong link to his fairground roots and was elected the first President of the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain in 1890, a post he held until 1909.
George Sanger was murdered on 28 November 1911, at Park Farm by one of his employees for unknown reasons. His circus and effects were auctioned off by showman Tom Norman aka ‘The Silver King’.
Found in 104 Collections and/or Records:
Lord George Sanger's Two Day Great Sale Catalogue, 31 October - 1 November 1905
Park Farm, East Finchley, London, to be sold at auction by Tom Norman. Catalogue of sale of Lord George Sanger's business possessions including animals and equipment. Black type on off white paper with hand written prices against items. Printed by E.S. Wheatley, Steam Printer, Barnet, 12pp.
Lord John Sanger and Sons Ltd. Royal Hippodrome and Menagerie Programme, c1910
2p.p
Memorandum of Agreement, 1 March 1923
Memorandum of agreement between Mrs A. Reeve-Sanger and Rupert Heath for the appearance of Diana Dobsons, comedy act, for six nights, starting Monday 11 June 1923 at the Palace Theatre, Ramsgate. Black type on pink paper. Type and manuscript, 2pp.
Newspaper Article on Lord George Sanger and His Circus, c1832 - 1956
The greatest show on earth: Lord George Sanger and his Circus, Croft-Cooke, R. Cutting of chapter from Chambers Journal, 3p.p.
Newspaper Cuttings, 1903 - 1911
Photocopies of newspaper cuttings about George Sanger's Circus and George Sanger's murder.
Newspaper Cuttings and Scapbooks, 1838 - 2007
A collection of newspaper cuttings on circus, circus proprietors and performers and scrapbooks containing newspaper cuttings, posters, programmes and other items of ephemera, covering mainly British circuses and venues such as Belle Vue and also some international circuses.
Newspaper Cuttings and Scrapbooks, c1865 - 1945
Newspaper cuttings related to George Sanger's circus and business.
Newspaper Cuttings and Scrapbooks, c1832 - 1999
Various newspaper cuttings and scrapbooks about variety and circus performers including the Ohmy and Sanger families.
Newspaper Cuttings on Lord George Sanger's Circus, c1962
Newspaper cuttings about Baby Jumbo the elephant and Sanger Circus winding-up petition, attached to a programme see 178K43.585.
No Kidding Film, c1960 - 1970
Circusama and Yesterdays Circus Today. 16mm, G.B. Equipment Ltd. 8 minutes long. Black and white with sound. Includes Chessington Zoo and Lord George Sanger's football dogs. Copied to DVD 2 and DIGI-BETA.
Noel Drewe Collection
A large collection of films entitled Circusama containing amateur and professional films on the themes of circus, performing animals and zoos, and edited clips from commercial Western and comedy films. The films are in a variety of formats including 8mm, Super8, 9.5mm and 16mm and contain related correspondence and notes. This collection also contains some sound reels mainly of fairground music.
Photographs, c1850 - 1945
Black and white photographs and postcards of George and Jonh Sanger's circus.
Photographs, c1890 - 1959
Black and white photographs of George Sanger's Circus showing staff, family, performers, animals, living wagons and parades, including Topsy Sanger, Harry Austin, George Holloway, Cissie Holloway, Cissie Austin, George Sanger, James Holloway, Abe Holloway, George Austin, Bellevina Holloway, Kate Holloway, The Three Holloways, Cirque Angelo, The Four Holloways, Ellen Chapman, Harriet Sanger and June Dick.
Photographs and Postcards, c1800 - 1999
Black and white and colour photographs, negatives and photographic albums mainly containing images of British circus, circus performers, animals and circus personalities but also some menageries such as Bostock and Wombwell and other associated entertainments and non-British circuses taken by David Jamieson, Lindsay Temple, Den Curtis, Capt. Middleton, Jack Niblett and other photographers.
Photographs and Postcards, 1908 - 1975
Black and white photographs and postcards of the Ohmy, the Smart and the Sanger circuses and family members, including John Sanger in sailor’s uniform. Also a variety of circus performers including Mme. Morelli from the Bostock menagerie. Many of the postcards have been used for correspondence.
Posters, c1800 - 2011
A wide range of British and international circus and menagerie posters ranging from the 19th to the 21st century including Astley's Amphitheatre, Pablo Fanque, Polito, Bostock and Wombwell, Ducrow, Cooke, Hengler, Sanger, Smart, Gerry Cottle, Bertram Mills, Chipperfield's, Robert Brothers, Fossett, Blackpool Tower, Billy Russell, Belle Vue, Great Yarmouth Hippodrome, Austen Brothers and many more.
Proclamations, 1836 - 1888
Proclamations announcing Pablo Fanque's benefit event and speaches and appearances about the horse killing wolves incident at Lord George Sanger's theatre.
Programmes, c1800 - 2019
A collection of mainly British and international circus programmes and some variety and music hall programmes containing circus acts.
Programmes, c1875 - 1919
George Sanger Circus and Hall by the Sea programmes.
Programmes for Circus, Magic and Variety Shows, c1890 - 1999
Circus, magic and variety show programmes including the Great Ohmy Circus, John Sanger Circus, Bertram Mills Circus and variety shows at various locations in Blackpool, London, Manchester and other theatres in England. Some of the variety performers showcased are Morecambe and Wise, Hetty King, Mae West, Bob Hope, Shirley Bassey, Larry Lamb and Cliff Richards.