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National Fairground and Circus Archive Collection

 Collection
Reference code: NFA0092

Scope and Contents

Contains thousands of posters, programmes, photographs, handbills, original documents, specialist journals, newspapers and a library containing publications on all the areas of collecting

Dates

  • Creation: c1700 - 2020

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Items are available to view by appointment in the NFCA reading room

Conditions Governing Use

Copies may be supplied or produced at the discretion of the National Fairground and Circus Archive, subject to copyright law and condition of the material

Biographical / Historical

The National Fairground and Circus Archive (NFCA) was founded in 1994 by the University of Sheffield with the support of the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain and the Fairground Association of Great Britain. The collection was accummulated as the result of scholarly research conducted by Professor Vanessa Toulmin, initially during her PhD and later through her passion and expertise. Professor Toulmin assumed the role of Director of the NFCA from its inception until 2016 and was instrumental in building the foundations of the archive.

The Archive is based at the Western Bank Library and is part of the Special Collections and Archive Division of the University of Sheffield Library.

Since the formation of the Archive, the emphasis has focused on building its foundations, acquiring major donations and strengthening its position within key audiences and communities through stewardship, research and discoverability.

The NFCA actively reviews the way it contributes to institutional goals for research, learning and public engagement and sets the path to future development. As part of its core activities it is set to respond and adapt to new technological demands and new philosophies in research and learning, become a key resource to deliver innovative research potential, improve engagement levels with the academic community and play a role in the city's cultural vibrancy.

The collection embodies the history of popular entertainment in the United Kingdom from the seventeenth century onwards, covering every aspect of the travelling fair, circus and allied entertainments as well as the culture, business and life of travelling showpeople. The NFCA is the only public repository in the UK collecting this type of material, under the unified cultural identity of leisure history, the evolution of showmanship and travelling showpeople as a defined community.

The Archive collects material from the fairground, circus and all the allied industries that found a place in the early travelling entertainment sector, including early film, sideshows, freakshow, menageries, magic, boxing, variety, theme parks and amusement parks, seaside entertainment and World's Fairs and Expositions until they developed into their own distinctive form of entertainment.

Extent

200 Linear metre(s)

Language of Materials

English

French

German

Russian

Spanish; Castilian

Arrangement

Catalogued according to type

Accruals

Further accruals expected

Existence and Location of Copies

Some audio material 178E3 digitised as part of the British Library's Unlocking Our Sound Heritage project.

Status
In Progress
Author
Arantza Barrutia
Date
12 June 2020
Description rules
International Standard for Archival Description - General
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the National Fairground and Circus Archive Repository

Contact:
The University of Sheffield
Western Bank
Sheffield South Yorkshire S10 2TN United Kingdom
0114 222 7231