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A beautiful, highly illustrated and authoritative history of the circus around the world, which charts the evolution of travelling entertainment from antiquity to the present day.

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This beautiful book charts the development of the circus as an art form around the world, from antiquity to the present day.

Using over 200 circus related artworks from the French National Library´s private collections, celebrated cultural historian Pascal Jacob tells the story of travelling entertainers and their art and trade. From nomadic animal tamers of the Dark Ages to European jugglers and acrobats of the 1800s, from the use of the circus as Soviet propaganda to the 20th-century Chinese performance art renaissance, this is an exhaustive history with a uniquely international scope.

Jacob draws on both rare and famous artworks, including prints dating from the 13th century, and paintings by Picasso and Doré. In doing so he demonstrates the circus to be a visual and physical masterpiece, constantly moving and evolving, and just as exciting an experience for audiences now as it was 1,000 years ago.

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Foreword by Marius Kwint

ORIGINS: ANTIQUITY - 1770
THE GRAND HIGHWAY
A Day at the Circus
The Foundations of the ´Grande Banque d´Occident´
Jugglers, Entertainers and Acrobats
Priests, Gypsies, Merchants: Travellers´ Tales
Fairs, Construction Sites and Rostrums: The First Performance Venues
Preparing the Ground and Codes for Western Acrobatics

IMPACT AND DOMINATION: 1770-1880
THE WEST CONQUERS THE WORLD
It All Began with a Circle
Families and Troupes: The Great Dynastic Ventures
The Franconi Dynasty
A Huge Building Site: The Circus Joins the City
Equestrians Triumph Throughout Europe
Pauline Cuzent
Pantomimes and the Emergence of Narrative in the Circus
Circus Bodies: The Advent of Spectacular Gymnastics
Jules Léotard
Whiteface and Auguste Clowns
Foottit and Chocolat

CHANGES:1880-1930
OF MEN AND BEASTS
Exoticism, Wild Beasts and Splendour, German-Style
Hans Stosch-Sarrasini
Men and Beasts
Claire Héliot
Setting a System for Mobility: The Big Top
America, America
The Towering Figure of America and its Influence in Europe
Phineas Taylor Barnum
"Monsieur Loyal": The Spoken Word Enters the Circus
Roger Lanzac

INFLUENCES: 1930-2015
THE BIG PLUNGE
The Soviet Circus: State Circus and Vehicle for Propaganda
Margarita Nazarova
Karandash
The Chinese Acrobatic Theatre: a Renaissance
Xia Ju Hua
The End of a World: The American Circus in Turmoil
John Ringling North
The Circo Fellini: A Fresh Perspective on the Ring, In Italy and Elsewhere
The Revival of the Circus Arts in France, Quebec and Belgium
Annie Fratellini

FINALE: A Circus for Today and Tomorrow

Glossary
Bibliography
Index of Names

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Jacob, Pascal
Pascal Jacob is a prominent circus arts historian who lectures at the Sorbonne, France.

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