Philip Bradley Fairground Photographs & Notes Jan 1932 - Dec 1938 £ 12.00 • (F) Great book containing 100 photographs of pre-war fair scenes, most reproduced postcard size. Subjects covered include rides, showmens’ engines of all sizes and types, lorries (mainly Saurers) and transport. Most of the photographs cover London area fairs, but there are scenes at Oxford St. Giles fair, Malvern Easter Fair and Perranporth. Plus there are detailed notes and captions. A fabulous book for the fairground, or road locomotive fan. Well produced, 68 page, larger format paperback. New Era Publications Add to shopping basket

George Kilvington Fairground Photographs & Notes 1935 – 1947 £10.00 • (F) Contained here are around 120 B & W photos of fairground scenes, taken from the mid 1930s till the early post-war years. The vast majority of the photographs are of rides, as Kilvington wasn’t that interested in transport, and the only showmans engines featured are those far from his native Yorkshire. Most of the photographs cover Yorkshire and Lancashire fairs, but some West Country and Lincolnshire fairs also feature. 84 well produced pages. Large format paperback. New Era Publications Add to shopping basket

Roundabout Relics Barker • £26.00 • (A) An exceptionally beautiful book, this gives full colour coverage of the creations of the English fairground roundabout carvers in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. Working for Lines, Savages, Spooners, Andersons and Lakins, they created amazing carved and rich decorated horses, cockerels, dragons, bears, ostriches and many others - even centaurs, based on six Boer war Generals. Colour photos of many, many examples are included here, together with archive photographs of original rides. Wonderful! 287 colour and 58 B & W photos. 159 landscape format pages. Jumper Books. Add to shopping basket

The Electric Scenic Railway Scrivens & Smith • £20.00 • (A) By far the largest and most spectacular of all the ‘traditional’ fairground rides which emerged during the Edwardian era, the Electric Scenic Railways were sources of wonder when they first appeared. But their sheer size was their undoing as they required more men to look after them, two road trains to transport them and, as they were not very fast, they were overshadowed by the faster, more modern rides that started to appear in the twenties. This authoritative book covers them well, starting with the two builders, Savages and Orton & Spooner, current control, the cranes needed to handle the cars, the effect of WW1 on them, and their demise, followed by a history of each machine. 252 pages. Around 300 illustrations. High quality paperback. New Era Publications Add to shopping basket

Steam Yachts Scrivens & Smith • £15.00 • (B) As with their previous histories of fairground rides and attractions, the authors here look at the technical development of steam yachts, and then the history of individual rides, and their transport. The steam yacht was the first real ‘white knuckle’ ride on the tobers (and surviving sets still pack a fair punch today). Well up to these authors usual high standards. 184 pages. Over 300 b & w, mainly archive, photographs. Paperback. New Era Publications Add to shopping basket

T. Whitelegg and Sons Cavalcade of Shows Belshaw • £15.00 • (B) For much of the 20th century, West Country fairs were dominated by two major firms, Anderton & Rowlands and the subject of this book T.Whitelegg and Sons. The firms rise to eminence occurred under Tom Whitelegg and his redoubtable wife Rose; Tom was illiterate, and couldn’t drive, but this duo’s abilities and determination were such that they ended up with a business that travelled in two sections, and were driven to the various fairs in a succession of Rolls Royces - and their children were as successful. The genealogy of the family means you have to concentrate on reading this book, but there is an outstanding collection of B & W photos here, showing the firm’s development, rides, personnel and transport. 168 pages. Larger Format Paperback. New Era Publications Item Out of Print

Fun is our business Fairley • £16.99 • (A) This is a model example of a Fairground history, even if its subject, the Barry family, is best known in Northern Ireland, having run amusements in Portrush for over eighty years. Whilst Portrush has always been their base, during the twentieth century they also had travelling amusements and circuses (not surprisingly as they are part of the Chipperfield family) which toured the whole of Ireland at various times, plus Walls and Globes of Death. They were also major ice-cream manufacturers at one point, and ran the amusements at Bellevue Zoo. Not only is the family’s history very well told here, as a well produced 272 page, hardbound A4 format book, the price is ridiculous. And it has loads of B & W illustrations. If you are interested in fairground history, you will really enjoy this. Add to shopping basket

Tavistock Goose Fair Belshaw • £12.95 •(D) The Goose Fair held at Tavistock on Michaelmas Day is, as the name implies, descended from the agricultural fair when geese were sold, ready to be fattened for Christmas. It isn’t alone in this respect, Nottingham having a very large Goose Fair on the same date, but Tavistock is one of the most important end of year fairs in the South West. This is really a two subject book, the first being, obviously, the history of the Fair itself, the second subject being the very famous showland family of Anderton & Rowland, whose amusements have been prominent at Tavistock for over a century. Nicely done in every respect, with many photos, including 27 in colour, mainly of modern(ish) transport. 136 pages paperback. Published by the author. Add to shopping basket

Riding on Rainbows Walton • £15.99 • (E) This is both a history of Blackpool Pleasure Beach since the 1890s, and its impact on British popular culture. Rival seaside amusement parks have failed as the British seaside holiday has been replaced by something more exotic, yet Pleasure Beach has continued largely to prosper. This book examines how it has managed this; it may not have technical details of the rides installed, but as an accessible history of the life and times of a great British institution, this is hard to beat. 162 illustrated pages. Paperback. Skelter Publishing Add to shopping basket

Riding the Wall of Death Ford & Corble • £14.99 • (D) Probably the most spectacular of all fairground shows, the Wall of Death has a long history, starting at the turn of the last century with cyclists in what looked like bowls, before the extra power of a motor made vertical walls feasible. This excellent book tells the history, but it especially relates this to the riders, a surprising number of them women, who have earnt, or do earn, a living riding the Walls. It also makes clear why the favoured bike for Wall riders is the 1920s Indian Scout. If you are interested in the fairground, motor bikes, or distinctly free-spirts, then this is a great read. 160 pages. Around 150 illustrations (40 in colour). Paperback. Tempus Publishing Add to shopping basket

Vintage Fairground Transport Steptoe • £ 6.00 • (F) Here are 68 full colour photos of older fairground transport; only 5 feature steam, but there loads of Scammells of all shapes and sizes, and many other makes belonging to a number of showland families, including Edwards of Swindon, Carters Steam Fair and Harris Brothers amongst others. Very well produced and truly excellent value. 40 landscape format pages. Softcover. Jumper Books Add to shopping basket

Buses on the Old Fairgrounds - or Bristols and the Rest Jowitt • £ 8.95 • (E) Until the early 60s, tucked away on fairgrounds were to be found second hand (or third or forth....) buses serving as showman’s transport, or sometimes living quarters. About one in four of these were Bristols, but Leyland, Guy and Dennis examples were also plentiful, and all are illustrated here, along with some French and continental examples in over 200 b & w photos. And because the photographer was Robert Jowitt of The Girl in the Street (“Miscellaneous section) you also get life on the tober, often female, included. A delightfully idiosyncratic look at an otherwise uncovered subject. 48 A4 format pages. Softcover. Peter Wooler Add to shopping basket