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The Fairground Bioscope Shows
Moving Pictures first appeared on the fairground at the King's Lynn Mart on February 15th 1897. Randall Williams, the King of Showmen, had adapted his Ghost show at the end of December 1896 when he introduced the latest novelty into his presentation at the World's Fair Exhibition in Islington. Within a few months showpeople across the country were exhibiting moving pictures to the fairgoing public.
Bioscope Show, circa 1910
This period of fairground and cinema history is preserved in the National Fairground Archive through a comprehensive collection of photographs of these shows on fairgrounds throughout the United Kingdom. Within the photographic collection, there are approximately four hundred images of early pioneering cinema shows, which include details of the transportation involved and family portraits of the showpeople who presented exhibitions. The bioscope presenters travelled the length and breadth of the United Kingdom and so the the regional coverage of the material extends to the four corners of the country.
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