Research and Articles - History of Fairs - Miscellaneous Articles - Arthur Jones

You are here: Home / Research and Articles / History of Fairs / Miscellaneous Articles / Arthur Jones

Arthur Jones Collection

Part 1 - Shows

click here for Part 2 - Arks and Waltzers

click here for Part 3 - Sutton Coldfield

These images come from the Arthur Jones collection of negatives. Arthur was the librarian of the original fairground enthusiast organisation the Friendship Circle of Showland Fans (FCSF), his role was to coordinate the borrowing of photograph albums and books. The nature of the prominence of certain individual members in the FCSF, and its over-riding imperative to document a 'bygone era' through its rapid disappearance, meant that much of the photographic material of the FCSF became homogenised. Arthur's own photographs, taken in and around his Burton-on-Trent base, were not widely circulated apart from his more 'obvious' images of rides, organs and engines. However, Arthur had a keen eye and fascination for documenting the social scene of the fairground, and cataloguing his negatives have provided the NFA with an indication of his rich resources and skills.

This first feature shows some of Arthur's work in capturing the shows of the fairground - from the strange and curious to the lewd and luscious, with a bit of boxing thrown in for good measure. It indicates an era almost completely passed. Even if the shows were to be rebuilt as external artefacts, we would still need the true showmen and acts to make them complete. A modern day version of this has been attempted with our own project 'Admission all Classes' - but here is a glimpse at the original thing.