Circus and Sideshow in the Long Nineteenth Century: A Documentary History

From the early nineteenth century, Indian itinerant artists have been journeying to the imperial centers. The emerging Indian circus enabled a multitude of surplus labour and migrant artists to find their place within its rubric, subsequent to the encounters with the colonial circuses. The touring Indian circus along with its performers – both human and non-human – played a crucial role in the global circus networks, provoking a range of receptions and discourse. This collection features source materials, including advertisements, biographies, legal documents, news articles, playbills, posters, reviews, thereby filling a critical void in circus histories.