Author Paul Braithwaite became addicted to pleasure fairs through model-making. He had carried out professional model building for architects and model railway enthusiasts and admits to having got bored with them. The colour, lights and action of amusement rides offered something better to model and he set about a search for details. Finding little data available on which to base them, he started a bit of research on fair history and has not stopped since!

Paul now studies everything to do with fairs and has contributed articles to numerous specialist magazines in England and the USA, besides writing sections in the monthly "Antique Amusements Magazine". He has written numerous booklets for fair enthusiasts and specialises in the historical emergence of pleasure fairs and their associated businesses.

Paul was born in Coventry in 1953 and spent most of his life there. Time away at Leicester Polytechnic earned a Diploma and registration as an architect. Paul has always worked in private practice, mostly on commercial projects including offices and amusement arcades. In 1989 he moved to Bristol and now practices as a Chartered Architect in Weston-Super-Mare.

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