This is the intimate story of the
biggest tenting circus in the British Isles, run by one of the last
of the old-time showmen and his ten children. An expansive
individual who is known to millions through the medium of the
television screen, Billy Smart's very appearance, with his Palm
Beach suits and Stetson hats, serves as an advertisement for his
show; and the show itself achieves a unique and happy balance
between tradition and the speed and colour of a West End revue.
A former fairground magnate, Billy
Smart started his circus in a small way in 1946, travelling it in
conjunction with his fair until it grew strong enough to stand on
its own two feet. For the last three years it has been the biggest
show in the country, run on the lines of the great German circuses
and employing the best Continental trainers and artistes. It
comprises a herd of fifteen elephants and nearly a hundred horses,
as well as polar bears, lions, dromedaries, chimpanzees, sea lions,
zebras, llamas and Highland cattle. It also has a staff of two
hundred employees.
Condition: Good condition.
Dustjacket permanently attached to book. Possibly formally a
library book as it has various markings inside front cover where
labels would have been.
Click photo above for larger image
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