One of the hardest to find and
most sought after fairground books, The Travelling People is also
one of the most acclaimed insights into the world of the travelling
showman. The cover note states:
"The raffish world of the fairground,
with its raucous noise and glamorous lights looks quite different
when it is seen from the other side of the cashbox. Duncan Dallas
takes a cool look at this fascinating and almost closed society,
which differs so much from that of the 'flatties' from whom it earns
its living. Family loyalties are strong, tradition almost inexorable
and the trade guild all powerful. Work is hard for half the year and
idleness unavoidable for the other half. Money, depreciation and
return on capital, all the hard facts of economics, are a constant
preoccupation of the showman, yet they often have little formal
education. It is their womenfolk who have had the schooling and take
the money, manage their accounts and cope with the correspondence.
Contrasted with the responsible, respectable showmen are the 'gaff
lads', the sleazy, glamorous youths who take the money on the rides
in the summer and, in every town, pick up girls like windfall
apples.
The author describes the history of
the fairground, how it is run, how the showmen make (and lose)
money. He explains the sideshows and the old and new mechanical
rides, and the art of drawing a crowd into a booth to see real or
artificial freaks, or best of all 'horror and sex together'.
This is a unique way of life, the
essence of which has been brilliantly caught in Brian Tufano's
photographs."
Condition:
A clean and soundly bound book. Jacket price clipped and has
slightly worn edges. Click image above to see close-up of the copy
you are buying.
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