Auction of the Ken Wise Collection of Circus Memorabilia
28/4/11: Bidding has now closed on this auction, but there are more rare items from the Ken Wise Collection here to buy online. (The Ken Wise items are marked NEW)

Joyland Books has been instructed to sell the circus collection of the late Ken Wise. One of the most important collections of circus memorabilia in the country, it includes circus invitation cards, promotional literature, programmes, magazines, auction catalogues and booklets, mainly from the 1920s to the 1970s.

The collection has been split into 10 different lots, details of which are below. To bid for one or more of the lots, please email info@joylandbooks.com, including your name, address and telephone number, the number of the lot(s) you are bidding on and how much you are offering. We will reply confirming that your bid has been received and will give you a Bidder Number. We will display the current highest bid for each lot, which will be updated every 24 hours. This will identify the Bidder Number but not the name of the person who currently is the highest bidder. The identity of bidders will always be kept confidential.

Once an opening bid has been received, subsequent bids for each item must be £10 or more greater than the previous bid. So if the current bid is £30, the next bid must be £40. In this example, a bid of £31 would not be accepted. The use of bid increments is standard practice in auctions.

Please note that we are not operating proxy bidding. The full amount that you bid will be published on the website as your current bid (assuming it is the highest bid!).

At the end of the auction, the highest bidder for each item will be notified. Payment should then be made within 3 working days by credit card, PayPal or by sending a cheque. Postage and packing is £2.99 per lot. For international delivery rates click here.

The auction ends at 8pm on Thursday 28 April 2011

A spreadsheet is available providing details of all the items, and it is recommended that you view this before bidding. All items have been photographed and the photo galleries can be viewed by clicking on the images below. View spreadsheet with details of all lots


Lot 1
Eight Bertram Mills Circus Invitation Cards
For the 1959-60, 1960-61, 1961-62, 1962-63, 1963-64, 1964-65, 1965-66 and 1966-67 seasons. Each includes the message: "Cyril and Bernard Mills request the pleasure of the company of Mr Hector Young and Friend at the 7.30pm performance on the First Night of the Bertram Mills Circus at Olympia" and gives the date of the performance. Click the image on the right to view all the cards.

View photos
Current Highest Bid: £50.00 | Current Highest Bidder: Bidder 4 | PLACE BID

Lot 2
Bertram Mills Programmes, Flyers and Memorabilia
A large collection of original programmes from the Olympia Circus for 1928/29, 1932/33, 1936/37, 1938/39, 1946/47, 1947/48, 1948/49, 1949/50, 950/51 (2 copies), 1951/52,  1952/53, 1953/54, 1954/55, 1956/57, 1957/58, 1958/59, 1959/60, 1960/61, 1961/62, 1962/63, 1963/64, 1964/5, 1965/66, 1966/67 (3 copies), and summer tours for 1936, 1939, 1946, 1948, 1951 (2 copies), 1954, 1957, 1960 and 1963. Numerous promotional booklets, a colour 1970s programme for Madison Square Garden, programme for the Portsmouth Hippodrome, the third edition of the Bertram Mills Circus Mirror, along with a Special Edition of the same magazine. Click the image on the right to view photographs of all the items in this Lot.

View photos
Current Highest Bid: £75.00 | Current Highest Bidder: Bidder 641 | PLACE BID

Lot 3
Other Circus Programmes, Flyers and Guides
A variety of circus programmes from the 1930s to 2004 (mainly 1930/40s/50s), including two from Belle Vue Circus, 5 Billy Smart's Circus, 4 Chipperfield's, 14 Lord George Sanger's Circus, 10 Sir Robert Fossett's Ciurcus, 2 Tom Arnold's Circus, 2 Ginnett's Circus, 3 Rosaire's Circus, 1 Anglo-American Circus, 3 Cody's Circus, 1 Circus Carina, 2 Coleman Bros Circus, 2 Robert Gandy's Big Top Circus, 1 Scott's Royal Circus, 1 Chessington Circus, 1 Reco Bros Circus, 1 Bedford Theatre, 1 Kingston Empire, 2 Paulo's International Circus, 1 Mary Benet's Winter Gardens International Circus (Bournemouth), 1 Billy Wilson's Circus, 1 Theatre Royal, 2 Southampton Hippodrome, 1 Boscombe Hippodrome, 1 Southampton Carnival Circus, 1 Granby hall Circus, 1 Zippos Circus, 1 Ringling Bros/Barnum & Bailey Circus Magazine, 1 Cole Brothers Circus, 1 Circus World Souvenir, 1 Pantomime Parade, 1 article on Lord George Sanger's Circus, 1 cutting from The Illustrated London News (1851) and assorted newspaper and magazine articles. Click the image on the right to view all the items in this Lot.

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Current Highest Bid: £305.00 | Current Highest Bidder: Bidder 4 | PLACE BID

Lot 4
Magazines: King Pole, Sawdust Ring, etc
This lot includes: 6 issues of The Sawdust Ring Magazine from 1933 to 1936; 2 issues of Bandwagon (The Circus Historical Society) from 1961; 21 issues of the British Circus Ring Magazine dating from 1946 to 1954; 9 issues of King Pole dating from 1938 to 1974 ; 3 issues of The Circus Modeler dating from 1945 to 1946; and 1 copy of The Model Engineer dating from 1950. To see the magazines in more detail, including actual volume numbers, click on the photograph to the right.

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Current Highest Bid: £90.00 | Current Highest Bidder: Bidder 4 | PLACE BID

Lot 5
Catalogues - 7 No. Fairs/Circuses
A collection of rare auction catalogues, including the following: Descriptive Catalogue of the Burrell Road Locomotives (1923); Catalogue of the Surplus and Valuable Fair Equipment and Machinery for Sale by Auction (1947); One Hundred Items of Circusiana from the Collection of Mr Antony D Hippisley Coxe (1953); Bertram Mills Travelling Circus catalogue of Remaining Stock and Equipment, For Sale by Auction (1965); Bertram Mills Circus catalogue of the Remaining Stock and Equipment (1967); Roundabouts, Savage Brothers Ltd Catalogue for 1902 (1973 reprint); Catalogue of Sale of Chipperfields Circus Equipment (1980). Click the image on the right to view all the items in this Lot.

View photos
Current Highest Bid: £5.00 | Current Highest Bidder: Bidder 4 | PLACE BID

Lot 6
Circusana Booklet
This is a guide book for the Harry Hertzberg Circus Collection at the San Antonio Public Library in Texas, USA, published in 1943. Some pages can be viewed by clicking the image on the right. The booklet comes with a letter to Ken Wise from Mrs Virginia Mars, Librarian in Charge of the Harry Hertzberg Circus Collection, dated February 2, 1950.

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Current Highest Bid: £0.00 | Current Highest Bidder: None | PLACE BID

Lot 7
100 - Not Out: To Commemorate the Centenary of Savages Ltd (1850-1950), Compiled and Written by Ronald H Clark
With a cover stating "1850-1950: A Century of Engineering", this booklet commemorates the centenary of Savages Ltd of King's Lynn. Full of interesting facts and illustrations of machines built by this famous firm. Some pages can be viewed by clicking the image on the right.

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Current Highest Bid: £15.00 | Current Highest Bidder: Bidder 102 | PLACE BID

Lot 8
Spangles and Sawdust: Circus Ways and Circus Days by Sir Robert Fossett
Believed to have been published in 1938, this booklet is the story of Sir Robert Fossett's 60 years on the road. It is very rare and this copy is in good condition.

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Current Highest Bid: £95.00 | Current Highest Bidder: Bidder 5 | PLACE BID

Lot 9
Swings by Paul Braithwaite - signed by author
This book, the second in the Fairground Heritage Series, details Swings, Park Swings, Overboats and Over the Tops. The only published work on these early rides also covers the restoration of Joby Carter's swings. Fully illustrated in colour and black/white with over forty previously unpublished photographs. This book is beautifully illustrated and comes in A5 booklet format. Signed by Paul Braithwaite.

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Current Highest Bid: £5.00 | Current Highest Bidder: Bidder 973 | PLACE BID

Lot 10
Some Wallis & Steevens Traction Engines and Steam Wagons by RC Wallis and PJ Mullett
From the inside cover: "The purpose of this booklet is to portray in illustrated form a varied selection of traction engines, road locomotives, steam tractors and wagons, manufactured by Wallis & Steevens Ltd, North Hants Ironworks, Basingstoke, and is not intended to be regarded as a technical or historical treatise on the evolution of steam power as applied to agricultural or road haulage".

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Current Highest Bid: £0.00 | Current Highest Bidder: None | PLACE BID

 
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