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Butlin's: 75 Years of
Seaside Fun!
7 January 2012
After successfully developing a series of funfairs, Billy Butlin progressed to opening holiday centres and hotels across the UK to provide families with an inexpensive but entertaining holiday. Over the years these centres first expanded and then declined in number due to changes in our preferences for types of holiday.
The new book Butlin's: 75 Years of Seaside Fun! by Sylvia Endacott and Shirley
Lewis illustrates the history of the various camps and hotels, including all of the things we associate with this most British of establishments. From Redcoats to amusement parks, and from the Glamorous Grandmothers competitions to National Talent contests, this book provides an enjoyable and nostalgic trip down memory lane for all who know and love Butlin’s. More...
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Voices from the Fairground
7 January 2012
A completely new version of the 2005 book Voices from the Fairground by the Laisterdyke Local History Group has just been published. The book is based on extensive interviews with showpeople and offers some fascinating insights into fairground lives and livelihoods. Several 'voices' are heard, including that of Jimmy Williams, who travelled the Yorkshire fairgrounds as a boy, and later set up a successful one-man business making "targets for shooters" and miniature fairground organs. We also hear from John Hale, who ran fairs in the Bradford area, and from his sister who provides a woman's eye view of fairground life. Dennis Dibb writes about "the lure of the fairground", to which he succumbed as a young boy; and Arthur Spence describes how his parents sold brandy snap while he and his brothers lived with friends so that they could get a better education. There are many more photographs to accompany the text and and "lure of the fairground" is eloquently expressed throughout the book. More...
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The rides of
Orton & Spooner
18 December 2011
Orton &
Spooner was one of Britain's greatest amusement ride
manufacturers, formed following the amalgamation of two
separate firms in 1925. Orton's produced numerous rides,
from early switchbacks and bioscopes to ark/speedways,
ghost trains, even roller coasters.
In a new
photo gallery,
The Rides of Orton & Spooner, amusement park and
rides nostalgia website
themagiceye takes visitors on a tour of
some of the most popular rides produced by the company.
Click here to view...
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Dreamland Remembered reduced
23 November 2011
It was announced yesterday that Dreamland Margate has received a grant of £3m from the Heritage Lottery Fund. This completes the funding necessary to build the first phase of the proposed amusement park of historic rides at Dreamland, which will cost £10.4m in total. Work has already started on the Cinema building and work on the park itself should start next year.To celebrate we have reduced the book Dreamland Remembered by Nick Evans to only £11.99, a saving of £4.00 off the recommended retail price. This edition of Dreamland
Remembered, updated and expanded to celebrate the park’s 90th
anniversary, contains a nostalgic collection of nearly 250
illustrations from its earliest days to the latest ideas to create a
heritage theme park. Click here for more details.
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Dreamland Remembered 90th Anniversary Edition |
Tale of a
haunted mansion
13 November 2011
Venture through one of Disneyland's most popular attractions, The Haunted Mansion, in a brand new DVD. The Haunted Mansion documents the beginning of the manor, telling the stories, the rumours and sharing the spectacular art work from the Disney team. Narrated by Bryan Simmons, and featuring interviews with Disney legend Bob Gurr and doombuggies.com creator Jeff Baham.
This fantastic DVD also includes a bonus feature with up and coming voice over actor, Raymond Macias, who lends his vocals to introduce various characters within the Haunted Mansion.
You don't want to miss this spooktacular disc. Details here...
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The
Historic Tale of Universal Studios Released
23 October 2011
Our friends at Theme Parkology have just released The Historic Tale of Universal Studios, a brand new DVD. Learn how an empty property became one of the world's most loved theme parks, featuring a rare interview with imagineer, Bob Gurr, as he talks about his work on the Conan and King Kong attraction.
Now you can relive the history of Universal Studios in this 60 minute DVD that shares photos and footages of many of the attractions and exhibits. See how the lot blossomed since its opening day in 1912, visit the first GlamorTram in 1962 and journey through the lot, visiting such legendary props and special effect exhibits as the Bates Mansion, the Flash Flood, the Parting of the Sea and the Runaway Train, to name a few. More...
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Dark rides of
the north west
2 October 2011
In the build-up to Halloween, amusement park nostalgia website themagiceye features a unique look back at the dark rides of the north west coastal resorts. The article, by Liverpool resident Tony O'Keeffe, looks at rides - many now long gone - in Blackpool, Morecambe, Southport, New Brighton and Rhyl. It covers ghost trains, river caves and all other forms of dark rides operating in parks such as the Tower Pleasure Grounds in New Brighton and Southport's Pleasureland. Click here to the read the article.
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Former
amusement park owner dies
30 September 2011
Harold Robinson, the former owner of the Ocean Beach amusement park in Rhyl has died at the age of 69. Mr Robinson arrived at Rhyl at the age of 10 with his parents' family rides at Ocean Beach Fun Fair in Rhyl. He would eventually take over from his parents, operating rides such as the Bumper Boats and Go-Karts. His big break came in 1997, when Ocean beach's owners, First Leisure (which also owned and operated Blackpool Tower at the time) decided to put the amusement park up for sale. Mr Robinson, alog with his brothers and a business partner, bought the park. They ran the park for 10 years, after which they sold it to a developer for redevelopment. Mr Robinson donated the remains of the Water Chute to the The Dreamland Trust in Margate.
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The demise
of the Rotunda Amusement Park, Folkestone
10 September 2011
**Please note that
this limited edition book has now sold out - sorry for any
disappointment**
The Rotunda Amusement Park, Folkestone, is one of a number of seaside amusement parks - see also Dreamland in Margate; Frontierland in Morecambe; Pleasureland in Southport and Spanish City in Whitley Bay - that have sadly closed in recent years.When the local history writing partnership of Martin Easdown and Linda Sage - authors of Mr Warwick's Revolving Towers - began in 1996, the Rotunda was one of Folkestone's seaside attractions that they were particularly interested in and they took a number of photographs in 1998 and 2002. The site of the Rotunda has now been levelled in preparation for residential and leisure development. The authors hope that the new limited edition book of only 69 copies, The Demise of the Rotunda Amusement Park, will serve as a record of its final years.
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The
winds of change: Blackpool Pleasure Beach in the 1960s
1 September 2011
Amusement park nostalgia website themagiceye has dug deep into the archives this month for an atmospheric article on Blackpool's Pleasure Beach in the 1960s. The park was just entering a further period of major change and was a very different place to the Pleasure Beach of today.The article, which first appeared on thegalloper.com in January 2003, is available to view by clicking here.
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The founding
father of Pinder's Circus
27 August 2011
A limited edition book has been released on the subject of Thomas Ord, known as Scotland's greatest equestrian and the founding father of Pinder's Circus.
Thomas Ord: Circus Proprietor by Stuart McMillan is about the son of a minister who ran away and joined a circus. By around 1804 he had his own travelling circus. Although he built wooden circus buildings in Biggar, Dumfries, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Preston, Whitehaven, and Wick he was known by everyone in Scotland for his open-air shows. These shows he prepared by lifting the turfs of grass in a circle which were piled up around the diameter forming a circular bank of turfs. These were known as 'Ord's Rings' and could be seen all over Scotland in towns and villages. More...
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Back by popular
demand!
24 August 2011
Out of print for a number of years, but now reprinted with new photographs, more pages and in hardback. Townsends: A Showman's Story by Kay Townsend is
the fascinating story of the Townsend family.
Richard Townsend & Sons were West
Country showmen and this book is about how their life evolved and
how a young man called Richard met a young lady called Kate Forse,
and their struggle to build a business through two World Wars and
the depression.
It also includes details and images of their
transport.
Click here for details.
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Mr Warwick's
Revolving Towers
20 August 2011
A brand new book detailing the histories of the Warwick Revolving Towers at Great Yarmouth, Morecambe, Scarborough, Southend-on-Sea, Douglas and Cleethorpes has been released.
At 72 pages, Mr Warwick's Revolving Towers by Martin Easdown and Linda Sage includes many illustrations and is a limited edition of only 200.
The first tower at Great Yarmouth in 1897 was constructed by Jessop and Appleby of Leicester, which also built the one at Southend the following year. Thomas Walker built the towers at Scarborough and Morecambe in 1898, and at Douglas the following year. More...
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Circus
Posters
9 July 2011
The magic of the circus has for many years been captured in the bold, brilliant posters that were plastered all over a town to let everybody know the circus was coming to town.
Circus Posters is a brand new CD-ROM, imported from the USA. This magical collection of circus posters also covers the Wild West Shows, World Circus and over 250 high resolution graphics for the circus fan. Plus 376 pages of sideshow freaks and more. Click here for more details.
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Arrow: Building
a Dream
2 July 2011
In
2008, Joyland Books' exclusive amusment park nostalgia website themagiceye copied an obituary on amusement park pioneer Karl Bacon, co-founder of famous roller coaster builder Arrow, and posted it on a web forum. themagiceye wasn't expecting the reply it got from one reader -
Carolyn Anderson Moyer - who quite rightly took umbrage with some of
its accuracy. Carolyn just happens to be the daughter of Arrow co-founder Angus Anderson, and has now provided themagiceye with the real truth behind the birth of the most influential roller coaster company in history. Read on...
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John
Lawson's Circus opens at Fairytale Farm
16 June 2011
The award-winning John Lawson's Circus has pulled on to Southcombe Farm, site of the new Fairytale Farm attraction. The circus is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday 17th to 19th June. More details on the Fairytale Farm news page, and photos of the pull-on are here. More photos will appear on the Fairytale Farm Facebook site tomorrow.In other Fairytale Farm news, the brand new website launched today and can be viewed here.
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Bye Bye
Beaver Creek
30 May 2011
Nickelodeon Land has just opened its gates to welcome the next
generation of thrill seekers to Pleasure Beach Blackpool. The
£10 million development is a mixture of adult and children’s
attractions featuring new and re-themed rides. Phil Gould, writing for amusement park nostalgia website themagiceye,
takes a look back at its forerunners and an area of the Pleasure
Beach that is often overlooked by historians - the children’s
amusement park. Read article...
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Battersea
Festival Gardens 1951
30 April 2011
On 10 May 1951 - exactly 60 years ago this month - The Battersea Festival Gardens opened to invited guests. The public were let in a day later. To celebrate the opening of this fondly remembered amusement park - which operated until 1974 as Battersea Fun Fair - Gary Radice's themagiceye features a brand new article which takes a look at this park in its year of opening. Read Article...
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Rare books from
the Ken Wise Collection
29 April 2011
Fairytale
Farm needs your help!
10 April 2011
Joyland Books is building the UK's first all-access tourist attraction, built entirely around the needs of children with disabilities.
Fairytale Farm has been entered into the Barclays 'Take One Small Step' competition. The winner from each region will get £50,000. We really need this to complete the project in time for opening next year, so please drop by the website and 'Like' us. And then spread the word!
Fairytale Farm will open in May/June 2012 and will feature animals, adventure play and sensory trails. You can also follow progress on a special Facebook page.
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The heart
and soul of Whitley Bay in words and pictures
27 March 2011
Hot on
the
heels of
Mick
Sharp's
stunning
book on
the
history
of the
Spanish
City,
The Dome
of
Memories,
comes
another
new book
on the
same
subject.
Packed
full of
colour
and
black
and
white
photographs,
The
Spanish
City:
The
Heart
and Soul
of
Whitley
Bay in
Words
and
Pictures,
compiled
and
edited
by Keith
Armstrong,
vividly
tells
the
story of
Whitley
Bay's
iconic
amusement
park.
The book
features
historical
background
and
interviews,
together
with
creative
writing
on the
subject
of the
fairground
and
entertainment
complex,
all
illustrated
with
photographs
and
artwork,
past and
present.
Details...
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Dome of
memories
27 March 2011
Mick
Sharp,
the
author
of the
brand
new book
on the
history
of the
Spanish
City
Fairground
and Dome
(The
Dome
of
Memories
-
available
here),
has
written
an
article
especially
for the
Joyland
Books
amusement
park
nostalgia
website
themagiceye.
Also
called
Dome of
Memories,
the
article
sets out
how Mick
got
involved
with the
project
to host
an
exhibition
on the
history
of the
famous
amusement
park and
how that
then
snowballed
into a
major
new
book.
Read
article...
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More than just
an amusement park
27 March 2011
A major
new
release
for 2011
is a
book
telling
the
story of
Blackpool
Pleasure
Beach.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach -
More
Than
Just an
Amusement
Park
by
Professor
Vanessa
Toulmin
of the
National
Fairground
Archive
has been
carefully
produced
in close
collaboration
with
Pleasure
Beach
and
offers a
unique
insight
into the
history
of the
park.
The 144
page
book
showcases
many
images
from the
park’s
never
before
seen
archives,
plus a
whole
host of
recent
pictures
detailing
the
various
changes
at
Pleasure
Beach.
More...
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Memories of
the Spanish City Fairground
26 March 2011
The
story of
the
Spanish
City
Fairground
and its
famous
entertainment
complex
is told
in a
brand
new
book.
The Dome
of
Memories
by Mick
Sharp is
a
collection
of
nostalgic
anecdotes
and
unseen
photographs
spanning
the past
century.
The
book,
which
was
published
by North
Tyneside
Council,
also
features
popular
fairground
rides,
financial
records
and
architectural
plans.
The book
is the
most
comprehensive
record
of the
history
of the
world-famous
Dome and
Spanish
City
Fairground.
Includes
chapters
on the
Virginia
Reel and
the
Corkscrew
Roller
Coaster.
More...
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Auction of the Ken Wise Collection of Circus Memorabilia
6 March 2011
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
auction
runs
from
today
until 28
April
2011 and
is
exclusive
to
Joyland
Books.
Go to
auction...
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A legend
from Wales
2 March 2011
Bill
Treen,
who runs
an
electrical
shop in
Tewksbury,
shares
his
passion
for
Tewkesbury's
Mop Fair
in a
brand
new
book.
Bill,
who is a
founder
member
of
Tewkesbury
Fair
Society
and an
honorary
life
member
of the
Showmen's
Guild,
has
teamed
up with
Cardiff-based
showman
Robert
Deakin
to write
A Deakin
& Sons
Modern
Amusements:
A Legend
From
Wales.
The book
tells
the
story of
the
Deakin
family's
fairground
business
across
119
pages,
with
over 200
photographs,
some in
colour.
More...
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Journey
through Disneyland's whimsical land of Fantasy
21 February 2011
Rare amusement
park books added to Secondhand Shop
19 February 2011
Illustrated
guide to the Fairground Heritage Centre
19 February 2011
Without a doubt the artefacts
assembled by the
Fairground Heritage Trust
represents the single most
important collection of historic
fairground items in this
country. It portrays a period
when gilded carved work and
artistic competence saw the
production of some of the most
lavish shows and roundabouts
ever seen.
The Fairground Heritage Centre:
Illustrated Guide, with
a Foreword by David Wallis,
takes you on a tour of the
artefacts and rides that are on
display at the Fairground
Heritage Centre, which opened in
Devon in 2007.
Click here for details...
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Definitive
history of landmark amusement park
15 February 2011
San Francisco's Playland at the
Beach: The Early Years
by James R Smith is the
definitive history of this
landmark amusement park. Vividly
illustrated with over 300 rare
photographs, the book traces the
origins, construction,
development and expansion of the
park and presents a brilliant
portrait of Playland during its
glorious heyday from the 1920s
through the 1940s.
Richly illustrated and
painstakingly researched, this
is a nostalgic time machine fun
ride through an enchanting part
of San Francisco's history.
More...
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Things to do in theme
park queues
14 February 2011
Imagine how much fun a day at a
theme park would be if the long
lines were fun too!
Things to Do In Theme Park
Queues by Scott Wegener
is an entertaining book that
will make your visit to a busy
theme park even more enjoyable.
Filled with tips, activity ideas
and trivia, this book/and app
helps remove the "downs" from
your theme park visit.
Click here for more details.
This is one of many theme park
related books now available at
Joyland Books.
Click here for our full
range of theme park books. And
to receive updates of new
releases as they happen, follow
us on
Twitter.
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New DVDs celebrate
fairground history
13 February 2011
New to Joyland Books are three
DVDs celebrating different
aspects of Britain's fairground
and steam heritage.
Bluebell Steam is a DVD
of the Bluebell railway Steam
Fair which features the Harris
Brothers' Old Tyme Steam Fair in
action.
Steam Power features
steam giants at the Expo Manby
Steam in 1991, including
fairground rides.
Finally,
Stamford Mid-Lent Fair 1996,
previously only available on
video has now been launched on
DVD. For a limited period, we
are also making the videos
available for only £5.
Click here for details.
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Joyland Books on Facebook and Twitter
12 February 2011
Get updates on all new releases
as they happen by
following us on
Twitter, and you
can also now find us on
Facebook.
Don't forget, we also send out
occasional email updates, which
you can sign up to
here.
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Pleasurewood Hills sold
6 February 2011
Compagnie des Alpes, the owner
of Pleasurewood Hills theme park
near Lowestoft, has confirmed
the sale of the park to private
investment firm HIG Capital
France, along with six other
theme parks. The new owners have
pledged to invest in new
attractions.
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Fairytale Farm launches Facebook page
6 February 2011
Fairytale Farm, the tourist
attraction for disabled children
being built by Joyland Books,
has launched a new page on
Facebook, where you can follow
news of the project and see
regularly updated photo albums
showing progress at the site.
Visit
facebook.com/fairytalefarm
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One bright spot: Southend's Kursaal
30 January 2011
'One Bright Spot' and 'By the
Dome it’s Known' were bywords
for the Kursaal, certainly
in Southend, in the East End of London and throughout much of southern England.
The Kursaal was the largest amusement park in the south throughout much of the
Twentieth Century and the destination for thousands of East Enders and others up
to the 1960s. Amusement park nostalgia website
themagiceye presents,
for the first time since 2003, a
photo gallery journey around the
Kursaal through the years. Read
'One Bright Spot: Southend's
Kursaal'.
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Above: Tarring the Kursaal Water Chute in the War. |
The story of Greens' Caterpillar
roundabouts
29 January 2011
The new book
Greens for Caterpillars
by Tommy Green is the story of
the involvement of the Green
family of Lancashire in the
introduction of travelling
Caterpillar rides to the UK. The
ride was introduced in 1923, and
the Green family were involved
with the operation of four of
these rides from that date. The
book gives details of the
development of the ride, and
also details of the fairs that
they attended and the other
rides that they opened with from
the 1920s through to the 1970s.
There is a detailed section on
the transport used with the
rides from the days of using the
railways, through steam traction
engines and early petrol
lorries, through to more
reliable diesel transport.
Caterpillars are also featured
at a number of amusement parks.
The book features over 130
photographs.
Click here for more
details.
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Three new DVDs on the Great Dorset
Steam Fair
23 January 2011
A
series of three new DVDs
celebrate one of Europe's
biggest and best loved events,
the Great Dorset
Steam Fair.
Reputedly the largest outdoor show in the world, the Great Dorset
Steam Fair is an extraordinary annual event attracting hundreds of
thousands of visitors.
Volume 1 focuses on the smaller exhibits that
give the fair its unique and eclectic feel.
Volume 2 looks at
working tractors
and what are many visitors'
favourite exhibits - the
lovingly maintained showman
engines.
Volume 3 follows the
preparation and arrival of the
main steam engine exhibits as
they make their way slowly but
surely to the fair site.
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The story of Hull Fair
23 January 2011
Enjoy the thrills and spills, the frights and delights of one of the
world's greatest travelling spectacles - The Hull Fair. From its
ancient beginnings as a means of selling and promoting local goods
to the adrenaline charged excitement of modern rides, the DVD
The Story of Hull Fair gives
a brief look at one of Europe's most exciting events.
Click here for details.
We
now stock lots of items on one
of Europe's truly great fairs:
Hull Fair by Stephen
Smith and Kevin Scrivens
Hull Fair: Fun For All
by Vanessa Toulmin
Hull Fair 2000 DVD
Hull Fair 2002 DVD
Hull Fair 2004 DVD
Hull Fair 2007 DVD
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