Incredible black and white photographs show London circuses through the years
These black and white photographs provide a fascinating glimpse of London’s circuses in bygone decades - long before Leicester Square and the O2 Arena became the place to catch some entertainment in the capital.
The circus has long been a place for Londoners to enjoy a family day out and the pictures show how life at the big top has changed over the years.
The images show all manner of weird and wacky attractions at early circuses in the capital, from high wire artists to performing dogs.
In one of the first images, Russian Cossack horse riding entertainers get ready to perform in a marquee in Holland Park in 1925.
Animal rights activists would probably have something to say about some of the acts on display, many of which include exotic animals from all over the world.
In one image, a woman cuts the nails of a circus elephant in Earls Court in 1928, while at the Olympia Circus in London, two mandrills wear a fancy suit and dress in imitation of a smart couple.
Elsewhere, in one surreal photograph from 1952, stuntman Stan Bonds dives into a water tank at Battersea Pleasure Gardens while enveloped in flames.
These photographs take us on a tour of some of the capital's most popular circuses over a four decade period, from 1925 to 1952.
Click on the image at the top of this page to browse the gallery.
Follow us on Twitter: @eslifenandstyle
