Biography

David Jamieson was a circus enthusiast and historian who pursued his passion for circus for over 60 years, visiting circuses all over the world and creating close links to some of the biggest names in the industry. Not only was he an enthusiast but also a circus performer, an author and a respected and recognised expert on the field with in-depth knowledge and experience of the world of animal and human performance and the life of circus people.

Over the years, David amassed an enormous amount of knowledge and recorded his experiences of circus both in writing and through photography, creating an important and unique legacy and a visual record of long-gone shows and performers.

David was the Editor of King Pole for 43 years, he regularly wrote articles for several newspapers including; The Guardian and The Independent and was the author and editor of many circus books.

Additionally, he wrote and designed circus programmes and souvenir guides for the Circus World Championships, Chipperfield’s, Robert Brothers and Austen Brothers circuses and his photographs have been widely published around the world.

David was a member of the Circus Friends Association of Great Britain and had a long standing relationship with the National Fairground and Circus Archive (NFCA). For years, he worked as a key contact between the two organisations, directly supporting the development of the CFA Library at the NFCA by contributing to the creation of one of the most comprehensive public circus literature collections in the UK and by facilitating the transfer of publications. More recently, David played an instrumental role in the donation of the CFA archive to the NFCA. This marked a significant turning point in the history of both organisations and made the NFCA the largest public repository of circus archives in the UK. David’s collection is a reflection of a 60 year labour of love. He visited circuses all over the world and created close links with some of the biggest names in the industry. He was a respected and recognised expert in the field with an in-depth knowledge and experience of the world of animal and human performance, and the life of circus people.

David researched, photographed and wrote about circus tirelessly, and for a short while, he even experienced it first hand, travelling with Chipperfield’s and designing programmes and souvenir guides for the Circus World Championships as well as some of the most important British circuses of the 20th century. Additionally, David was a lifetime member of the Circus Friends Association of Great Britain and the Editor of the King Pole for 43 years. He also wrote articles for other newspapers including; The Guardian and The Independent, and was the author and editor of many circus books whilst his photographs have been widely published around the world.

David passed away in 2017 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. With a lifelong passion for circus, he amassed an enormous amount of knowledge about the subject which he recorded both in writing and through photography, creating an important and unique legacy for the future.

Found in 8 Collections and/or Records: