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Dick Price Collection

 Fonds
Reference code: NFA0031

Scope and Contents

This collection contains black and white and colour prints and negatives of lorries, rides, shows and personalities at various fairs, mainly Cheshire, Merseyside and Wales fairs taken and collected by Dick Price. Also VHS videos consisting of an eclectic range of fairground and transport themed visual material from a variety of steam rallies and fairs up and down the country, from Folkestone to Ross-on-Wye. The majority feature archive footage filmed in the 1990s by Dave Homer, a renowned enthusiast with a thriving commercial video market.

Dates

  • Creation: 1906 - 1999

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Items are available to view by appointment in the NFCA reading room. Film viewing equipment must be booked in advance

Conditions Governing Use

Copies may be supplied or produced at the discretion of National Fairground and Circus Archive, subject to copyright law and condition of the material

Biographical / Historical

Dick Price was a keen enthusiast who grew up around the fairs in Merseyside and the large fair at his home town of Neston. His early photographs included 1970s trips around Cheshire fairs, rallies and coastal amusement parks such as Rhyl, Southport and Morecambe.

Dick was very meticulous with his visits and photography, searching out some of the smaller operators and photographing small beachfront amusements throughout North and West Wales.

Dick was a close friend of Frank and Paul Anyon and took regular trips around London fairs and the Nottingham Goose fair. He was noted for always leaving on the Saturday mid-afternoon to fulfil his other love, drumming in a dance band.

His collection is a thorough history of all aspects of fairs, rallies and parks throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. It reflects Dick's interest in Ghost Trains, Funhouses and the new school of fairground art that emerged with these attractions. Dick also worked hard at maintaining accurate machine histories such as the Dodgems.

Dick Price was always active within the Fairground Association of Great Britain, and their magazine. ‘The Fairground Mercury’ printed his article on the history of the Lancashire Collins and their visits to Neston shortly following Dick's death. Entitled 'Swan-song', it appears in volume 23, number 3 December 2000.

Extent

16 Box(es) (aprox. 4,565 photographs and 49 VHS PAL videos)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

Catalogued according to type

Related Materials

Lionel Bathe Collection, John Gale Collection, Rowland Scott Collection, Philip Swindlehurst Collection, Ron Taylor Collection, Dave Homer Collection, Noel Drewe Collection and George Tucker Collection

Status
Completed
Author
Created by Ian Trowell Updated Arantza Barrutia on Finding Aid Date field date
Date
26 March 2014
Description rules
International Standard for Archival Description - General
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the National Fairground and Circus Archive Repository

Contact:
The University of Sheffield
Western Bank
Sheffield South Yorkshire S10 2TN United Kingdom
0114 222 7231