The construction of a biographical database is essential for the serious study of circus history. How can the invention and evolution of circus entertainment be researched without knowledge of the people involved, their lives and talents?
Although the literature of circus is voluminous, and growing, access to biographical information is difficult. R. Toole Stott produced a five volume bibliography, listing books and articles on circus and allied arts covering the period up to 1982, but this could only indicate the contents of such publications.
No index of showmen, performers and other people associated with circus has ever been published. The 'Dictionary of British Circus Biography' (DBCB) aims to remedy this situation.
The project to build a biographical database is a collaborative one. Many contributors, acknowledged in published volumes of the DBCB, have helped so far. The contributions of anyone interested in circus, historical and contemporary, are invited. In turn, the information will be organised and made available to all those with an interest in telling the story of British circus.