Names of Circuses and related companies found through historical research by Herman Linssen, including references and direct links to the online theatre catalogue.
For information about the origin of the Linssen collection, see ‘ORIGIN‘ page.
Notes about Circuses
Of some of the found (the largest and most important) circuses (sometimes very detailed) notes are present: of circus 45% of the circuses from before 1945 and of circus 24% of those from 1945. If notes are present, this can be seen to the sign “ks” on top of the circus card of the circus. This card system with notes from circuses has been digitized. It can be accessed via the links below:
Notes Circuses before 1945 A-B
Notes Circuses before 1945 C-I
Notes Circuses before 1945 J-Q
Notes Circuses before 1945 R-Z
Worksheets
Herman Linssen has recorded the history of the circus on “worksheets”, arranged by year and season. These worksheets are the result of his historical research. The sources of this research are mainly the professional journals, but also prints, images in books and clippings. They are, as it were, a ‘circus database’ from 1765.
Some of this information has been transferred from the worksheets to the cards of the individual circuses (see Circuses above), but there is much more detailed information on the worksheets that may be of interest to historical researchers.
The worksheets have been digitized and can be consulted via the links below:
