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I fell in love with the circus when I was about four. It was Billy Smart’s Big Top, where I sat with my parents and brother on tiered wooden benches, eating candy floss, watching parabolas of delight unfurl on the trapeze, high-wire acts hover magically on tip-toe, acrobats build structure from chaos, and clowns colorfully spill across the sawdust. It is a love that has lasted, and I still feel the cold-water shiver of excitement whenever the circus comes to town.

These stunning color photographs from the 1940s and 1950s of circus performers, are taken from Dominque Jando’s superb The Circus Book: 1870-1950. The images are so vibrant, one could almost step into the frame and join in all the fun.

Via Retronaut, H/T Tom Ruddock.