Title Pending 4273

This is an accepted article with a DOI pre-assigned that is not yet published.Circus and funfair studies are evolving fields ofresearch. Especially regarding circus traditions, a growing scholarship hasemerged since the early 2000s with some foundational volumes that have pavedthe way for the scholarly field. Historiographical approaches, however, areoften limited to outlining the circus as an independent theatrical genre duringthe eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries and due to limited andscattered source material often have a national or regional focus. Given theparticularly visual and performative qualities of circus and funfair shows, aswell as the performers' nomadic way of life, circus and funfair communitieshave left few material traces. This presents a number of challenges for thehistoriographer of these nomadic cultures. Drawing on the example of the German Antonio Wallendatheatre, this contribution will chart some possible routes for a transnationalapproach to circus and funfair historiography. Self-proclaimed professor ofcynology Antonio Wallenda travelled throughout Europe with his trained giantdogs, cats, and other 'smart' animals, delighting young and old withspectacular shows. Drawing on a range of available sources, this article willhighlight some of the challenges we face when studying and writing funfair andcircus history, and additionally address some of the opportunities for thisyoung and dynamic research area.