Joop Frankvoort-van der Meer Fellowship for Circus Collections
The Allard Pierson manages a unique and extensive circus collection that includes posters, programmes, photographs, slides, flyers, clippings and other documentation about circus performances. The circus collection consists of private collections of collectors and institutes dedicated to collecting circus heritage throughout the centuries. To name one, Herman Linssen amassed the data of almost 6,000 circuses, including the artists, venues, and seasons in which they performed. Other vital contributions to the Allard Pierson’s circus collection are the Jaap Best collection, which includes nearly 4,000 posters by the Jewish-German printer Adolph Friedländer; the Hartmans collection, specialising in children’s and young adult literature themed around the circus; and the Theater Instituut Nederland (Dutch Theatre Institute).
Suggestions for research:
- Women’s changing role in the circus in the 19th and 20th centuries.
- The use of wild animals for running a circus and attracting audiences.
- The importance of family connections among circus artists.
- The changing morality towards ‘freak shows’.
- The relevance of the circus as a haven for LGBTQ+ people.
- Orientalism and imperialism as part of the program of the circus.
Searching the collection
The circus collection can be searched online in the database of the theater collection of the UvA. An instruction to search the collection (in Dutch only) can be found here: ZoekinstructiesCircuscollectiesApril21.pdf (circusmuseum.nl). The individual circus collections can also be found on https://circusmuseum.nl/origin/.
Questions
Curator Frederieke van Wijk (f.k.vanwijk@uva.nl) can be contacted for questions about the collection. Fellowships programme coordinator Laurien de Gelder (l.i.degelder@uva.nl) can be contacted for questions about the application process.
Guidelines
