As part of the National and Circus Archive (NFCA) at 30 Podcast series Professor Vanessa Toulmin talks about the collections and people who inspired her and lead to the creation of the NFCA.
Professor Vanessa Toulmin comes from a Lancashire fairground Showmen family, which is where her passion for popular entertainment stems from. She completed her PhD at the University of Sheffield in 1997 inspired by her showman roots and that same year was awarded the Chancellor's Medal for outstanding achievement. In 2007 she was awarded a Chair in Early Film and Popular Entertainment, making her the first academic to be given a Personal Chair in this subject in any university.
In her interview Vanessa talks about the families and collections that inspired her and how meeting people like Florence Shufflebottom (image above) made a lasting impression on her and the future development of the NFCA.
Interviewer
Editing/Post Production/Mastering
You can discover some of the collections that Vanessa talks about and more by searching on our Discover our Archives and NFCA Digital databases.
You can view more images from the Shufflebottom family collection here.
More information on how to access the National Fairground and Circus Archive collections can be found on our website.
