In response to your request for UK and European collections of antique circus costumes, Circus Historical Society Trustee Al Stencell provided the following recommendations:
"I am sure that the Fairground and Circus Archives at Sheffield, University would have information on costumes. I would send an inquiry to them as they obtained the huge Circus Fans of Great Britain collection. I would think if you contacted my friend Don Stacey through the King Pole magazine, he would also know costume places. I believe his husband was in the fabric business.
I am also sure there would be examples in the Arts Decor Museum that use to be in Paris, but was moved to Marseilles.
One of the best museums I had seen for show stuff was the puppet museum in Lubeck, Germany. They have a huge collection and many films of circus and fairground plus thousands of puppets and whole touring puppet theaters. The puppets' costumes reflect the show costumes of the times.
I would also look up the fairground museum in Essen ,Germany that my late friend Ereck Knock operated. (It's just a few blocks from the main station). He had the largest collection of circus and fairground prints of any collection. Also, my late friend Roland Wiesse, who was a circus agent for many years in East Germany, had a circus museum up north of Berlin in a small village. This is a huge collection. I do not know if his family kept it going, but it would be worth finding out. There is a big artist federation there.
In Switzerland, the Knie family has a collection of show costumes going back. I would source that out. I saw a lot of show costumes of various eras when I visited the downtown museum which I believe is now closed. My friend the former press agent for Circus Knie, Cris Krenger would know. Knie management could hook you up with him.
Also, in Vienna there is a clown and circus museum that has a lot of costumes plus the Prater Museum.
For those that have never studied the business, they must realize that many shows besides circus had similar wardrobes. You may want to check out fairground collections, cabaret, burlesque collections.
I do know that my friend Jean-Paul Favand, showed me 500 or more costumes he had bought from the Moulin Rouge a few years back. He even had the original costumes of Josephine Baker. He has the Museum of Fete Forain in Paris out in the old wine warehouse district know as De Bucey. I tramped around it when it was the old wine warehouse and distribution center in the 1970s. Now, it is a hip restaurant in an expensive area with it’s own subway stop. It is also home to the Film Museum. Favand’s place is huge and on the back side of the development . Only open on Sunday’s by appointment at 3PM.
I have been to all these places many times. There are also numerous municipal collections all over the place.
Enjoy,
Al Stencell"
