Here's to You, the Jugglers

Originally written in 1977 by circus historian Paul Adrian and published as part of the “Encyclop�dia du Cirque” collection in France, the book “Here’s to You, The Jugglers” was the first historical juggling book ever published in Europe. Now that’s gotten translated from French into English by Niels Duinker, future generations of jugglers can learn about this part of juggling history. Paul Adrian was born in 1919. He made his debut as a journalist in the magazine “La Vie Hippique,” created by his father. His passion for the circus quickly led him to write for many magazines. He was the first writer to have covered the history of the circus and its specialties encyclopedically. His books still constitute the foundations of any circophile library today. This book tells about the origin of the art of juggling, and it contains valuable first-hand descriptions of the acts of many of the best practitioners from the European circus and variety scene of the mid 20th century. In this 2018 edition of the book, many never before published photos have been added from the Juggling Archive of Karl-Heinz Ziethen, who got spired to start writing his books on the history of juggling after he got a copy of the original book from Paul Adrian. As a bonus, this English translation contains the chapter on juggling from the C. Strehly book “L’acrobatie et les acrobats.”

Author Biography

Paul Adrian (Mr. Paul Henwood) Born in 1919, he made his debut as a journalist in the magazine La Vie Hippique, created by his father. His passion for the circus quickly led him to write for many magazines: generalist publications such as The Little Echo of Fashion, one of the biggest papers at the time; as well as specialized publications such as The Official Journal of the Spectacles and of Music, Music Hall, Interforain, Scenes and Tracks and Circus in the Universe. He was, in fact, one of the first members of Cirque Club. Paul Adrian was a librarian and soon became a respected figure and a true friend for circus people. He was the first writer to have covered the history of the circus and its specialties encyclopedically and his books still constitute the foundations of any circophile library. One should see his Illustrated History of the Parisian Circus (1957) or On the Way of the Great Circus Travelers (1959). His writing style was just like his personality: delicate and precise. Mr. Paul Henwood passed away on the 18th of August 2013, at the age of 93.