Starting out in the juggling world in the early 1980s, my only sources for information on juggling were a handful of books at my local library and my quarterly issue of Juggler’s World Magazine. Over forty years later, beginning jugglers have seemingly endless resources in the palm of their hands. Online videos, articles, and even books abound. I personally have written around 500 articles, some of which provide us an opportunity to read old juggling books and articles from the early 1900s. Other books have been placed online by others. However, finding these online can be a daunting task. Therefore, I wanted to create a listing of what I believe to be the most important of these from the first half of the twentieth century via this article. While I could include a much longer list of articles on individual jugglers, I wanted to provide what I believe to be the most important early instructional books and juggling history articles. The books and articles are listed in chronological order. I hope this list proves useful to the juggling community.
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1900 – America and Europe’s Greatest Jugglers by Edward Van Wyck
This is a promotional book advertising jugglers who used props made by Edward Van Wyck.
1901 – New Juggling Tricks by Ellis Stanyon
This was the first instructional juggling booklet.
1907 – The Art of Modern Juggling by Anglo
This was the first full-length instructional book on juggling.
1910 – The Modern Manipulator by Carl Martell
This is an early instructional book on juggling.
1910 – The Juggler and His Art by Signor Saltarino
This is an article about famous jugglers throughout history.
1910 – The Art of Juggling by William DeLisle
This is an early instructional book on juggling.
1912 – America and Europe’s Greatest Artists by Edward Van Wyck
This is a promotional book advertising jugglers who used props made by Edward Van Wyck.
1915 – Just Juggling Jottings by Clever Conkey
This is an article about famous jugglers throughout history.
1921 – Juggling by Rupert Ingalese
This was a very popular instructional book on juggling.
1938 – Jugglers and Juggling by Dr. Henry R. Evans
This is an article about famous jugglers throughout history.
1944 – Jugglers, Past and Present by M. S. Mahendra
This is an article about famous jugglers throughout history.
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David Cain
David Cain is a professional juggler, juggling historian, and the owner of the world's only juggling museum, the Museum of Juggling History. He is a Guinness world record holder and 16 time IJA gold medalist. In addition to his juggling pursuits, David is a successful composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and singer as well as the author of twenty-six books. He and his children live in Middletown, OH (USA).