This blogpost was co-written by Julie De Smedt and Nele Wynants. Translation by Elisa Seghers.
The fair used to be a place to have fun, but also to discover something new. Young and old alike prepared to visit the lion tamer, the boxing stall, or the levitating lady, but they also learned about pregnancy and childbirth. Professor Nele Wynants (UAntwerp) and actor-magician Kobe Van Herwegen visited one of the oldest forains (showpeople) in Belgium: François Delforge. A seventh-generation forain, he can still vividly recount his fairground past throughout the 20th century.
Ninety-year-old François Delforge receives his visitors at his Koksijde apartment. With a twinkle in his eyes and a flair for the dramatic, he tells them ‘everything he still remembers’. He recounts fanciful anecdotes about women in snake-filled coffins, the purchase of a smoutebollen (fried beignets) stand, the Levitating Lady, and his aunt Rosa’s lions. Together with his family members and onetime associates, he performed these acts with gusto, which was both their passion and their livelihood.
Delforge scrolls through numerous photographs of bygone days on his laptop. One of the pictures of his parade booth with pancarte ‘Interdit aux moins de 18 ans’ (no entrance to those below 18 years of age) revives his memory of the cries he uttered to lure the public in at the entrance. With theatrical flourish, he enthusiastically declared that ‘Here, you will see everything that everyday life tries to hide from you! This is an absolute must-see!’ But only for those ages 18 and up, of course:
Vous qui passez dans la vie. Vous regardez sans voir. Vous passez les yeux mi-fermés. Voici qu’enfin l’occasion s’offre à vous de prendre contact avec ce que la vie quotidienne dissimule à vos regards. Entrez ici, messieurs dames. Et vos yeux s’empareront de visions nouvelles, que plus jamais peut-être ne se renouvellera pour eux. Vous devez comprendre que le spectacle est visible à partir de 18 ans. Seuls les adultes sont admis. Les personnes presentants trop jeunes de mine seront priées de présenter une pièce d’identité.
(You who pass through life, you look without seeing. You stroll by with half-closed eyes. Now, at last, you have the opportunity to experience what everyday life hides from you. Enter here, ladies and gentlemen. And your eyes will embrace new visions, perhaps never to be seen again. You must understand that the show is only suitable for ages 18 and over. Only adults are admitted. Anyone who appears underage will be asked to show proof of age.)
‘Interdit aux moins de 18 ans’
For 10 francs, hundreds of curious visitors a day were given access to a rare piece of fairground history: ‘Inside were several wax models of the nine months of pregnancy and of childbirth. I bought those statues from the Musée de Dupuytren,’ Delforge reveals. Delforge subsequently sold those wax figures, which are now part of the Coolen-Theunissen collection.
Professor Wynants reaffirms what Delforge says: ‘Those anatomical wax models were also used at university to teach medical students about anatomy and health.’ At the fairgrounds, those same models reached a much wider audience. Travelling fairs like Delforge’s made a piece of medical knowledge accessible, even to those who could not read or write.
Tricks of the trade
Simply showcasing a booth of anatomical wax works was not a spectacular enough feat for the fairground. ‘You have to stage it properly,’ Delforge divulges. ‘If we were to say: “Come and see the museum exhibit on pregnancy and childbirth,” nobody would be much interested. But shouting: “What every woman needs to see, what every man needs to know”, now, that worked wonders!’
Once inside, visitors were given an explanation on the wax models, sometimes even including a catalogue. Not only for the sake of spectacle, but also to prevent visitors from leaving too soon. ‘Because then everyone outside would think there was nothing to see inside,’ Delforge winks. ‘The tricks of the trade, eh.’
2025: year of the fairground!
This interview with Delforge is part of the research project Science at the Fair at the University of Antwerp, which uncovers the rich history of the fair between 1850 and 1914. ‘It is going to be a true fairground year,’ Nele Wynants adds. ‘In December 2024, UNESCO recognised Belgian and French fairground culture as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity – a milestone and long-awaited recognition for the forains, their nomadic, resilient lifestyle, and their age-old traditions that were passed down through generations.’
That lively tradition is being celebrated this year. On 20 June, the exhibition ‘Foorwonder’ will open at the Huis van Alijn in Ghent: a compelling journey through the magic, science, and spectacle of the fairground at the turn of the century. At the same time, the public book with the same name will be published by Lannoo, packed with stories like Delforge’s. The legendary ‘Floating Lady’ is also featured in a chapter by Kobe Van Herwegen, who follows her (hi)story all the way to Delforge himself – who eventually exchanged the act in 1961 for the smell of fresh smoutebollen. With his vivid memories and indomitable passion, François Delforge embodies exactly what UNESCO recognition stands for: a cultural heritage that should not only be preserved, but also shared and celebrated.