In our research project, exploring Romani contributions to EU public space, with a focus on markets and fairs in the UK and in Germany in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, we find Romani and non Romani actors caught up in events that are embedded in, or lead up to, world wars, changes in economies, industries, and urban and rural societies, and with this documents and occurrences that are at once distant from and reflective of contemporary issues and actions.