When I had previously posted this image, I stated that I didn’t know the identities of everyone, especially the little person on the right, although I had seen him before somewhere. Well, troll Ebay long enough and another image will show up. He’s Colonel Small. The other little man is Commodore Foote. I’m not certain of the identity of the little woman in the middle, but all three were Barnum performers.
I’m feeling a little bit like doing a review of the little people in my collection, so here goes nothing:
Miss Suzie Reed, by BradyMajor Littlefinger & Wife, by EisenmannThe Strattons, George Nutt and Minnie Warren in their Tuilieries outfitsUnknown Little Person, H.B. Gerncore’s Temple of ArtThree little people, by CD FredricksTom Thumb and Lavinia Warren, in middle ageThe Thumbs, Commodore Nutt and Minnie Warren, as presented to the QueenLavinia Warren Stratton Magri and the Magri Brothers, by OllivierAnonymous CDV, The Thumbs, at middle ageMr. Tower, by L.J. HurdMr. Chas. Decker, by Henry HeydeThe Thumbs, by the Stereoscopic Co of LondonMinnie Warren, by BradyAdmiral Dot & Lottie Swartwood By Chas EisenmannGeneral Cardenas, Anonymous PhotographerAdmiral Dot, published by Anthony, photographer unnamedTom Thumb by C.D. FredricksThe Magri Brothers with Lavinia Warren, ca. 1895Baron Littlefinger & FamilyMajor S.E. HoughtonLavinia Warren Stratton, by C.D. FredricksTom Thumb & Lavinia Warren – Walzl, Photographer, BaltimoreComic Actor by GurneyThe Rice Family, by J. Wood, The BoweryNellie Keeler, on Bogardus’ SideboardTom Thumb and Minnie Warren, in their advancing yearsTom Thumb and Lavinia Warren, by Masury of BostonAdmiral Dot, published by E&HT AnthonyNellie Keeler, by BogardusSideshow Family, Aledo, IllinoisWaino and Plutano, The Wild Men of Borneo, by EisenmannMajor Atom, by Chas. EisenmannThe Reception Dress, The Fairy WeddingGeorge Nutt & Minnie Warren, Groomsman & BridesmaidTom Thumb, Wife and “child”Bride & Groom, The Fairy WeddingLavinia Warren Stratton, Mrs. Tom ThumbFairy Wedding Group #3Commodore Nutt and unknown little woman, Anonymous CDV (probably Brady)Commodore Nutt, Mrs. and Mr. Tom ThumbThe Fairy Wedding, 1863 E&HT Anthony print, ObverseNellie Keeler- by Bogardus
Lavinia Warren Stratton Magri and the Magri Brothers, by Ollivier
Another cabinet card of Lavinia Warren Stratton Magri and the Magri brothers, Baron Littlefinger and Count Rosebud. I don’t know why I find them so fascinating, but they are. Just the notion of the cult of celebrity going back that far when we think of it as being a modern (at least a 20th century) thing.
Here is a cabinet card from the mid 1890s of Lavinia Warren and the Magri Brothers (Baron Littlefinger and Count Rosebud). After Tom Thumb passed away in 1883, the widow Thumb met the Count and (his alleged twin brother) Baron Littlefinger. His real name was Primo Magri. She went on to marry him in July, 1885. They continued performing into old age to the point of appearing in a silent movie in 1915, five years before the Count’s death. Lavinia Warren died in 1919 at the approximate age of 77 (her birth date is unrecorded, so it is possible she was 78 at the time of her passing).
My latest CDV of a circus sideshow midget. What was it with the circus and fake military ranks or titles? Major Houghton, Admiral Dot, Major Atom (although there’s a wee (pardon the pun) bit of irony in that one), Commodore Nutt, General Tom Thumb, Baron Littlefinger and Count Rosebud and just to name a few. Even when folks weren’t given fake titles, they often got dressed up in military-esque uniforms, like my photo of Landon Middlecoff, or some of the other giants I’ve seen.
Major S.E. HoughtonMajor Atom, by Chas. EisenmannAdmiral Dot, published by E&HT AnthonyCommodore Nutt and unknown little woman, Anonymous CDV (probably Brady)Baron Littlefinger & FamilyLandon Middlecoff, the ‘Kentucky Giant’, by Eisenmann
