Lot 2
Barnum & Bailey / Two Living Human Prodigies. 1897.
Sold
$1,920
Place Bid
Lot 2
Barnum & Bailey / Two Living Human Prodigies. 1897.
Estimate:
$2,000
- $2,500
Sold
$1,920
Enter Max Bid
(Min. $1,700)
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Est.
$2,000
- $2,500
Live Auction
PAI-LXXVI: Rare Posters
Live Bidding began Oct 28, 2018 at 11:00 AM EDT
ARTIST
ANONYMOUS
Category
Description
Artist: ANONYMOUS
Size: 28 1/8 x 38 1/8 in./71.4 x 96.7 cm
Condition: A-/ Unobtrusive horizontal fold. Framed.
Printer: Strobridge, Cincinnati
Reference: Ref: Strobridge, p. 77; PAI-LXXIV, 8
Key Words: Circus
"Two living HUMAN PRODIGIES: Midget Man and Giant Giantess: A perfect little gentleman weighing only SIX POUNDS, a cyclopean young lady weighing over 300 POUNDS. THE LITTLEST and THE BIGGEST MORTALS SIDE BY SIDE. A veritable female colossus and her microscopic gentleman escort: THE ANTIPODES OF HUMANITY, in very truth a meeting of living extremes," begins the small print of Barnum & Bailey's 1897 attraction. Miss Ella Ewing, "the most gigantic lady" (1872-1913) suffered from pituitary gigantism, wore a size 24 shoe, and may have been as tall as 8'4" by the age of 22. After a childhood of embarrassment and shame, her circus and sideshow contracts provided an extraordinary sum of money for her, delivering economic independence for her in Missouri. Much less is known of "Great Peter the Small," a dwarf who supposedly stood 28" high and weighed 6 1/2 lbs.
Size: 28 1/8 x 38 1/8 in./71.4 x 96.7 cm
Condition: A-/ Unobtrusive horizontal fold. Framed.
Printer: Strobridge, Cincinnati
Reference: Ref: Strobridge, p. 77; PAI-LXXIV, 8
Key Words: Circus
"Two living HUMAN PRODIGIES: Midget Man and Giant Giantess: A perfect little gentleman weighing only SIX POUNDS, a cyclopean young lady weighing over 300 POUNDS. THE LITTLEST and THE BIGGEST MORTALS SIDE BY SIDE. A veritable female colossus and her microscopic gentleman escort: THE ANTIPODES OF HUMANITY, in very truth a meeting of living extremes," begins the small print of Barnum & Bailey's 1897 attraction. Miss Ella Ewing, "the most gigantic lady" (1872-1913) suffered from pituitary gigantism, wore a size 24 shoe, and may have been as tall as 8'4" by the age of 22. After a childhood of embarrassment and shame, her circus and sideshow contracts provided an extraordinary sum of money for her, delivering economic independence for her in Missouri. Much less is known of "Great Peter the Small," a dwarf who supposedly stood 28" high and weighed 6 1/2 lbs.
