Sujets :
Exhibitions de phénomènes
Nains - Biographies
Géants - Biographies
Jumeaux siamois - Biographies
Artistes de Sideshow - Biographies
P.T. Barnum's Museum
Abnormalities, Human - Grande-Bretagne - Histoire - 19e siècle
Sherwood Stratton, Charles [General Tom Thumb]
Borusławski, Józef
Hudson, Jeffrey
Lambert, Daniel
Sanger, George
Heth, Joice
Histoire des Sideshow - 19e siècle
Histoire des Sideshow - États-Unis
Histoire des Sideshow - Grande-Bretagne
Histoire des arts du cirque - 19e siècle

Dépouillement du document :
Curtain up : Buckingham Palace , 23 march 1844

DRESS REHEARSALS
1- Jeffrey Hudson
2- Józef Boruwłaski
3- Daniel Lambert
4- George Sanger

SHOW TIME
5- Chang and Eng
6- Science and Siam
7- Their own men
8- Joice Heth
9- Stardom of sorts
10- The Americain Museum

DOUBLE ACT
11- Bridgeport baby
12- Conquering America
13- Man in miniature
14- Queen Victoria’s pet
15- Triumph and tragedy
16- Finding Charles

THE CLIMAX
17- Maximo and Bartola
18- Darwin on display
19- Circus Sideshow
20- Peeping at Pastrana
21- Anna and Martin
22- Wonder of the world

The final act

Résumé :
A radical new history that rediscovers the remarkable freak performers whose talents and charisma helped define an era.

On March 23, 1844, General Tom Thumb, just 25 inches tall, entered the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace and bowed low to Queen Victoria. On both sides of the Atlantic, this meeting marked a tipping point in the nineteenth century, and the age of the freak was born.

Bewitching all levels of society, it was a world of curiosities and astonishing spectacle—of dwarfs, giants, bearded ladies, Siamese twins, and swaggering showmen. But the real stories—human dramas that so often eclipsed the fantasy presented on the stage—of the performing men, women and children, have been forgotten or marginalized in the histories of the very people who exploited them.

In this richly evocative account, John Woolf uses a wealth of recently discovered material to bring to life the sometimes tragic, sometimes triumphant, always extraordinary stories of people who used their (dis)abilities and difference to become some of the first international celebrities.

Through their lives we discover afresh some of the great transformations of the age: the birth of show business, of celebrity, of advertising, and of “alternative facts” while also exploring the tensions between the power of fame, the impact of exploitation, and our fascination with “otherness.”

Collection : Bibliothèque de l'École nationale de cirque

Localisation : Bibliothèque

Cote : 791.350 903 4 W9133w 2019

• Ex. 1 — disponible