Category Archives: Daredevils Deviants and Circus Folk

Fascinations: P.T. Barnum Commissioned Currier & Ives Lithograph of “Siamese Twins” Chang and Eng Bunker

Picture above is a very rare and wonderful, 1860 Currier & Ives stone lithograph advertising print for P. T. Barnum’s American Museum. The print features Barnum’s Premier Sideshow / Circus Freaks / Human Oddities Exhibit “Chang and Eng,” the original … Continue reading

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The Ache That Providence Bears: “Armless Wonder” Anne E. Leak, CDV Photograph and Her Story

Ann E. Leak was born without arms in Georgia in 1842. Her mother’s physician predicted that she would die within a few days but she survived and, while behind others her age in learning to walk, she eventually learned to … Continue reading

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A Morbid Collection: Original Photo Album of Death Row Prisoners Hanged in Connecticut, 1894-1912

A macabre yet fascinating presentation photo album has been recently discovered among the offerings from a Connecticut Estate. The Album contains the final, pre-execution photo portraits of the 22 Men executed by the State of Connecticut between December 18, 1894 … Continue reading

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Daredevils, Deviants, and Circus Folk: Rare 1910-11 Magician Annual Magic Book, edited by Will Goldston, featuring Harry Houdini

The world of magic has fascinated for centuries. With the popularity of the circus rising in the mid-19th to early-20th centuries in America, magicians became celebrity figures, celebrated and revered. Pictures above is a wonderful and very rare, 1910-11 volume … Continue reading

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Daredevils and Deviants: Martha E. Wagenfurher, “Maid of the Rapids”

I am currently reading a wonderful (though fictional) book called The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, and it has piqued my interest in carnival performers and feats of daring. “Circus life” fascinates me; there is something exotic, inspiring, quixotic, and peculiar … Continue reading

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