Photograph albums of Charles Sherwood Stratton ("General Tom Thumb"), Mercy Lavinia Warren Stratton, and others
Overview
Three photographic albums depicting various well-known 19th century entertainers with dwarfism.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1860-1890
Condition Description
The binding of one album is separated from the pages; some photographs in all three albums are slipping out of their slots.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research.
This collection is shelved offsite. Retrieval requires advance notice. Readers should check with Houghton Public Services staff to determine retrieval policies and times.
Extent
.5 linear feet ((1 box) )Three photograph albums with metal clasps containing photographs, a few hand-colored and some with annotation on the verso, of performers with dwarfism. Many photographs depict Charles Sherwood Stratton, who performed under the stage name "General Tom Thumb," as well as his wife, Mercy Lavinia Warren Stratton, typically known as Lavinia Warren. Other performers pictured include Lucía Zárate, Che Mah, Nellie Keeler and George Washington Morrison Nutt. P.T. Barnum, founder of Barnum & Bailey Circus, is also pictured posing with Stratton.
Biographical / Historical
Charles Stratton (1838-1883), stage name General Tom Thumb, was an American showman noted for his small stature. He was the first major attraction promoted by the circus impresario P.T. Barnum. He was not quite five years old when Barnum hired him for his museum, but Barnum publicized him as General Tom Thumb, an 11-year-old dwarf from England. He quickly became a celebrated figure in the United States and abroad. In 1863 Stratton married Lavinia Warren (1841–1919)—another of Barnum’s performers, known as the “Little Queen of Beauty”—in an elaborately staged ceremony at Grace Episcopal Church in New York City.
Arrangement
Arranged as received.
Physical Location
Harvard Depository
Custodial History
Ownership prior to this acquisition is unknown.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2023 MT-67. Purchased from Potter and Potter Auctions using the Rose and Marian Hannah Winter Fund, 2023 February 27.
Processing Information
This collection was processed to a basic level with minimal rehousing, organization, and preservation. (Aurora Charlow, 2023)
- Title
- Photograph albums of Charles Sherwood Stratton ("General Tom Thumb"), Mercy Lavinia Warren Stratton, and others, circa 1860-1890 (MS Thr 2270): Guide
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard University
- Date
- 2023 May 4
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- hou03560
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
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