#human mastodon

Barnum & Bailey / Exhibition d'Hommes & Femme Phenomenes. Anonymous.

36 ¾ x 29 in./93.4 x 73.5 cm

Barnum & Bailey / Exhibition d'Hommes & Femme Phenomenes. .
That is not Chewbacca at left. That’s Jo-Jo, the Russian Poodle Man, and this is Barnum & Bailey’s Sideshow arriving in France. This original Strobridge design was translated and printed in Paris (a French tax stamp is at upper left), delivering une piquant je ne sais quoi to Little Peter the Great; John MacDonald, the Human Mastodon; Koguri, the Japanese Artist Without Arms; miniature Queen Mab; and some 30 other prodigies of nature. Magnifique!

Available at auction February 25, 2018.