Freakatorium: The Collection of Johnny Fox

Tom Thumb-Owned Vest. American, 1860s. Miniature waistcoat of dark brown satin with dot pattern design said to be owned by Tom Thumb. Approximately 11 x 9”. Waistcoat is pinned to unglazed frame. Tears and losses to cloth at rear; soiled and dusty. Provenance: Coyle’s Tom Thumb memorabilia auction, October 4, 1988. Charles Sherwood Stratton, alias General Tom Thumb, was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1838. “Discovered” by P. T. Barnum in 1842 at age 4, and standing only 25 inches tall, Barnum educated and trained Stratton as a showman and called him General Tom Thumb. He caused a sensation, performing both in the U.S. and Europe before circus audiences and royalty. In 1863 Stratton (21 years of age and 40 inches in height) married Lavinia Warren (also 21 years of age, standing 32 inches in height) in a ceremony attended by 2,000 guests, in one of the most celebrated marriage ceremonies of the era. Stratton died in 1883 at the age of 45.