Sketch of the Lives, Personal Appearance, Character and Manners of Charles S. Stratton,

the Man in Miniature known as General Tom Thumb and his wife Lavinia Warren Stratton: including the history of their courtship and marriage; Com. Nutt & Miss Minnie Warren, with some account of remarkable dwarfs, giants, and other human phenomena, of ancient and modern times, and, also, Songs given at their public levees.

London: Brickhill and Bateman. 1865.

Slightly expanded English edition following the American edition of 1863. 179x118mm. pp. 50, [i]. Lacking the original wrappers so the title page is the cover page. Tear with loss (but not to text) to the top of the front page. Tear without loss to back page. Some creasing to the corners but otherwise this fragile item is in very good condition. Illustrated with engravings. Despite the flaws in this copy, this is a good copy of a rare work which is not often found in its English edition.

This is an eccentric work in pamphlet form about Charles S. Stratton, also known as General Tom Thumb (1838-1883), who was a dwarf who worked at Barnum’s Circus. This biography tells of the complicated love arrangements between Stratton, his friend Commodore Nutt and Lavinia Warren. Nutt, also a dwarf loved Lavinia but she chose to marry Thumb. The wedding was a lavish ceremony masterminded by Barnum with Nutt as best man. Nutt befriended (not romantically it seems) Lavinia’s sister Minnie and the four of them toured the world as celebrity performers becoming very rich and successful.