DAGUERREIAN UNKNOWN

Tom Thumb and his Mother, Cynthia Thompson Stratton

Details

DAGUERREIAN UNKNOWN
Tom Thumb and his Mother, Cynthia Thompson Stratton
Quarter-plate daguerreotype. circa 1855. Brass mat. Book style papier mch case with mother of pearl inlay, detached.

Provenance

The present owner's mother was a fourth cousin of Charles Stratton. Born in 1890 in Oswego, New York, her maiden name was Card. Her mother's family, the Wards, were in banking and were related to Harriet Ward Beecher Stowe and to the Strattons.

Lot Essay

Born Charles Sherwood Stratton in 1838 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Tom Thumb, was first made famous by the showman P.T. Barnum in 1842. Although born to parents of normal stature, he stopped growing at the age of six months, weighing 15 pounds and standing 25 inches high and only began to grow again in his teens when he reached 40 inches and 70 pounds. After Barnum's discovery, Tom Thumb traveled throughout Europe with his parents, entertaining from 1844 until his celebrated return to the United States in 1847. His stops during the trip included Buckingham Palace where he performed for Queen Victoria, including an impersonation of Napoleon. Barnum publicized him as the eleven year old dwarf, General Tom Thumb from England. Both Stratton and Barnum enjoyed great fame from the Tom Thumb legend. In 1863, Stratton married another of Barnum's midgets, Lavinia Warren, in an elaborate ceremony in Grace Episcopal Church in New York City. He enjoyed considerable financial success until his death in 1883 of a stroke.