SOLD
30,000.00USDto G*******e+ buyer's premium (7,500.00)
This item SOLD at 2020 Apr 18 @ 20:00UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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The Reynolds Circus Side Show Collection, c1850-1960
An important photographic and historical document collection of about 5,000 pieces.
Special and Important Note: The terms and culture used throughout the world in the nineteenth century for the types of shows introduced by PT Barnum about 1840 are often not acceptable in the world of the twenty first century. While there can be controversy in trying to apply twenty first century cultural values to time in antiquity, which is arguable in itself, it remains a fact that PT Barnum brought a form of humanity into the world that didn’t exist before his efforts. He showed the world that there are people with abnormalities, that are, in fact, the exact same as you and me. They just look a little different. Barnum showed the world that the human brain and heart is the same in everybody. He took a young dwarf, a micro-human if you will, and put him on a stage that people all over the world fell in love with him. That became Tom Thumb.
Later, it is unarguable that this language culture and “system” was greatly abused by some show promoters. Creating demeaning names such as “Wee Wee” and so forth seemed comical at the time, but fed into a world of abuse. The terms “Midget” and “Freaks” were the accepted terminology in the nineteenth century. They are less so used in today’s nomenclature. These terms are used here out of respect for the original nineteenth century nomenclature, which is retained within the body of photographs in original period printed and manuscript form.
The following quote from the online dictionary Wikipedia sums it up:
Midgets have always been popular entertainers, but were often regarded with disgust and revulsion in society. In the early 19th century, however, midgets were romanticized by the middle class and regarded with the same affectionate condescension extended to children, as creatures of innocence.[12] The term "midget" came into prominence in the mid-19th century after Harriet Beecher Stowe used it in her novels Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands and Old Town Folks where she described children and an extremely short man, respectively. P. T. Barnum indirectly helped popularize the term "midget" when he began featuring General Tom Thumb, Lavinia Warren and Commodore Nutt in his circus. "Midget" became linked to referencing short people put on public display for curiosity and sport. Barnum's midgets, however, were elevated to a position of high society, given fantasy military titles, introduced to dignitaries and royalty, and showered with gifts. [footnotes deleted]
Originally, we were going to split the Midget Collection and the Freak Collection. But after going through both collections, as well as the Circus Collection, this important collection needs to stay together as a single unit. It is an excellent historical record of this century-long period of time where midgets and freaks held the fascination of the general public, circa 1840-1950.
As a whole, the Reynolds Side Show Collection contains about 5000 pieces, rendering it as an invaluable historical archive. It has three main parts, each discussed below.
The Circus/Entertainment Side Show: Midgets.
The John Reynolds Circus Side Show Collection of Midgets is phenomenal. It may be one of the largest and most important such photographic archives extant, consisting of thousands of pieces. It has several basic components:
A) The History of Midgets as part of Circus or Entertainment Side Shows through photography
a. Carte de Visites, c 1860-1870’s (222)
b. Cabinet Card photos, c1880’s-1890’s (175)
c. Real Photo Post Cards, c 1900’s-c1930’s. (~1500)
B) The Baron Captain Nicu de Barcsy Collection, the most famous of the 20th Century Midgets.
a. Framed real photos from his home
b. Personal correspondence
c. Personally retained family photos
d. Personally retained promotional material
e. Personal ephemera, including the family Bible
The collection was assembled during the period circa 1980’s through the 1990’s, when after amassing a huge collection, his collecting interests expanded to other categories.
The Circus Side Show. An invention of Phineas Taylor Barnum.
Phineas Taylor Barnum was born in Bethel, Connecticut in 1810 and got his career started in 1835 when he hired an elderly African American woman reportedly 160 years old, said to be President George Washington’s nurse. He bought a New York City museum in 1841 which became a display of what at the time were phrased as freaks and odd & curious of all sorts. He was the director of the museum from 1841-1865.
A year later in 1842, Barnum met Charles Sherwood Stratton (1838?-1883) while in Bridgeport Connecticut, a mere 25 miles from Barnum’s family home, and not far from New York City (about 65 miles). Stratton, born in Bridgeport of normal size and one of four children, stopped growing when he was six months old. Barnum entered into an agreement with Stratton’s father to train the young talented Stratton and use him in a positive manner at Barnum’s shows, and later with the young Stratton himself.
There is great disagreement in various biographies of the exact date of Sherwood’s birth. While virtually all classic references use the 1838 date, this is nearly impossible. An advertisement in the New York Daily Tribune of July 15, 1843, page three, column 6 states:
The Last Farewell Benefit of the Smallest of All Dwarfs,
General Tom Thumb, Jr. takes place this day and evening, Saturday July 15, at the American Museum, as he will be in Albany next. The General will appear dressed from top to toe, as the Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte.
When it is remembered that he is decidedly the smallest person that ever walked alone, being 11 years old, finely formed, and weighs only fifteen pounds, his appearance in that dress may be conceived. … admission to the whole 25 cents…
This ad, and other similar ads, clearly place his birth at 1832. Two of the original New York Tribunes from this period are part of this collection.
Barnum taught the youngster to sing, dance, tell stories and “strut the stage in various guises”, as told in the Dictionary of American Biography. Barnum aptly named the young Stratton “Tom Thumb” paying homage to the English “fairy tales” citing the character, published as early as the 1500’s. In those fairy tales, Tom Thumb was a dwarf only as big as a thumb. “Under Barnum’s tutelage, Stratton became a graceful entertainer … with a ready [and cheerful] wit and good sense of showmanship”.
Barnum, Stratton, Stratton’s parents and a tutor left for England in January 1844. The show was an immediate and complete success. Stratton, now known throughout the world as “Tom Thumb” became a worldwide sensation, bringing attention to dwarfs in a positive manner, and bringing smiles to millions, a sensibility recently celebrated by the “This is Me” anthem song in The Greatest Showman movie starring Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum (2017).
Cash began piling up for Barnum, and the group remained in Europe until 1847, returning home to great fame. About 1852, Stratton semi-retired in Bridgeport, occasionally performing either by himself or with Barnum, who was perhaps his lifelong best friend. In 1862, Stratton met Lavinia Warren Bumpas (1841-1919), a member of Barnum’s troupe. Married a year later, the pair remained close the rest of Stratton’s life. Early photographs of Tom Thumb and wife with a baby were promotional stunts by Barnum. Numerous articles directly reference Lavinia’s letters which openly talk about these events.
Stratton died of a stroke, and Lavinia remarried another dwarf Count Primo Magri, whom had known the couple since before they were married. But when she died, she had her remains buried next to Sherwood, with the simple Phrase “His Wife”.
So began the century long (or more) custom of “Side Shows”, and a popularity of midgets (dwarfs) and freaks (those with natural oddities or deformations), bringing their realness out in the open so the public could really see that these are just normal people, but may not look quite the same.
Midgets (dwarfs) were the first of the Side Show extravaganzas to be a massive success. In that light, Reynolds began a massive collection, presented here in its entirety.
The first part of this collection is divided into three salient parts:
The History of Midgets as part of Circus or Entertainment Side Shows through photography
a. Carte de Visites, c 1860-1870’s (222)
b. Cabinet Card photos, c1880’s-1890’s (175)
c. Real Photo Post Cards, c 1900’s-c1930’s. (~1500)
Each of the above categories has the approximate piece count.
Cartes de Visite
These early mounted photographs of about 2.5 x 4” size were the first affordable public form of photography. CDVs generally date from the 1860s to the early 1870s. They were sometimes sold at the public events, other times sold privately through the mail. They were a form of publicity, so the public could take home a “remembrance’ of the performance, or likewise retain a “collectible” that functioned as a remembrance.
The Reynolds Collection contains 222 CDVs of midgets. There are perhaps more than 75 different people, all arranged alphabetically in separate envelopes. The most popular midget of all time was Tom Thumb, and in this regard, there are about 60 CDVs from Stratton & family. Mathew Brady, famous Civil War photographer and the most famous photographer of his era, was commissioned to photograph the Stratton wedding, as well as many other portraits. We did not construct a list of the photographers, most of whom are noted on the printed CDVs. Albums of differing designs were manufactured to house these unique sized photos, kept on the shelf for ready reference when friends or family visited, taking the place of the television or iphone today.
Most of the photos are taken in a “studio” atmosphere. Only a few are “in character”.
Reynolds, the consummate collector, kept track of other images he did not own, and these records remain with the collection.
Cabinet Cards
Through time, the technology of photography and its general affordability increased exponentially, making it affordable to the general public. Cabinet card photographs are mounted photos with a standard size of about 4.25 x 6.25”. The photographer’s name is generally printed on the reverse, though often on the obverse. Like their predecessor, Cabinet Card photos had their own uniquely constructed and manufactured albums to house the “family gems.” Their date range was generally the 1880’s-90’s, and often into the early 1900’s.
The Reynolds Collection contains about 175 cabinet card photos of midgets, as well as a large collection of copies of known cabinet card photos not in Reynolds collection. In a similar manner to the CDV’s, the cabinet card photos are generally taken in a studio setting. The technology was not quite ready for “real time” shots.
Real Photo Post Cards
Post cards were invented in the late 1870’s. It wasn’t until the late 1890s that mankind figured out that they could put images on the cards and mail them out. First, it was an experiment. The earliest cards of the 1897-1902 period were often a wide mix of scenic views, meant to promote tourism in a wide variety of places, or be retained as a cheaper method of photographic recordation for travelers.
It was only a short time before enterprising photographers and marketers understood they could print actual photographs on post card sized paper. This was used to great advantage for marketing purposes, because it put an event in a real time basis. It was a photograph, not a drawing, and therefore not something imagined, but real from a real event.
The Reynolds Collection has nearly a cubic foot of original real photo postcards purchased over the 1980s to 1990s decades. The collection has generally been organized by person, though through time, some parts of the order need to be restored. Reynolds’ goal was clear, as it was for all categories of these Midget photographs – collect as many different people as possible, documenting the historical significance of the midget at Side Shows. We did not count the photographs. It has the appearance of perhaps 2000 cards, but because of packing materials may be 1500. It is thought that few of the cards date past 1930, with most in the circa 1905-1917 area. It would seem this is one of the largest such collections in private hands, but this is speculation.
The Baron Captain Nicu de Barcsy
Nicu de Barcsy was by far the most famous of the late period side show midgets. He was born to Hungarian parents Baron Anton and Sidonia de Barcsy in February 1885. Nicu was reportedly less than two pounds at birth, a startling fact to his parents, who realized within two weeks both mother and child were different. Sidonia began sprouting a facial beard, and little Nicu barely grew. Suffering economic woes among severe political turmoil, the de Barcsy family fled Hungary, “penniless”. The trio began touring as “the smallest perfect man on earth” and the “bearded lady of grace and charm.” The family toured western Europe for fifteen years. They sought greener pastures in America in 1903, living in New York City. Once in America, they worked with all the show greats, including Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey. They were a big success.
When Frank Baum published the Wizard of Oz in 1900, it was soon followed by a Broadway play in 1902. Baum’s fictional fantasy well captured America’s fascination with midgets. By this time, Nicu was the most famous of all the midgets (dwarves) worldwide. His arrival in America coincided with the play’s first year. The movie was released in 1939. Nicu would have had something to say about it, but there is no record of any discussions about any part in any play or movie in this archive, and he never appeared in any films, perhaps unusual for a natural showman.
Baron Anton de Barcsy died in 1912. Sidonia remarried another circus performer, but he couldn’t control the finances, and the couple was soon broke, soliciting funds from friends. That help came from an old friend in Drummond, Oklahoma, where Sidonia ultimately fell in love with the place and permanently relocated. They toured Coney Island for a season, paid back their debts, and soon retired to Oklahoma.
Sidonia died in 1925. Nicu continued to perform here and there. He was always short of money, and greatly depended on the locals. Nicu died in 1976 at the age of 91 in an Enid hospital.
Nicu’s belongings were sold through a series of sales held by John Denning of Oklahoma City during the approximate period of June 6, 1992-October 1, 1992. Reynolds kept detailed notes for each photograph purchased, with one note showing a purchase date of 1989, though we are not sure if this was a written error. It does not appear Reynolds purchased everything, but he certainly purchased some of the very best material, inclusive of the framed pieces Nicu had in his home of his own family. We have tried to clean the heavy yellow tobacco stain from the glass in the framed pieces. Nicu, like his mentor Tom Thumb, was a constant cigar smoker.
The collection is notable for its diversity. Nicu collected every sort of collectible they made for him, from pocket mirrors to bookmarks. The personal snapshot and photo collection is an important record of his time in Oklahoma. The family history is well recorded through the hundreds of personal photos.
Here’s a glimpse at the contents:
Family bible (in Hungarian); newspaper articles about various birthday celebrations; a broadside of a show he did in Enid; an ad he placed to ask for a wife; Hungarian bank notes; personal motes of his mother’s death, his personal wallets and briefcase, correspondence with Ripleys; a collection of his different “calling” cards, many comical; correspondence; Elks ephemera; photo negatives; personal framed photos of mother, father and himself – clearly his favorites; large number of quality photos of Nicu and his family; the 1913 marriage certificate of his mother; early foreign photos of his family; large cabinet card photo archive of family; printed promo material; celluloid table top self photo; large number of photo post cards of Nico and some of family, many of days in Oklahoma. About three cubic feet of material in all.
Because of the amount of material, diversity, and personal nature of this collection, it must be assumed this is the most important part of Nicu’s belongings in one place. He was the last of an era- the era of the midget showman.
Summary
The Reynolds Migdet Collection consists of nearly three thousand pieces from about 1860 to about 1950. It contains a remarkable record of the photographic history of how PT Barnum got the world to love midgets, and how circus and entertainment entities promoted the odd and curious to the world, mostly in a positive fashion.
It took over a decade to build this collection, culminating tin the acquisition of the final archive of the last world-famous side show midget, Nicu de Barcsy.
The Reynolds Circus Freaks Side Show Collection
This portion of the Reynolds collection parallels the Midget collection, and starts with a large collection of early CDVs and cabinet cards. Estimated at about 2000 pieces overall, the collection covers a wide variety of the human oddities of the nineteenth century used in the many circus side shows.
This collection consists of approximately:
-CDV Collection. About 110+ CDVs of every sort of human disfigurement, c 1860-1870s
-Cabinet Card collection. 200+, c 1880s-1900
-Real Photo Post cards, c 1905-1960, 1000+
-Fat Lady collection, (200+/-)
-Album of collectible and historical photos from the “private collection of Madame Zola and JH Williams, the Alligator Boy” (100pcs +)
-Four albums of programs, hand bills, advertising, signed photos, side show promotional materials, including the transformation of the side show into Hollywood (mostly midgets and tall people) (500+/- pieces). Dates from material for PT Barnum’s Tom Thumb to mid-20th century.
-Also contains Reynolds’ notes, xerox copies of photos he didn’t own, etc.
The Circus Collection
The circus collection is infinitely smaller than the other associated collections. Reynolds did not center on the circus as a whole, though it is quite possible that the circus was the start of the whole collection to begin with. Internal correspondence indicates he started collecting side show before 1963, though their most active collecting period was circa 1980-1993.
The circus material occupies perhaps two cubic feet, but includes Ringling calendars, broadside(s), tickets, promotional material, other circus programs back into the 1940s, a notebook of historical circus collectible including many of the colorful letterheads of various circuses from the first half of the 20th century. There is a cubic foot of historical references.
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California Sales Tax |
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20. PAYMENT: We accept Cash, Visa, Master Card, American Express, Discover, Money Order/Cashier’s Check, Wire Transfer, Personal Check or PayPal. Customers wishing to pay by cash, check or money order MUST contact our office for an invoice total before submitting payment. All returned checks are subject to a $25 fee. Cash received in amounts greater than $10,000 is subject to the filing of IRS form 8300, as required by law.
21. Automatic Credit Card Billing: Internet bidders are subject to the payment terms and conditions outlined on the internet bidding platform they utilize, which may include the automatic payment of auction invoices with the credit card information on file at the time of registration.
22. NON-PAYMENT: HWAC reserves the right to cancel any invoice not paid in full within 15 days. A cancelled invoice does not relieve the bidder from their obligation to pay seller fees and buyer’s premiums compensating HWAC for its services in conducting the auction. Interest shall run on all outstanding balances at the highest rate permitted by law. HWAC shall have a lien against the merchandise purchased by the bidder, and any other of bidder’s property then held by HWAC or its affiliates, to secure payment of the invoice, and with respect thereto HWAC shall have all the rights of a secured creditor under the Nevada Commercial Code, including but not limited to the right of sale. HWAC may sell the lot(s) securing the invoice to any under bidders in the auction that the lot(s) appeared, or at subsequent private or public sale, or relist the lot(s) in a future auction conducted by HWAC. A defaulting bidder agrees to pay for the reasonable costs of resale (including a 10% seller’s commission, if consigned to an auction conducted by HWAC). The defaulting bidder is liable to pay any difference between his or her total original invoice for the lot(s), plus any applicable interest, and the net proceeds for the lot(s) if sold at private sale or the subsequent hammer price of the lot(s) less the 10% seller’s commissions, if sold at an HWAC auction. If HWAC refers any invoice to an attorney for collection, the bidder agrees to pay attorney’s fees, court costs, and other collection costs incurred by HWAC. Any bidder who fails to follow the terms of payment will be reported to iCollector and may be barred from participating in future Holabird Western Americana auctions.
23. CONDITION: We strongly recommend that you attend the live preview to see lots in their entirety. Conditions are not always noted, and large lots may not be itemized due to catalog restraints. For questions, detailed information, or additional images of any lot please contact our office at 775-851-1859. Bidders are responsible for understanding the condition of items. Conditions noted are subjective, and may differ person to person. High resolution images of all items are available online for inspection. HWAC is not responsible for condition discrepancies; it is the bidders responsibility to determine condition prior to bidding.
24. RETURN POLICY: All items are guaranteed to be authentic unless otherwise noted. If authenticity is challenged, please call our office for assistance. ALL SALES ARE FINAL. You may only return any piece that was significantly inaccurately described by calling our office within 10 days of receipt of item(s) and notifying us of the error and reason for return. We do not refund postage or insurance. Please call us if you require a more specific condition report. Any items that are returned must be returned in the exact, unaltered condition. When we receive your bids we will assume you have read the description in the catalog, viewed the image of the item, have contacted us regarding any questions you may have on any lot and/or have previewed the lot in person.
25. This sale is being held under the laws of the State of Nevada.
26. HWAC shall not be held responsible for any problem due to the bidder’s failure to follow the rules, terms and conditions of this sale, or any failure to bid due to the loss of the online auction process provided by any of the online auction networks; or missed bids, changed bids or cancelled due the bidder’s failure to follow the proper bidding procedure outlined herein.
27. By placing a bid or otherwise participating in the auction, Bidder accepts these Terms and Conditions, and specifically agrees to the dispute resolution provided herein.
28. HWAC shall not be responsible for consequential damages, incidental damages, compensatory damages, or any other damages arising or claimed to be arising from the auction on any lot. Bidder’s sole remedy for any proven act or omission shall be rescission of sale and refund of the amount paid by Bidder.
29. Any claim, dispute, or controversy in connection with, relating to and/or arising out of the Auction, participation in the Auction, award of lots, damages of claims to lots, descriptions, condition reports, provenance, estimates, return and warranty rights, any interpretation of these Terms and Conditions, any alleged verbal modification of these Terms and Conditions and/or any purported settlement shall be exclusively heard by, and the parties consent to exclusive in personal jurisdiction of, the Superior Court of Washoe County, Nevada. THE PARTIES EXPRESSLY WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY. Any claim must be brought within one (1) year of the auction from which the claim arose or the claim is waived. In every case, the prevailing party shall be entitled to an award of its attorney’s fees and costs.