"The (Original) Wild man of Borneo" Zachariah Thomas Mackey Hargis was featured in a lot of sideshows for various circuses and carnivals. He was once the original P T Barnum's "Wild Man of Borneo" but after a falling out he left. Unfortunately he is not mentioned in the museum today because his replacement stayed with the circus and was given the title. (late 1800s-early 1900s)
Adrouide The Woman from Mars Within the French postcard trade the mistakes of nature are categorized as "phenomene". Prior to the necessity of political correctness we called them freaks. Here is a selection of a handful of unusual people: circus sideshow and menagerie attractions from the turn-of-the-century to circa 1920. I will revisit this topic/post as I unearth additional material from my digital archives. Above is Lionel the Lion Man, whose image, starting at about 6 years old, was…
Samuel David "Sam" Parks was born on October 20, 1874 in Boston, although he would later change his birthplace to the much more exotic Rio de Janeiro. Parks made his sideshow debut at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and made a healthy living exhibiting himself to medical students before joining up with the Barnum and Bailey circus around the turn of the century.
Madame Devere Guinness World Record holder for longest beard ever on a woman 14 inches. Madame Deveres real name was Jane and she was born in Brooksville Kentucky. She was married to sideshow manager J W Devere
Everyone loves exploiting those who are different, but no one did it quite as well as our friends from yesteryear. Enough chit chat, on with the freak show.
Billed as the “Thinnest Man in the World,” Harry V. Lewis stood 5 feet, 7 1/2 inches and weighed 80 pounds. He didn’t always hold such a title. Born in 1895 in Leon, Iowa, Lewis was a normal boy until the age of 12. That was when he began to notice weakness in his shoulders and hips. Doctors diagnosed him with a juvenile form of muscular dystrophy. Photo courtesy of the collection of Milo Anthony and Cristina Boothe
