The Weirdest Antique Prints That I Have Ever Seen !
I have been in the business of buying, selling and collecting prints for over 30 years and just recently I acquired the weirdest set of antique prints that I have ever seen. They came from a dilapidated book called "THE BOOK OF WONDERFUL CHARACTERS, MEMOIRS AND ANTECDOTES OF REMARKABLE AND ECCENTRIC PERSONS" by Henry Wilson and James Caufield. It was published in London in 1869.
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The book was full of cartoon portraits of actual weird people that lived in Europe in the early 1800's. There are several pictures of vagrants who walked the streets. Example are Margaret Finch; The Queen of the Gypsies and Thomas Hudson; remarkable for his Misfortunes. There are small people such as Joseph Boruwlaski; The Poish Dwarf, and Matthew Buchinger; The little Man of Nuremburtg. There are also big people like Daniel Lambert; of Surprising Corpulence. There are people that are almost unbelievable such as Thomas Parr; Who Died at the Age of 152 years. My favorite is Barbara Urslerin; The Hairy-faced Woman. (above)
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Several of the wonderful characters probably were in a circus. For example Jacob Hall; The Rope Dancer and Daniel Cuerton; and his Asonishing Feats (above). Several of the vintage prints are of people that had interesting eating tendancies. There is Francis Battalia; the Stone-Eater, and Eve Fleigen; Who Lived on the Smell of Flowers.
For me it is intersting for someone who has heard stories of one of these persons passed down through the family from generation to generation, to be able to find a 142 year old cartoon of that person. Framed and hung in the family room, it would be the talking point for family gatherings for years to come.
There were 60 unique, antique, portrait prints available less the 7 that sold within two hours of my listing them. Sorry, Barbara, the bearded lady is gone.
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SANDTIQUE is one of the largest sellers of Antique Prints and Rare Maps on E-Bay with over 7,500 listings. Sandtique specializes in chromolithographs and hand-colored engravings and has antique prints in 40 plus categories. Worldwide shipping is FREE when you buy 5 or more Antique Prints. Check us out at www.sandtique-rare-prints.com.