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Very good antique condition. The albumen print exhibits excellent contrast and sharpness with minimal fading. The card mount shows minor corner wear expected for its age. The reverse features crisp, highly legible promotional text. There is a small pencil notation ("298K-c.3") at the bottom left of the backstamp, tied to its archival history. Please review all photos for exact condition.
Item Specifics:
Type: Photograph
Format: Carte de Visite (CDV)
Subject: Sideshow / Dime Museum Performer, "Major Tot"
Year of Production: ca. 1870s–1880s
Photographer: A. Newman (228 N. Ninth Street, Philadelphia)
Original/Reprint: Original Print
Theme: Circus, Sideshow, Human Oddities, Americana
Provenance: Ex-John Diesso Collection; Potter & Potter sales
Item Description:
Original 19th-Century Sideshow Pitch Card: "Major Tot, The Wonderful Human Midget"
Premium Provenance: Ex-John Diesso Collection
An excellent original Carte de Visite (CDV) featuring a fascinating 19th-century sideshow portrait. The photograph depicts a 19-year-old performer billed as "Major Tot," posed formally with a cane alongside an average-stature gentleman (likely his manager or showman) to visually emphasize the height contrast—a classic promotional staging technique of the era.
Provenance & Collector History:
This exceptional piece of sideshow history boasts premium provenance, having formerly resided in the esteemed John Diesso Collection of circus, sideshow, and oddities ephemera. It was recently acquired via Potter & Potter sales. The small penciled notation ("298K-c.3") on the lower reverse is an archival catalog mark tying it to this renowned collection.
Ephemera Details:
The reverse of the card functions as an advertising pitch card, boldly printed with:
"BIG SUCCESS EVERYWHERE —OF— MAJOR TOT, —THE— Wonderful Human Midget, AGE 19 YEARS."
Photographer Details:
The backstamp credits "A. Newman, Photographer, 228 N. Ninth Street, Philadelphia." Albert Newman operated out of this Philadelphia address primarily during the 1870s and 1880s, dating this image to the height of the American dime museum and traveling sideshow era.
A fantastic, well-documented piece of 19th-century human curiosity and entertainment ephemera, perfect for serious collectors of circus history, vintage photography, or Barnum-era sideshow artifacts.
