The Old Showmen and the Old London FairsFrost, Thomas
History
The Old Showmen and the Old London Fairs
Frost, Thomas
Fairs -- England -- London; London (England) -- Social life and customs
"[Pointing Hand] She was exhibited in Cockspur Street, Haymarket, at
two shillings and sixpence each Person; but that Persons of every
Degree may have a Sight of so extraordinary a Curiosity, she will be
shown to the Gentry at sixpence each, and to Working People, Servants,
and Children at Threepence, during this Fair.
"This most astonishing Part of the Human Species was born in the
Island of Corsica, on the Mountain of Stata Ota, in the year 1743. She
is only thirty-four Inches high, weighs but twenty-six Pounds, and a
Child of two Years of Age has larger Hands and Feet. Her surprising
Littleness makes a strong Impression at first Sight on the Spectator's
Mind. Nothing disagreeable, either in Person or Conversation, is to be
found in her; although most of Nature's Productions, in Miniature, are
generally so in both. Her Form affords a pleasing Surprise, her Limbs
are exceedingly well proportioned, her admirable Symmetry engages the
attention; and, upon the whole, is acknowledged a perfect Beauty. She
is possessed of a great deal of Vivacity of Spirit; can speak Italian
and French, and gives the inquisitive Mind an agreeable Entertainment.
In short, she is the most extraordinary Curiosity ever known, or ever
heard of in History; and the Curious, in all countries where she has
been shown, pronounce her the finest Display of Human Nature, in
Miniature, they ever saw.
"[Asterism] She is to be seen by any Number of Persons, from Ten in
the Morning till Nine at Night."
Hussey's theatrical booth attended Southwark Fair, where it stood on the
bowling-green, the entertainments being the same as in Smithfield. Lee
and Yeates can scarcely have been absent from a scene with which the
former had been so long and intimately associated. Yeates took a benefit
this year at the New Wells, near the London Spa, Clerkenwell, where a
concert was followed by a performance of the _Beggar's Opera_, with the
_bénéficiaire_ as Macheath and his wife as Polly, and the farce of _Miss
in her Teens_, in which the part of Captain Flash was sustained by the
former, and that of Miss Biddy by his wife. The place was probably
unlicensed for theatrical performances, as the dramatic portion of the
entertainment was announced to be free to holders of tickets for the
concert.
Tottenham Court Fair was continued this year for fourteen days, but does
not appear to have been attended by any of the shows which contributed so
much to the attractiveness of the fairs of Smithfield and Southwark Green.
The only advertisement of the entertainments which I have been able to
find mentions a "great theatrical booth," but it was devoted on the day to
which the announcement relates to wrestling and single-stick playing. As a
relic of a bygone time, it is curious enough to merit preservation:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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