LEARNED PIGS & FIREPROOF WOMEN - UNIQUE ENTERTAINERS OF THE PAST 

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About the book:

There is no other book in the world like Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women. There is no other author like Ricky Jay, and there are certainly no other people like the bizarre cast of thousands in this amazing illustrated history of the world's most spectacular entertainers.

Come and wander among the side-shows and marvel at:

The Astounding Clarence Willard who could extend his height from 5'10" to 6'4"

The Amazing Toby, Pig of Knowledge, who wrote his autobiography

The Extraordinary Harry Kahne, the Multiple Mental Marvel who could write 5 words simultaneously with pieces of chalk held in each hand, foot and even his mouth

Introduced on these pages for the very first time are the world's greatest daredevils, stone eaters, armless violinists, virtuoso pétomanes and incombustible ladies tippling boiling oil. The most magnificent menagerie of singing mice, hypnotized parrots and other incredible performing pets parade before your eyes.

Wonderfully illustrated in full colour with posters, playbills and portraits - many of which have never been published before - this is a book of tremendous humour and compulsive entertainment.

INDEX

A
Abbot of Baigne • Thea Alba • Albertus Magnus • Alexander the Great • Queen Alexandra • Lady Alphonsine • Richard Altick • Aly • Amazing Learned Pig • American Fire King • American Museum • animal acts (learned geese; learned horses; learned pigs; singing mice; trick riders) • animal swallowers • AnthroPometamorphosis (Bulwer) • appetites, unusual • Emile Aquinoff • Aristotle • The Armless Fiddler (Unthan) • J. Arnett • L' art de péter • L' art Lyrique et la Music Hall • The Art of Juggling or Legerdemaine (Rid) • Philip Astley • Astley's Circus • John Jacob Astor • Miss Atkinson • Saint Augustine

B
Mr. A. B. • Sir Edmund Bacon • W. Eugene Balch • Kitty Baldwin • Samri S. Baldwin • Prime Minister Balfour • ball acts • Bill Ballantine • Baltimore Sun • Mr. Baly • Sir Joseph Banks • William Banks • Miss Bannister • Barnelo, the Human Volcano • Peter Barnes • Barnum & Bailey Show • Edward Barnwell • Barrett Boys • Bartholomew Fail • Jacob Bates • Francis Battalia • Peter Bealer • George Beard • "Beauty" • Mr. Beckett • Alexander Graham Bell • La Belle Electra • The Benefit of Farting Explain'd (Swift) • Sarah Bernhardt • Bertolotto • Elsie Bethune • General Bethune • Tom Bethune • Sarah Biffin • Dr. Edwin Biggs • Josh Billings • Billington • Billy, the Little Military Learned Horse • T. Birt • Eleanor Fletcher Bishop • Mrs. Washington Irving Bishop • Nathaniel Bishop • Washington Irving Bishop • S. Bisset • Harry Blackstone • Dr. Blagden • Blanche • Blazing Saddles • Blind Tom • Moische Blitz • Blondin (rope walker) • Blondin Horse • W.C. Blount • Siew Herman Boaz • Albert Bodie • Walford Bodie • The Bodie Book (Bodie) • "The Bola Misteriosa" • Book of Secrets (Albertus Magnus) • The Book of Wonderful Characters (Wilson and Caulfield) • Boston Advertiser • Boston Globe • W.J.M. Bottle • The Bottle Conjurer • Diem Boucieault • John Bowden • Bob Bramson • Gertrude La Roche Bramson • Brawerman • Max Breit-Katz • Jim Brent • Sir David Brewster • Fanny Brice • Testu Brissv • British Medical Journal • Samuel Murphy Brodie • John Brook • Herbert Brooks • Mel Brooks • Miss Browell • J. Randall Brown • Tod Browning • Brué • John Buchan • Matthew Buchinger • "Buffalo Bill" (William Cody) • Etienne Buislay • John Bulwer • Buono Core, Christo, the Fire King • James Burchell • burials, premature • Seamus Burke • H.J. Burlingame • Robert Burns • J.F. Burrows • Richard Burton • Kuda Bux • Henry Byatt

C
Cage of Fire • Mr. Campbell • Camp de Bedouins • Al Capone • Alfred Capper • Henry Guy Carleton • Mr. Carlton • Carlton, the Human Hairpin • Dr. Carpenter • Leonid Cartagos • Al Carthy • Enrico Caruso • Doc Carver • Count Casini • Catholic Herald (Manchester) • "Cat's Opera" • Caulfield • Cavelanrice, or the English Horseman (Markham) • Cayetano (Maviotini) • Bernard Marius Cazeneuve • Martinus Ceccho • Centrifugal Kugel • Ivan Ivanitz Chabert • Joseph Chabert • Therese Chabert • Jean Chacon • Lon Chaney • Charlie Chaplin • Chiang Kai-shek • Chiariny • Chicago Herald • Chicago Inter-ocean • Chicago Mail • Chirigicus • Joseph Choate • Milbourne Christopher • J.A.B. Chylinski • Cicero • Circus Noni-Bedini • Circus World Museum, Baraboo, Wisconsin • Cirque Olympique • Cirque Pindar • Cirque Sidoli • The City of God (Augustine) • Clarence E. Willard Foundation for Autorelaxation • Joseph Clark • Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (Grose) • Claudius Albinus • Clever Hans • Edith Clifford • La Clinique • Cliquot • Coco • William Cody ("Buffalo Bill") • Morris "Two-Gun" Cohen • Leslie Cole • Samuel Collings • Le Commnandeur • Commonplace Book (Voltaire) • Conjurer's Magazine • Contortionists • Hubert Cooke • Calvin Coolidge • Mr. Cooper • Sir Astley Cooper • Corey • Harvey Corman • Cornell University School of Hotel and Restaurant Management • Signor Corrandini • John Cox • Reverend Cox Macro • Creon • Creusa • Lucio Cristiani • Leonard Crocombe • Sir William Crookes • George Cruikshank • Stuart Cumberland • John Cummings • cups and balls feat • Daniel Cureton

D
Daily News (Asahi) • Daily News (Mainichi) • Daily Post (Leicester) • Daily Telegraph (London) • John Dale • Dante (magician) • daredevils • Justice Darling • Datas, the Memory Man • William Henry Harrison Davenport • Davenport Brothers • William Davis • Edwin Dawes • Harry Day • Henry Dean • Jacob Decastro • Lucy De Gentry • De Heightre-hight • Jean de Henau • Louis Claude Delair • Del Monte • Demonologia • C.A. Demster • Max Dessoir • Detroit Free Press • Henry de Vry • Thomas Dibdin • Charles Dickens • Dictionary of the Wonders of Nature • diving acts • Henry Dixey • Dowling • The Downfall of Taste and Genius (Collings) • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle • C.R. Drake • Drapier Miscellany • Sidney Drew • "The Droll Trick of a Cambridge Scholar" • Andrew Ducrow • Dufour • Alexandre Dumas • "D'une Dame Irlandaise" • Joseph Dunninger • The Durolls • Pierre Eugene Du Simitiere • George Dyas

E
eating acts • Eccentric Mirror (London) • Johnny Eck • Margot Edwards • Edward VI, King of England • Edward VII, King of England • James Edwyns • El Dorado • Miss Electra • electric chair acts • Miss Electricia • Oscar Eliason • enterology • Equestrian Drama • Cardinal Espinosa • Ethardo • Eunus • Henry Evans Evanion • John Evelyn • The Expositor (Pinchbeck) • Express (London) • eyeless vision • "The Eye of a Needle"

F
John Fairburn • faith healing • The Falacie of the Great Water-Drinker Discovered (Peddle and Cosbie) • Family Herald • Michael Faraday • fartomaniacs • James Fawkes • Anna Eva Fay • Frank Fay • Chuck and Hilda Fayne • Fearless Spaniard • Ferdannis • Dr. Ferguson • Leslie Fiedler • Gracie Fields • Francisco Filipino the Emperor of Fire • fire and poison resisters • Fire King • Fire King's Drug Store • Kitty Fisher • Jim Fitzgerald • Richard Flint • Folies-Bergere • Claudia Fonda • Dr. Ford • Forepaugh & Sells • Kate and Margaret Fox • Day Francis • Laurent Franconi • Roy Fransen • Freaks • Fredannis family • Arthur Freeman • Freyer's Pony Circus • Delno Fritz • From the Earth to a Star (Burke) • "Fukutomi Zoshi"

G
Gaeselin • Sieur Garman • Charles Garner • Jacques Garnier • Peter Gatz • Gazette (Liverpool) • Gazette (London) • The Geek (Nova) • geeks • geese, learned • General Advatiser (London) • Hiraga Gennai • Gentleman's Magazine • George IV, King of England • George V, King of England • Germondi • Geroku • Giants and Dwarfs (Wood) • Walter Gibson • Bernhard Gilliam • James Gilray • Josephine Girardelli • Gizmo • Die Glaseme Kugel • Thomas Gobsill • Edward Godfrey • The Golden Ball (Sanders) • Will Goldston • Dr. Graham • Clay Greer • E. Grenet-Dancourt • William Lindsey Gresham • Dr. E. Greville • Tony Grice • Johannes Grigg • Joey Grimaldi • Frederick Grose • Guardian (Manchester) • Guinness Book of World Records

H
Hadji-Ali • Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus • Senator Hale • Sir Charles Hall • Joseph B. Hallworth • Arthur Hammer • Willie Hammerstein • Madame Hanakawa • Dr. Hance • handicapped performers • Mark Hanna • Poodles Hanneford • Eric Jan Hanussen • Warren Harding • Richard Hardner • Robert Harley • Bret Harte • Mr. Hatch • Henry Hatton • Henry Hay • Bill Hayden • John Heenan • Heiterkeit • Robert Heller • Hellstrom • Doug Henning • Mr. Herbert • Dr. Herman • Alexander Hermann • Hidetake • "High German Artists" • Alfred Hitchcock • Nicholas Hoare • The Hocus Pocus Gang Live at Sea World • Hocus Pocus Junior • Charles Hogan • William Holland • Daniel Douglas Home • Honeysuckle Divine • Honolulu Advertiser • Albert A. Hopkins • S. Leo Horowitz • horse acts • Harry Houdini • W.C. Houghton • Edwin Hoyt • Theodore Hufl • Charles Hughes • Human Aquarium • Human Card Index • Human Hairpin • Human Salamander • Dr. John Hunter • Prof. Huxley • Hyamm • hyperaesthetes • hypnosis

I • J
Ibanez, President of Chile • idiot savants • Indescribable Phenomenon • T. Ingleby • Thomas Inglefeld • Internationale Artisen-Loge • Charles Irving • Sir Henry Irving • Washington Irving • John Irwin • Jaequelle's Six Jubilee Juniors • Emil Jarrow • Joseph Jastrow • Walter Jeans • C.E. Jenkins • The Jewel House of Art and Nature (Plat) • Samuel Johnson • Thomas Johnson the Irish Tartar • Paul Alexander Johnstone • Mrs. Irene Onne Jones • Ben Jonson • Journal (Aberdeen) • Journal des Scavans

K
Harry Kahne • Kahnetic Mentalism (Kahne) • Tameo Kajiyama • Dr. Kane • Chet Karkut • Karlyn • Kar-mi • Count Karniee-Karnicki • Katterfelto • Max Katz • Keith and Loew • William Kemmler • The Kerslakes • Carl King • King Brawn • Kirby • Lord Kircudbright • Kirifuri-hanasaki-otoko • Mr. Kluganek • Helen Knapp • knife and sword swallowers • Emil Knudson • A.H. Kober • Koster and Bial • Madame Kowalskv • Karl Krall • Josef Kraus • Khia Khan Knuse

L
Henry de Pré Labouchere • Arthur LaBrew • Lady Wonder • Lafayette, the Great • Lambs Club, New York • Maud Lancaster • Lancet • Prof. E. Ray Lankester • La Pere • LaRoche • Baron Larry • Lewis Lazarus • Harry Leat • M.B. Leavitt • Dr. Charles C. Lee • Dr. Leech • John Legg • Nate Leipzig • Leisure Hour • Leitsendorfer • Lemen Brothers Show • Leslie Lemke • Bill Lenton • Leonatti • Leonce • Leopold II, King of Belgium • La Belle Leora • Lepere • Fred Leslie • Hubert Leslie • Mrs. Frank Leslie • David Letterman • Andrew Levine • Jules Levy • Eric Lewis • Sinclair Lewis • Johanna Sophia Liebschertn • Life • The Life and Adventures of Toby the Sapient Pig (Hoare) • Signore Lionetto • Arthur Lloyd • Marie Lloyd • Baptiste Loisset • London Labour and the London Poor (Mayhew) • Michael Lotito • Loud, Helen (Mack) • Thomas J. Loud • Louis XI, King of France • Louwande Brothers • Loyal-Repensky Troupe • Lusitanus

M
J. M. • Billy McComb • Eva McCoy • D.J. McGrath • Eddie McGuire • Machado, President of Chile • William McKinley • Fred McLane • Magic (Hopkins) • magicians • Magicians Club • Magician's Monthly • Magic Recreations… (Victor) • Malcolm • Max Malini • Ozzie Malini • Maloitz • Blaise Manfre • M. Mange Tout • Man-Ostrich • Floram Marchand • Alice Marconi • Marion • Gervase Markham • Marocco • Martin • Fernand Martin • Martinez, the French Salamander • J.N. Maskelyne • Miss Masson • Henry Mayhew • Peter Mayhew • Mazeppa and the Wild Horse of Tartary • Mechanic's Weekly Journal • Medea • Herman Melville • "Memora" • Adah Isaacs Menken • mentalism • La Mere Alexandre • Merlin • Merlin's Mechanical Museum • "Metamorphosis" • mice, singing • Harrison Millard • Charles Miller • J.J. Miller • Milo, the Crotonian • mindreaders • Minting the Marvel • Miracle Mongers and Their Methods (Houdini) • Miscellanies (Swift) • Blaise Monfre • Charles Howard Montague • Bert Morey • George Morland • Morning Herald (London) • Charles Morton • Harry Morton • Moscheles • Muhamed • W.E. Muller • Dr. Munro • Mustapa • Mystic Marie

N
Narrative of the Unparalleled Feats of the Fire King • National Laboratory of Psychic Research • National Vaudeville • Nature • Naturliche Magic (Martin) • Bobby Nelson • Robert Nelson • Dietrich Neuman • "Nevada" • C.A. George Newmann • New York Dally Graphic • New York Evening Post • New York Herald • New York Star • New York Sun • New York World • Count Lucas Langdon Nicholas • Lewis Nicola • Delancy Nicoll • Nightmare Alley (Gresham) • Nordini • Mac Norton • Craig Nova • Novel Magazine

O
Robert Odlum • J. O'Keefe • Nikolai Olchowikow • Mons. Oller • Olympic Circus • On Farting (Gennai) • "Oriental Nights" • Arthur Orton • Don Oscarez

P
Ira Paine • Highman Palatine • Palermo and His Sea Lion Mimics • Stanley Palm • Frank Palmer • William A. Palmer (Robert Heller) • Dr. Panthot • James du Plessis Paris • Pastelli • Father Paulian • Nino Pecoraro • Peddle and Cosbie • People I Have Read (Cumberland) • General Pershing • Peters, the Great • Le Petit Anne Savant • Le Petomane • Oskar Pllingst • phantom stallion illusion • Philadelphia North American • Achille Philion • Arthur Phillips • Mr. Pickett • pig-faced ladies • "The Pig-Faced Lady of Manchester Square" • pigs, learned • William Frederick Pinchbeck • Pinchbeck family • Hugh Plat • Pliny • Plutarch • poison and fire resisters • Franz Polgar • Thomas Pool • Popular Science • "Porcine Circus" • Abraham de Porta Leonis • Portland Oregonian • Portraits, Memories and Characters of Remarkable Persons (Caulfield) • Bruce Postgate • Richard Potter • Robert Powell • Tyrone Power • Preliminary Studies of a Vaudeville Telepathist (Soal) • Harry Price • Thomas Price • Prince of Fire • Proceedings of the Society for Psychic Research • Das Programm • Joseph Pujol • Louis Pujol • Theodore Pull

R
Rajah Raboid • A Rambler's Recollections and Reflections (Capper) • Leon Rauch • The Red Demons or Mysteries of Fire (Barnello) • Reliquiae Wottonlae (Wotton) • Remarkable Persons (Caulfield) • Resista • Resisto • Revelations of a Spirit Medium • J.B. Rhine • Richardson • John Bill Ricketts • Sam Rid • Ringling Brothers Circus • Joseph Rinn • Robert Ripley • Fred Rithlow • Eugene Rivalli • Florrie Robertshaw • John D. Rockefeller • Herr Roger • Miss Rogers • Will Rogers • Hans Rohrl • the Great Roland • Teddy Roosevelt • Dante Gabriel Rossetti • Baron de Rothschild • Royal Circus • Royal Circus of Budapest • Royal Magazine • Jean Royer • Princess Rubie • Eugen de Rubini • Russel Theatre, Ottawa

S
Sarah Salamander • Eire Cecilia Salambo • Salambo & Ollivette's New Wonders Company • The Salambos • Signor Saltarino • Ramo Samee • Sampson • Ruth Manning Sanders • Lord George Sanger • Furai Sanjin • Sarrasini • Saturday Evening Post • Abraham Saunders • Prince and Princess Saxe-Weimar • R. Scheuffler • Lev Schneider • Thomas Schweicker • Samuel Gilbert Scott • Secrets of Stage Hypnotism, Stage Electricity and Bloodless Surgery (Karlyhn) • Professor Seiden • Lewis Seminiti • "Serrano" • 70 Years a Showman (Sanger) • Shaghnussy • William Shakespeare • Henry W. Shaw • A Short History of Human Prodigies and Monstrous Births (Paris) • Siderophagus • Siegfried and Roy • Simplicius, Bishop of Autun • Tannakin Skinker • Henry Slade • Slang and Euphemism (Spear) • slide for life • Hans Sloane • Dr. Gordon Smith • J. Smith • Punkrot Smith • S.G. Soal • "Soni" • Robert Southey • Richard Spear • spiritualism • Dr. E.C. Spitzka • Pietro Stadelman • Stage Stones (Bodie) • Orville Stamm • Hermann Steinschneider • Bubbles Stewart • Sir Oswald Stoll • John Stone • stone eaters • "Stone-eater's Song" • Strand Magazine • "Suitors to the Pig-Face Lady" • Congressman Sulzer • Sun Yat-sen • swallowers of knives and swords • swallowers of live animals • swallowers of stones • Swastika Journal • Madame M.A. Swett • Jonathan Swift • Algernon Swinburne • sword and knife swallowers • Sybarites

T
Mabel Clifford Taber • Shigeo Takagi • Tarleton • E. Cooper Taylor • John Taylor • "Temple of Fire" • A text book on the Art of Sword Swallowing (Victorina) • The Theatrical War (Gilray) • Angele Thiebeau • The 39 Steps (Buchan) • Augustus Thomas • A Thought Reader's Thoughts (Cumberland) • Howard Thurston • Roger Tichborne • Tichborne case • Peter Tillemans • Time for Pets • Times (London) • Toby, the Sapient Porker • Raymond Toole Stott • George Francis Train • Truth • Amalie Tutein • Mark Twain • Twenty Years of Spoof and Bluff (Carlton) • Two P.M. Show • McIvor Tyndall

U • V
The Unburnable Man, Herr Rogers, How does he do It? (Muller) • Carl Herman Unthan • Johannes Valerius • Cornelius Vanderbilt • Dai Vernon • J. Victor • Miss Victorina • Alex Vogt • Volta • Voltaire • Wilhelm von Ostend

W
Thomas Wakely • H. Werner Walford • Charles Waller • "Waltzing in Courtship" • Nathaniel Wanley • George and Martha Washington • water spouting • John Watkins • Leslie Welch • Orson Welles • Walter Wentworth • James West • Brunei White • The White Mahatma • Paul Whiteman • Walt Whitman • The Whole Art of Legerdemain (Ingleby) • Oscar Wilde • Marshall P. Wilder • Daniel Wildman • Wild Tigers and Tame Fleas (Ballantine) • Clarence Willard • William Andrews Clark, Jr., Memorial Library • Elliot Williams • Reeves Williams • Wilson and Caulfield • May Wirth • Simon Witgeest • Woman with 10 Brains • Wonderful and Eccentric Museum or Magazine of Memorable Characters (Kirby) • Wonderful Life and Extraordinary Exploits of Monsr. Chabert the Fire King • The Wonders of a Little World (Wanky) • Edward Wood • Nicholas Wood (the Great Eater of Kent) • Victoria Woodhull • World's Fair • Sir Henry Wotton • Sara Wright • Stephen Wright • Richard Wroughton • Mr. Wu • Johannes Wynistorff

Y • Z
Utagawa Yoshiiku • Major Zamora • "Zarif" • Zirkus Bugler • Zoroaster