Textile: Pair of stockings belonging to M. Lavinia Warren
Accessory
Footwear
1863 – 1883 (Date manufactured/created)
Measurement Notes: Maximum length: 17 3/4"; toe-to-heel length: 5 3/8"; heel to cuff length: 15 3/4"; max circumferance at cuff 7"
Pair of knitted silk stockings in pale pink, worn by M. Lavinia Warren during the 1860s, 1870s, or early 1880s. Lavinia Warren is better known as "Mrs. General Tom Thumb," and more properly as Mrs. Charles S. Stratton. Both Lavinia and her husband were celebrity performers employed and promoted by P. T. Barnum, as well as touring on their own. Part of their appeal was their short stature, as Lavinia and Charles were little people, as well as capable and skilled performers. Lavinia was married to Stratton from 1863 until his death in 1883, and then remarried two years later to Primo Magri. As a result, we know from the initials “L.W.S.” that are knit into the upper part of each stocking means that they date from the time of her first marriage. Measuring 18 inches high, the stockings are miniature versions of those worn by normal-sized women in the 1800s. Silk stockings were generally considered "for best," while cotton or wool stockings were usual for everyday wear.
Mercy Lavinia Warren (nee Bump) Stratton (October 31, 1841 - November 25, 1919), then Mercy Lavinia Magri, was a well known entertainer during the latter half of the 1800s. She first became a schoolteacher, but at the encouragement of a relative, she began her career as a performer on a river boat (Spaulding & Rogers Boat Shows); exhibiting little people (people with dwarfism) was profitable at the time. Warren signed with showman P. T. Barnum when she was 21. In December of 1862, Charles S. Stratton (General Tom Thumb) began courting Lavinia and their whirlwind romance led to their famed marriage, "The Fairy Wedding," just two months later on February 10, 1863, with Lavinia's younger sister, Minnie Warren as bridesmaid and "Commodore Nutt" as best man. The Strattons worked and toured together as celebrities, and had a happy marriage. Following Stratton’s death in 1883, Warren married Primo Magri, an Italian entertainer of a similar stature, on April 6, 1885. Magri and Warren toured, and also operated a roadside stand in Middleboro, Massachusetts, her home town. Warren died at age 78 on November 25, 1919. She is buried beside Stratton at Mountain Grove Cemetery in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Mercy Lavinia Warren (nee Bump) Stratton (October 31, 1841 - November 25, 1919), then Mercy Lavinia Magri, was a well known entertainer during the latter half of the 1800s. She first became a schoolteacher, but at the encouragement of a relative, she began her career as a performer on a river boat (Spaulding & Rogers Boat Shows); exhibiting little people (people with dwarfism) was profitable at the time. Warren signed with showman P. T. Barnum when she was 21. In December of 1862, Charles S. Stratton (General Tom Thumb) began courting Lavinia and their whirlwind romance led to their famed marriage, "The Fairy Wedding," just two months later on February 10, 1863, with Lavinia's younger sister, Minnie Warren as bridesmaid and "Commodore Nutt" as best man. The Strattons worked and toured together as celebrities, and had a happy marriage. Following Stratton’s death in 1883, Warren married Primo Magri, an Italian entertainer of a similar stature, on April 6, 1885. Magri and Warren toured, and also operated a roadside stand in Middleboro, Massachusetts, her home town. Warren died at age 78 on November 25, 1919. She is buried beside Stratton at Mountain Grove Cemetery in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
EL 1988.158.001 AB