• Souvenir: Boxed slice of Mr. and Mrs. Gen. Tom Thumb's wedding cake
Souvenir: Boxed slice of Mr. and Mrs. Gen. Tom Thumb's wedding cake
Souvenir: Boxed slice of Mr. and Mrs. Gen. Tom Thumb's wedding cake

Souvenir: Boxed slice of Mr. and Mrs. Gen. Tom Thumb's wedding cake


1863 (Date manufactured/created)
3 in H X 2 in W
Small rectangular piece of cake, dark brown in color, that was a a souvenir from the wedding of Charles S. Stratton and M. Lavinia Warren, which took place on February 10, 1863.  The couple, better known as “Mr. and Mrs. General Tom Thumb”, were performers associated with P.T. Barnum.  The boxed slice was one of hundreds presented to guests, as it was a custom to give wedding-goers a piece to be eaten on the first anniversary of the wedding.  Likely a traditional brandy-soaked fruitcake, the alcohol preserved the cake, preventing it from becoming moldy. The cake is now hardened and somewhat shrunken having lost all moisture content.  It is very dark brown, with a crystallized surface that slightly sparkles.  A piece of very thin tissue or parchment paper is wrapped around it.  The cake was baked by Barmore, located at 700 Broadway in New York City.  The plain white box containing the cake is about the size of a typical box from a jewelry store, and appears to be original.  The lid bears some indiscernible faded red markings in the center, and it is not clear if these are accidental marks, or written words that have faded over time.  

Stratton and Warren’s wedding, held at Grace Episcopal Church in New York City, and the reception following, became known as Fairy Wedding, so-called because of the short stature of the bride and groom, best man, and bridesmaid.  Included in the wedding party were two other little people, Lavinia’s sister Minnie Warren, and George Washington Morrison Nutt, better known by his stage name Commodore Nutt.  The event was heavily promoted by P. T. Barnum, and the extent of his success became evident in the newspapers and journals of the day.  Illustrations of and articles about the wedding graced many front pages, which at the time were invariably saturated with news about the Civil War.  The wedding coverage lasted a few days, and indeed, captured the imagination of the American public. The event was also covered by British newspapers, since Stratton had enjoyed great success as a performer there in the 1840s.

Souviners produced during the time include Currier and Ives prints, small photographs called cartes de visite, and even sheet music for the Fairy Wedding Waltz, and all were sold to well-wishers. Barnum’s bold promotion and marketing acumen turned the wedding into a major social event, and was widely remembered even decades later.  Children’s re-enactments of the wedding persisted into the 1900s.

The cake was given to the museum by a man who found it in a trunk that had belonged to his aunts in Greenwich, Conn., near New York City.  The Library of Congress owns another piece of the cake as part of the Minnie Maddern Fiske Papers in the Manuscript Division.  
2000.004.001 AC