Print: "The Wonderful Albino Family, Rudolph Lucasie, Wife, and Children from Madagascar"
Currier and Ives (created by)
circa 1858 (Date manufactured/created)
Lithograph print of Barnum's famous Albino Family: Rudolph Lucasie, his wife Antenna, and their two children. The family exhibited themselves at the American Museum in New York City. The print is an updated version of No. 14 in a series published by Currier & Ives titled Barnum's Gallery of Wonders, but does not carry that title at the top.
This print reflects the Lucasie's growing family with the addition of their second child. Promotional advertising of the Lucasie family described them as being from Madagascar, an African family with albinism (thus seeming to make their white skin all the more astonishing), but in fact they were Danish. The legend beneath states that "They have PURE WHITE SKIN, SILKEN HAIR, and PINK EYES!! HAVE BEEN EXHIBITED AT BARNUM'S MUSEUM, N.Y. FOR THREE YEARS." The earlier print also states that they were born "of perfectly BLACK PARENTS."
Rudolph is shown at the left, wearing a costume styled as a short black skirt with v-shaped straps extending from the chest over his shoulders, and a pale color leotard underneath. The costume appears textured, perhaps covered with black feathers or fur. His very thick hair is disproportionately wide, and he wears a beard. Antiana is shown on the right. She, too, has a thick head of hair, but it is very long, extending well below her waist. She is depicted wearing a rust color silk dress fashioned in the style of the 1840s save for its mid-calf length, and wears a necklace with a cross, and a cuff bracelet. She holds the hand of their daughter (name unknown), who appears about eight years old, and is wearing a bright blue dress with eyelet pantaloons underneath. The child has long white hair, though not thick. The other child is a boy named Joseph. He wears a tan color skirt with a baldric sash across his chest, and presumably a pale leotard underneath like his father's. He is shown playing the violin. The carpeting is a medium green color, and the background is grey tone. Another version of this print shows the parents with one child, and two items of furniture are visible in the center background. This print is of a lesser quality than the earlier one.
Barnum's American Museum was located at the corner of Broadway and Ann Street in Lower Manhattan, P. T. Barnum operated it from 1842 to 1865 until it was destroyed by a fire, and then reopened at 539-541 Broadway. The second American Museum was also destroyed by a fire, in 1868. The displays in the museums ranged from dioramas of places such as Niagara falls and the American plains, to various animals including live whales and trained seals, wax figure tableaux, performers, theatrical performances, inventions, scientific specimens, and curious artifacts. Included among the thousands of items were curiosities called humbugs. In contrast to hoaxes, humbugs were strictly meant to amuse, and Barnum took pride in inviting the public to decide for themselves if they thought such items were genuine or fake. Barnum also employed people with notable physical differences, though he did not advertise them as freaks, instead as "natural wonders" or human curiosities. Some remained employed at the Museum for years, as they received good salaries and for many if not all, the companionship and sense of family with other performers was appealing.
This print reflects the Lucasie's growing family with the addition of their second child. Promotional advertising of the Lucasie family described them as being from Madagascar, an African family with albinism (thus seeming to make their white skin all the more astonishing), but in fact they were Danish. The legend beneath states that "They have PURE WHITE SKIN, SILKEN HAIR, and PINK EYES!! HAVE BEEN EXHIBITED AT BARNUM'S MUSEUM, N.Y. FOR THREE YEARS." The earlier print also states that they were born "of perfectly BLACK PARENTS."
Rudolph is shown at the left, wearing a costume styled as a short black skirt with v-shaped straps extending from the chest over his shoulders, and a pale color leotard underneath. The costume appears textured, perhaps covered with black feathers or fur. His very thick hair is disproportionately wide, and he wears a beard. Antiana is shown on the right. She, too, has a thick head of hair, but it is very long, extending well below her waist. She is depicted wearing a rust color silk dress fashioned in the style of the 1840s save for its mid-calf length, and wears a necklace with a cross, and a cuff bracelet. She holds the hand of their daughter (name unknown), who appears about eight years old, and is wearing a bright blue dress with eyelet pantaloons underneath. The child has long white hair, though not thick. The other child is a boy named Joseph. He wears a tan color skirt with a baldric sash across his chest, and presumably a pale leotard underneath like his father's. He is shown playing the violin. The carpeting is a medium green color, and the background is grey tone. Another version of this print shows the parents with one child, and two items of furniture are visible in the center background. This print is of a lesser quality than the earlier one.
Barnum's American Museum was located at the corner of Broadway and Ann Street in Lower Manhattan, P. T. Barnum operated it from 1842 to 1865 until it was destroyed by a fire, and then reopened at 539-541 Broadway. The second American Museum was also destroyed by a fire, in 1868. The displays in the museums ranged from dioramas of places such as Niagara falls and the American plains, to various animals including live whales and trained seals, wax figure tableaux, performers, theatrical performances, inventions, scientific specimens, and curious artifacts. Included among the thousands of items were curiosities called humbugs. In contrast to hoaxes, humbugs were strictly meant to amuse, and Barnum took pride in inviting the public to decide for themselves if they thought such items were genuine or fake. Barnum also employed people with notable physical differences, though he did not advertise them as freaks, instead as "natural wonders" or human curiosities. Some remained employed at the Museum for years, as they received good salaries and for many if not all, the companionship and sense of family with other performers was appealing.
2006.007.001