Print: "The Wonderful Albino Family, Rudolph Lucasie, Wife, and Child from Madagascar, Barnum's Wonder No. 14"
Currier and Ives (created by)
circa 1855 (Date manufactured/created)
14.75 in H
X
9.75 in W
Lithograph print of Barnum's famous Albino Family: Rudolph Lucasie, his wife, and child. The family exhibited themselves at the American Museum in New York City. The print is No. 14 in a series published by Currier & Ives titled Barnum's Gallery of Wonders.
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, Though 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.
The costume appears textured, perhaps covered with black feathers or silk fringe. His very thick hair is disproportionately wide, and he wears a beard. Mrs. Lucasie, Anitana, 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 child, Joseph, who appears about six or seven years old, and is posed looking upward to the mother. The child has white hair, though not thick. The child's tunic-style dress is dark blue trimmed at the hem and neck and sleeve caps with a yellow plaid material.
The carpeting is a medium green color, and a table and small step stool are present. A penciled-in notation of the date, 1859, can be seen in the lower righthand corner, however the accuracy is unknown, and quite possibly the print is a few years earlier. Another version of this print shows the family with two children.
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.
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, Though 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.
The costume appears textured, perhaps covered with black feathers or silk fringe. His very thick hair is disproportionately wide, and he wears a beard. Mrs. Lucasie, Anitana, 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 child, Joseph, who appears about six or seven years old, and is posed looking upward to the mother. The child has white hair, though not thick. The child's tunic-style dress is dark blue trimmed at the hem and neck and sleeve caps with a yellow plaid material.
The carpeting is a medium green color, and a table and small step stool are present. A penciled-in notation of the date, 1859, can be seen in the lower righthand corner, however the accuracy is unknown, and quite possibly the print is a few years earlier. Another version of this print shows the family with two children.
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.
EL 1988.344.001