Dollie Dutton used to sing for audiences who would pay to see her. Yes, they came to see her, not hear her. These were the days when it was acceptable to gawk at people who were unusual, and Dollie was not a typical young lady. At the age of 9 she was 29 inches tall, 13 pounds in weight (by age 11, she was still 29 inches tall, but had put on a couple of pounds – literally, now weighing 15 lbs.). Her father would hold her up in the palm of his hand, a palm that would later be used to collect the receipts. Item 31 is History of the “Little Fairy,” Miss Dollie Dutton, by her father David Dutton, and printed in the early 1860s. Dollie was born of normal size parents with normal size siblings, excepting one similarly small sister who also performed until she died at age 8. Dollie was an exception for such very small performers, living to age 38, and getting married to a regular size man. Apparently that marriage broke down, and Dollie ended up committed to an insane asylum. Life was not easy in those days for people such as Dollie. Item 31. $150.
Here is another person of unusual dimensions who made his living in sideshows. Before there was Minnesota Fats, there was the Wisconsin Fat Boy. Item 18 consists of two cabinet photos of Charles Peters, “Famous Wisconsin Fat Boy.” Based on notations here, Charles weighed 275 lbs. at age 12. By the age of 15, he was up to 400 lbs. We have not been able to find anything more on his life. Charles never developed quite the career of Dollie, but Dollie could sing, while it doesn't appear Charles could do much more than sit there and be fat. And while Dollie would undoubtedly still draw attention today, Charles would no longer appear that unusual. $225.
Item 3 is The Death of Juliet, as Presented by: Miss Margaret Mather in Romeo and Juliet. Painted by Mr. Frank Russell Green, for the Sum of $6,500. Nothing like bragging about how much you paid for something. This was evidently a promotional piece for Margaret Mather, touting both her abilities as an actress and the expensive portrait of herself she was displaying. Mather was a poor girl who grew up to be an actress, her notable success coming in Shakespearean plays. From what we can tell, she was very good at promoting herself. The result was that her performances were often disappointing, not because she didn't act well, but because she built expectations so high. Her life was filled with appropriate drama. She ran off and married her orchestra leader, divorced, and a few weeks later, ran off and married brewing heir Gustav Pabst, who apparently was quite smitten with her. Not for long. He divorced Miss Mathers after she threatened to horse whip him on the streets of Milwaukee. That was a bit extreme. She could have just whipped him with his Blue Ribbon. She died just a couple of years later, dramatically enough, onstage. Pabst, wisely, remarried the daughter of St. Louis brewing magnate William Lemp and after his father's death, ran the family brewery until Prohibition, outliving his ex-wife by almost half a century. $85.
We will conclude with a touching piece of poetry for the children, from Nursery Melodies: or, Pretty Rhymes in Easy Verse, published by C.P. Huestis between 1843-1853 (Item 51. $225):
“Little Children at night,
Should go easily to bed,
And think as they're closing their eyes -
That none can be sure,
When they lay down their head,
That in the morning they ever may rise.”
Sweet dreams.
Garrett Scott, Bookseller may be reached at 734-741-8605 or garrett@bibliophagist.com
