Description: Lavinia Warren (1842-1919), famously known as “Mrs. Tom Thumb”, was a proportionate dwarf who worked as a circus performer and appeared in a silent film, The Lilliputians Courtship (1915). She boldly signed this 5 ½” x 2 ¼” piece of lined paper: “Countess M. Lavinia Magri Formerly Mrs. Genl Tom Thumb Middleboro Mass”.

 

Warren met her first husband, Charles Sherwood Stratton, or, “General Tom Thumb” (1838-1883) while they were both working in P.T. Barnum’s circus. They were one of the most famous couples of the 19^th century; their wedding reception was hosted by none other than Abraham Lincoln at the White House.

 

Two years after Tom Thumb’s death, “Mrs. Tom Thumb” married an Italian dwarf, Count Primo Magri (1849-1920), and together they operated a famous roadside stand in Middleborough, MA and performed plays.

 

Item #A00925.

 

Condition: Fold line, lined paper has been tipped to a thicker piece of cream-colored paper, otherwise in very good condition with a neat signature.