Patrick O’Brien (1760-1806), born Patrick Cotter in Kinsale, Ireland in 1760, grew to the height of over eight foot and became known as 'The Irish Giant', and 'The Bristol Giant'. In 1782 he was engaged by an agent in Ireland to appear in Bristol, and by about 1785 came to London where he engaged himself very profitably to appear at 30, St. James Street. ‘Giant' bodies were of great interest at the time to anatomists – something of which O’Brien was hugely fearful, and despite leaving enough money for a lead-lined casket and burial beneath rock, O’Brien’s body was still later temporarily disinterred and examined for medical research.

The dwarf Joseph Boruwlaski (1739-1837) was born in Poland in 1739, adopted by a local official when he was nine and was later acquired by Countess Humiecka. When he was fifteen she took him to Vienna, and in 1760 to Paris where he started his career as a 'curiosity' and a cultured and talented singer and musician. He came to London in the 1780s where he obtained the patronage of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire and was presented to the future King George lV and the rest of the royal family. The title of Count was probably a marketing ploy to emphasise his cultured reputation, much as Charles Stratton had been given the title of 'General' Tom Thumb. Although O'Brien and Boruwlaski both started their careers under management, they eventually took charge of their own careers and managed themselves. ‘