Somebody's Luggage
Locket
1863 (made)
1863 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This locket was produced as a commercial souvenir of the lavish wedding in New York at the Grace Episcopal Church on 10 February 1863 of 'General' Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren. Born Charles Sherwood Stratton in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1838, Tom Thumb was 'discovered' at four years old by the American showman P.T. Barnum. Barnum trained him to sing and dance, exhibited him at his American Museum in New York and marketed him successfully throughout America and Europe.
Tom Thumb's wedding and reception at the Metropolitan Hotel received massive press coverage and the couple were given lavish gifts from socially prominent New Yorkers. Barnum marketed several souvenirs of the occasion including this locket, individual daguerrotype photographs, and a pamphlet which detailed the lives, courtship, and wedding of Stratton and Warren and reproduced lengthy excerpts from newspaper articles about their wedding. The photographs in this locket include those of their bridesmaid - Lavinia's sister Minnie, and their best man George Washington Morrison 'Commodore' Nutt. Tom Thumb and Lavinia never had children, but curiously borrowed a baby for these photographs.
Tom Thumb's wedding and reception at the Metropolitan Hotel received massive press coverage and the couple were given lavish gifts from socially prominent New Yorkers. Barnum marketed several souvenirs of the occasion including this locket, individual daguerrotype photographs, and a pamphlet which detailed the lives, courtship, and wedding of Stratton and Warren and reproduced lengthy excerpts from newspaper articles about their wedding. The photographs in this locket include those of their bridesmaid - Lavinia's sister Minnie, and their best man George Washington Morrison 'Commodore' Nutt. Tom Thumb and Lavinia never had children, but curiously borrowed a baby for these photographs.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Somebody's Luggage (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Engraved and embossed brass with albumen silver print photographs |
| Brief description | Locket produced as a souvenir of the marriage in New York, 10 February 1863, of 'General' Tom Thumb, or Charles Sherwood Stratton (1838-1883) to Mercy Lavinia Warren Bump (1841-1919), containing photographs of the wedding party and entitled Somebody's Luggage. Engraved and embossed brass, probably produced in the USA |
| Physical description | Brass locket in the shape of a suitcase fastened with embossed straps, engraved 'Somebody's Luggage,' and decorated with scrolled, engraved detail. The locket is hinged and closed with a clasp, containing an 'accordion pleat' of six double-sided photo frames, each containing two albumen silver prints commemorating the marriage of General Tom Thumb to Lavinia Warren, 1863. The photographs recto, left to right, represent Lavinia Warren with a baby; Minnie Warren with George Washington Morrison Nutt; Lavinia Warren with a baby (2); 'General' Tom Thumb (sitting, and standing); and, verso, left to right Lavinia Warren in a wedding dress; Minnie Warren as bridesmaid; 'General' Tom Thumb, George Washington Morrison Nutt (2), and Tom Thumb with Lavinia, in wedding outfits. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Somebody's Luggage (This was the title of a book by Charles Dickens published in 1862.) |
| Credit line | Given by Donald Fell |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This locket was produced as a commercial souvenir of the lavish wedding in New York at the Grace Episcopal Church on 10 February 1863 of 'General' Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren. Born Charles Sherwood Stratton in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1838, Tom Thumb was 'discovered' at four years old by the American showman P.T. Barnum. Barnum trained him to sing and dance, exhibited him at his American Museum in New York and marketed him successfully throughout America and Europe. Tom Thumb's wedding and reception at the Metropolitan Hotel received massive press coverage and the couple were given lavish gifts from socially prominent New Yorkers. Barnum marketed several souvenirs of the occasion including this locket, individual daguerrotype photographs, and a pamphlet which detailed the lives, courtship, and wedding of Stratton and Warren and reproduced lengthy excerpts from newspaper articles about their wedding. The photographs in this locket include those of their bridesmaid - Lavinia's sister Minnie, and their best man George Washington Morrison 'Commodore' Nutt. Tom Thumb and Lavinia never had children, but curiously borrowed a baby for these photographs. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.200-2008 |
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| Record created | June 27, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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