Newspaper: Harper's Weekly cover featuring the Fairy Wedding
Cover of Harper's Weekly featuring the Fairy Wedding. Charles S. Stratton, known as General Tom Thumb, and his wife M. Lavinia Warren stand... Show moreCover of Harper's Weekly featuring the Fairy Wedding. Charles S. Stratton, known as General Tom Thumb, and his wife M. Lavinia Warren stand together, arm in arm, on the cover of Harper's Weekly. Stratton wears a suit with a vest and bow tie, Warren wears an elaborate dress and a veil with flowers in it. The background suggests that they are in the church. Held on February 10, 1863 at Grace Episcopal Church in New York City, the marriage of Charles S. Stratton - known as General Tom Thumb - and M. Lavinia Warren was also called the Fairy Wedding. It featured not only Charles and Lavinia tying the knot, but fellow Barnum performers and little people George Washington Morris Nutt - known as Commodore Nutt - and Minnie Warren - Lavinia's sister - as the best man and maid of honor respectively. The wedding was promoted relentlessly by P.T. Barnum, and made into a major social event on scale with contemporary celebrity weddings. There was extensive merchandising, especially photographs and illustrations of the wedding party. Measures 16 by 10 inches. Harper's Weekly, February 21, 1863. Show less