Textile: Miniature tall boot belonging to Charles S. Stratton

Miniature tall boot made of leather that belonged to Charles S. Stratton, better known by his stage name, "General Tom Thumb." The boot was likely part of Stratton's Napoleon costume, one of several characters he portrayed in performances, and the one that was his most popular.  This style of boot goes over the knee at the front and on the sides, but is cut away at the back for ease of movement.  The heel is short but would slightly elevate the wearer.  Various photographs of Stratton portraying Napoleon show him wearing boots of this style, and he probably had several pairs like this over the years.  Stratton was a little person whom Barnum made famous beginning in 1843; Barnum met Stratton when he was just shy of his fifth birthday and was less than two feet tall, having virtually ceased growing around 7 months of age.  Stratton did grow very slowly over the course of his life, and was 42 inches tall at the time of his death. This boot, which measures 9 1/4 inches tall x 4 5/8 inches long x 1 1/4 inches wide, must have been worn when Stratton was still quite young, as the foot is exceptionally small.  It most likely dates to the mid-1840s, early in Stratton's career, when Barnum took him on a three-year tour of Europe, with a major portion of their time spent in the British Isles.  The boot has an English shoemaker's label: J. Joseph, 13 Skinner Street, Snow Hill, London.  The name is stamped in gold on a rectangle of black leather that has been affixed to the rose pink leather lining. This is a single boot, missing its mate, however a match to this boot has been identified in another museum's collection. The surface of this boot is now extremely worn and fragile, and the boot straps, shown in one of the photos, are almost completeley frayed into threads. Charles S. Stratton (January 4, 1838 - July 15, 1883) was an entertainer who got his start with P. T. Barnum in the early 1840s.  Stratton's parents signed him with Barnum when the boy was barely five years old.  The family went to live in New York City where Stratton performed at Barnum's American Museum, located on Broadway at Ann Street.  The little boy took quickly to performing, and on tours he entertained audiences worldwide, including royalty.  Stratton's performances brought him renown, becoming one of the biggest celebrities at the time, and considerable wealth.  In 1863, Stratton married fellow performer and little person M. Lavinia Warren; the two had a happy marriage, and continued touring and performing.  On July 15, 1883, Stratton suffered a stroke and passed away.  He is buried at Mountain Grove Cemetery in Bridgeport, Connecticut.