Ordinarily, little people are photographed from head to toe so you can get the full effect of their remarkable size. But I kind of love this framing of the likeness of Berlin-born Henrietta Moritz as a head shot, so that we can concentrate on her face. It is humanizing. It’s a good punim! Born 1866, Moritz came to the U.S. when she was in her 20s, working the dime museum circuit, and, according to some sources, Barnum’s circus (his museum was defunct by then). She was billed as “The German Midget”; her friends called her “Hattie” In adulthood she was said to weigh 36 lbs, and to be 26 inches tall. There are many existing photos of her. It is not known when she died; presumably some time in the early 20th century.
For related reading, please check out Rose’s Royal Midgets and Other Little People in Vaudeville.
(Travalanche) 
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