Little Lord Robert's photo was included in an envelope inside a box of items that I purchased at an estate sale. The photo measures 4 by 5.5 inches. Also in that envelope were several other photos mainly of circus performers that were billed as "midgets". I will be listing those other photos also; this listing is only for the one photo of Little Lord Robert.
I found a couple of references online from a 1907 Circus News entry. The following two stories were included...
"Missouri, Kansas City, July 27, 1907. Ringling Bros. arrived in town Sunday morning. On Monday morning just as the parade was returning to the grounds, rain began to fall and cooled the air to some extent, but that had no effect whatever on the attendance, as they turned people away at both performances. The sideshow and concession men came in for a good day. The most interesting feature with the side-show was a contract between Little Lord Robert, who is twenty-two inches high and weights thirteen and one-half pounds, and Miss Ella K. Erving, who stands eight feet four inches and weighs 389 pounds".
And here's the second story:
"Concert Performers Good
The concert has had its share of liberal patronage and it has deserved it. The headliners are: McDade and Welcome, singing and dancing; Leeds and Le Mar, singing and burlesque boxing; Charles Hopper, blackface monologue; Billy Howard and Violet Esher, singing, talking and dancing; Brown Brothers and "Doc" Kealey, comedy musical act. The side show, under the management of Lew Graham, has broken all records. Lloyd C. Guinter, Harry S. Noyes and W. Maurice Rucker in the ticket boxes have been three of the busiest men with the show. Leon Harto is the lecturer, and Capt. O. K. White the door-tender. The attractions are: Ella Ewing, Missouri giantess; Little Lord Robert, smallest man on earth; Sig. Arcaris troupe, impalement act; Leon Harto, ventriloquist; Verda Wren, athletic wonder; Mohammed Kahn, Hindoo conjurere; Rose Valero, serpent enchantress; Eddie Badger, musical act; Charles B. Tripp, armless phenomenon; Old Zip, original "What-Is-It"; Wolford and Nevelle, German comedians. Wilbur C. Markwith's Huzzar Band is furnishing the music for the annex. The members of the band are: Austin C. Reynolds, Charles F. Marswith, Wm. P. Juned, Henry W. Mingert, Wm. A. Dunham, Earl A. Gore, Sam L. Barnard, Harry F. Wright and Daniel Pupillo".
At the bottom of this photo, someone did write "age 20, Height 22 in, Weight 13 and 1/2 lbs". A very small portion of the left side is cut off, so on the word age, all it has is 'ge" and is missing the beginning letter of A.
Since the information written on the photo about his height and age matches what is stated in the above referenced articles, I think it's safe to say that this photo is from the year 1907.
One more interesting note.... When hearing about 'little people', Tom Thumb is usually the first that comes to mind. When Tom Thumb died, he was 3 feet, 4 inches tall (40 inches). Little Lord Robert was almost half that size.
The USPS delivery charge will be $4.15.
SHIPPING COST INFO:
I do combine shipping on multiple items purchased as long as all items will safely fit into a single box. However, my web host is not set up to calculate multiple item shipping costs. At checkout, you will be charged full shipping price on each item purchased and I will refund the appropriate amount of overpayment. If you are uncomfortable with that, you can send me an email with your zip code and stating which items you'll be purchasing and I'll calculate the correct combined shipping charges and send you a custom invoice.
Also, every January the postal service increases shipping charges. This year, many price increases were a bit steep with some package categories adding as much as a dollar on to an already high shipping charge. I try to absorb some of the new charges but that's getting harder with each increase.
International shipping charges also took a tremendous leap. International shipping will now depend on the country. Buyer must contact seller for international shipping charges before making a purchase. Seller reserves the right to void any international transactions where contact has not been made prior to purchasing.
All items in my listings come from either estate or garage sales. I do not know if they came from homes where smoking or pets were present. All items are sold in the same condition as when I received them.
20130727-4
