#kobelkoff

[postcard-from-the-past]

Russian-Austrian showman without legs and arms, Nikolai Kobelkoff

Austrian vintage postcard

[postcard-from-the-past]

Nikolai Kobelkoff, Russian showman without legs and hands with his wife Anna Wilfert, and Austrian actress and their six children

French vintage postcard

[moravagine]

http://europafilmtreasures.eu

[fallintoblue]

Carnivals were popular amusements in the late 19th century. They featured rides, x-rays, games of skill, wild animals, strong men, contortionists, and even tent-show cinemas. Midway freak shows –giants, dwarfs, bearded women– were especially potent public attractions. Movies carried these exhibits to audiences unable to witness them in real life. Filmed about 1900, here is the famous man-torso, Nikolai Kobelkoff, born in Siberia (1851) and a performer beginning in 1874.