Advertisement: The Tom Thumb Wedding at Nathan Hale School in Fairfield, Conn
Poster for the Tom Thumb Wedding play at Nathan Hale School in Fairfield, Conn. Friday 4 October, 1940. Features children recreating the wedding of... Show morePoster for the Tom Thumb Wedding play at Nathan Hale School in Fairfield, Conn. Friday 4 October, 1940. Features children recreating the wedding of Stratton and Warren, and lists the full cast. 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. Later on, recreations of the wedding with young children became common. Measures 6.5 by 12 inches. Show less