Cabinet-card portrait of Charles Tripp, the "Armless Wonder,” inscribed and signed by him, evidently during a tour in York, Pennsylvania, where the photograph was taken. Charles Broton Tripp (1855-1930) was one of the great human marvels of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born without arms, Tripp taught himself at a young age how to dress, eat, shave, write, and perform a variety of other tasks with his feet. He had become noted for his calligraphy and woodworking skills when he left home for New York City at the age of 17 to seek employment with P. T. Barnum. Barnum hired him during their first meeting, and Tripp would perform for the circuses of Barnum, Bailey, and the Ringling Brothers for the next 35 years, and later for smaller carnivals. 

Throughout his career, Tripp inscribed and sold cabinet cards and postcards printed with his portrait, in which he typically seen posing in a fine suit, surrounded by instruments and products of his trade. The present photograph shows him carving a piece of wood and exhibiting specimens of his calligraphy and a paper doll he had created, presumably with the pair of shears lying in front of it. The photo was taken at the Pentz studio of York, Pennsylvania, and bears the following inscription in Tripp’s foot: “Charles B. Tripp. Woodstock, Ontario Age 32 y’s. William Kennedy July 30th 87.” 

The card comes from the Freakatorium collection of the late sword swallower Johnny Fox, who often spoke of his childhood epiphany that sideshow performers were "real-life superheroes." Charles Tripp was one of his favorite historical examples, and it is clear his contemporaries held him in similar esteem. A newspaper in the Salisbury, North Carolina, the town where Tripp spent his winters, published a long tribute upon his death in 1930 that read in part, “He never let the words ‘I can’t’ enter his vocabulary and the fine accomplishments and achievements despite handicaps should be a challenge to those of us who possess all our faculties. He was a real hero in every sense of the word and overcame odds in life that would have submerged many a man with less determination and spirit.”

York, Pa.: Pentz, [1887]. Cabinet card (albumen photographic print mounted on card), approximately 6 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches. Stamp of photographer and inscription and signature of subject on verso, in his foot. Light wear, near fine.

W. C. Baker Rare Books & Ephemera is a Brooklyn, New York-based firm specializing in printed and manuscript materials relating to avant-garde literature, social movements, and unusual currents in science, religion, and the performing arts.

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