Imperial Theatre, Westminster : Royal American Midgets : Miss Millie Edwards... on Monday, July 3rd.

Galleries and Reading Room

Library

Shop

Café

Our exhibition ‘1880 THAT: Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader’ in Gallery 2 is closed this afternoon (Tuesday 17 February) due to essential maintenance work. Thank you for your understanding.

We're running paid user research studies to improve Wellcome Collection online

Take part in research

<p>Poster advertising Emily "Millie" Edwards' performances at the Imperial Theatre, Westminster, London, as one of the Royal American Midgets, probably during 1882. They had previously appeared before Queen Victoria, the other being General Mite (born Francis Joseph Flynn on October 6th 1864, in Greene, New York). They married one another in 1884 and were promoted as the smallest people in the world. The poster shows Millie "actual life-size" in a full length evening dress, bordered with frills, holding a fan in her right hand, standing on a man's hand to accentuate her size. A similar poster of General Mite exists (EPH:++39) and also of this but with colour and black type with slightly different text (EPH:++45) for an engagement at the Piccadilly Hall.</p>

Imperial Theatre, Westminster : Royal American Midgets : Miss Millie Edwards... on Monday, July 3rd.

Licence and re-use