Giants: fact and fiction
Fee Fi Foe Fum,
I smell the blood of an Englishman
Be he live or be he dead
I'll grind his bones to make my bread.
This portrait of the giant Giovanni Bona was
initially referred to by Sternberg (1899) as
the oldest historical document on acromegaly.
This life size portrait, 2.40m, by the court
painter of the Elector of the Palatinate, Frederick
II, in 1553 was originally held in the Ambras-Schloss
in the Tyrol now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum,
Vienna. Also include in the picture is the dwarf
Thomerle. Berliner Medizinhistorisches Museum
Giants in myth and legend
Biblical giants
Sussman M (1967) suggests that acromegaly is probably indicated by the
phrase " . . . whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish . . . hath anything
maimed or too long." Leviticus 21:18.
Og King of Bashan's bed was made long 4-5 metres.
Sippai et Lahni allusion to territory of giants in the direction of Scythia
Legend of Cyclops
British and Irish Giants
Somerset giant 1805 - 1829
Joseph Neal SEWELL, born in Lincolnshire in 1805, died in 1829 and buried
in the churchyard of St. Mary Magdalene, Taunton. He was 7'4" tall,
weighed 37 stone and wore shoes measuring 141/2" x 61/2".
For further details see the Taunton Courier
of 15th July 1829 and the relevant display in
the Taunton Castle Museum.
Information collected by JHM on a visit to Taunton on 1st September 1978.
Dr J Musgrave - Personal Communication
The medical professions' fascination with giants
On the death of Charles Byrne
"The whole tribe of surgeons," states one journal "put in a claim
for the poor departed Irishman and surrounded his house just as harpooners
would an enormous whale." 
Skeleton of Charles Byrne, now preserved in the museum
of the Royal College of Surgeons, London.
Ella Ewing
"The next case is that of a giantess
from Missouri, named Ella Ewing, whom I discovered
on exhibition at a Western State Fair. I regret
extremely my inability to give accurate measurements
in this case, which proved impossible, partly
from the natural modesty of the young lady in
question, and partly from the well-known reluctance
of exhibits of this description to submit to
accurate measurements. Her height was given at
8' 2", her age 23, and her weight 256 Ibs,
but my own estimate of her height compared with
normal persons of known height would be 7' 6"." Hutchinson
Saucerotte/Nöel remains Dupytren Museé
After Mirbeck's death, his wife refused to permit
autopsy and was indeed so faithful that she took
residence opposite the cemetery to see that his
remains were not disturbed. After her death,
some bones were "procured"
from the grave and are to be seen in the Museé Duptyren.
Giants among men
From their portrayal on walls of Tombs in Egypt, illustrations
and portraits to postcards and newspapers giants have been interesting
not just to the medical profession but to the population in general.
The sections below start to bring these illustrations together and
discuss the issues this objectification of Giants raises.
Postcards
Collectors
of postcards may prefer them pristine with no writing or message on the
back but in terms of historical and cultural interest these can be of
great value. They often provide a context with date or other
information about where Giants were seen and their place in society.
On front - Saw "Mariedl" last night, W.
Postmarked Cardiff, May 27th 1907.
"Thought you would like
this card showing you the giant." London 29th March 1905.
 
"Dear Glad hope you are
all well I think you will know who this is
as you have seen him C & D." March
18th 1905.
Their is a strange symbiosis almost between
the general public and giants now and in the
past. Being a Giant could be a good profession
whether as an impressive soldier for an army,
a gentleman's social scene, part of a traveling
circus like the Barnum Circus in America or visiting
the London Hippodrome which showed circus and
variety acts.
Enderle
in 1998 reported on an analysis of a collection of 893 historical
postcards from 1990 to 1935. The paper is focussed predominantly on
dwarfism but also looks at gigantism.
"The
postcards, which were certainly sold by the 'protagonists' themselves,
served as a billboard on which no amount of sensationalism was spared.
The juxtaposition of giant and dwarf was supposed to appeal to the
viewer's craving for the spectacular." Enderle 1998
This comparison can be seen in the postcards
of Jan
Van Albert and Les
Fréres Hugo which both include a dwarf.
One important observation he makes is that dwarves
were usually employed in show-business performing
whether acting, playing instruments or as clowns
etc but giants, due to the symptoms arising from
acromegaly, were more objects of interest purely
and "are represented mainly as exhibits,
without any action or occupation". Machnow
the Russian Giant appeared at the London
Hippodrome but it is clear from accounts that in contrast
to dwarves that he was there to be looked at
not perform in anyway.
Further postcard pages: Machnow the Russian Giant (Paris), Géant des Alpes, Les Frères Hugo. Josef Schippers, Hassan Ali, Jan Van Albert and Henri Cot. Other postcards available from http://www.oldpostcards.com/
Giants
- Sideshow ephemera http://www.missioncreep.com/mundie/gallery/gallery13.htm
How do they measure up?
A fascination with height, short and tall, isn't
a modern invention along with The Guiness Book
of records first edition in 1955 (See Wikipedia or Guiness
Book of Records sites) , it has been around
since one man was taller or shorter than another.
At times it became more or less of interest
but it has never really gone away and doesn't
really look like ever abating.
Hassan Ali, Egyptian Giant 8ft 2in 2.489m
Géant des Alpes, 2.30m
Henri Cot, The French Giant
Machnow The Russian Giant
Mariedl, The Tyrolean Giantess, age 27, weight 360lbs.
Josef Schippers Le Plus Grand soldat du monde 2.39m
Les Frere Hugo les plus Grands Géants du monde
entier. One brother is an acromegalic giant the
other is just tall.
Jan Van Albert, Lofty, Tallest man aged 24.
Joseph
Neal SEWELL, born in Lincolnshire in 1805, died in 1829 and buried in
the churchyard of St. Mary Magdalene, Taunton. He was 7'4" tall,
weighed 37 stone and wore shoes measuring 141/2" x 61/2".
Al Tomaini 8-feet 4.5inches tall, George Auger
"The Cardiff Giant" 8-feet 6-inches tall, Jack
Earle, claiming a height of 8-feet
6.5-inches, Johan Petursson, Icelandic Giant
8'8", Eddie Carmel, known as the
Happy Giant and the Jewish Giant, Robert Pershing
Wadlow, the Alton Giant, was 8-feet 11.1-inches
tall., Sideshow
ephemera website
Giants today
Newspapers
The representation of giants hasn't changed
much since the postcards above only the means
of communication have changed from cards to press
sensationalisation and that rather than a one
to one relationship of the postcard from sender
to recipient there is the mass presentation of
medical issues "The 6ft 10 schoolboy who
grew 12 inches in a year" (Mintowt-Czyz
2003) or sensational headlines "Another
HUGE exclusive" (Larcombe D 2002), see below.
Whether one representation is better or worse
than the other is debatable.  
Giants in the popular press:
Left - The 6ft schoolboy who grew 12 inches
in a year from the Daily Mail, Right - World's
tallest bloke lives in Neasden from the Sun.
Notes
Giants - Wall Fresco
Salle des géants par Guilo Romano variant Canadian <<Tit-Jean-Sans-Fessess>>
du géant de petit poucet l'ogre du conte du petit
Poucet a sept filles aux dentes ponitures et
espacée.
Hypertrophie muscles important to artists.
Related weblinks
National Fairground Archive http://www.shef.ac.uk/nfa/
The ‘Dictionary of British Circus Biography’ Project http://www.circusbiography.co.uk/
Theatre Collection http://www.bris.ac.uk/theatrecollection
Backstage – Performing Arts Gateway. http://www.backstage.ac.uk/
Theatre History website http://www.win.net/~kudzu/history.html
The International Federation for Theatre Research http://www.firt-iftr.org/firt/site/index.jsp
SIBMAS, the International Association of Libraries and Museums of the Performing Arts http://www.theatrelibrary.org/sibmas/sibmas.html
Theatre Library – National Collection Italy http://www.theatrelibrary.org/english.htm
The Circus Fans Association of America http://www.circusfans.org/
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