Tom Foolery and Tom Thumbery

I must admit there's little I like more than a preposterous sofa, and who cares that it's miniature, and actually made for a little person ... that just means it'll take up less of my precious hoarding space:



It retains it's original silk velvet upholstery, and was created by John Henry Belter (no stranger to absurdist parlor furniture): carved and laminated in rosewood, to the highest standards, as a wedding gift for Tom and Lavinia Thumb:



Tom and Lavinia Thumb have been favorites of mine for a long time, since sometime early in grade school. I was given a book on circus freaks of the 19th century, and I read and reread with fascination the stories of their sad and sometimes very joyful lives. Oh, how I loved that book; these were celebrities with soul, and some real suffering. But Tom and Lavinia ... they seemed to come through their fame pretty unscathed. They used their abnormality to great effect.

When I lived in New York, I was awed to live so close to the site of their epic wedding, Grace Episcopal Church on Broadway. I was star struck.



The little sofa created in celebration of this event, discovered completely by chance when looking for a random image file, reminded me of my early love for the wee gentleman and his wife. I think it would look perfect at the foot of my bed, and I'm quite annoyed that it was recently added to the collection of the Ringling Museum.