Count Primo Magri Explained

Count Primo Magri (1849–1920) and Count Rosebud were the stage names of a 19th-century Italian dwarf who married Lavinia Warren, the widow of General Tom Thumb on Easter Monday, April 6, 1885,^[1] at the Church of the Holy Trinity in New York City.^[2]

Career

At 2inchesft8inchesin (ftin) tall^[3] Magri was 20NaN0 shorter than Lavinia's first husband. Together they operated a famous roadside stand in Middleborough, Massachusetts, and with their troupe composed of other dwarves as well as people of regular height travelled the world, performing plays such as The Rivals and Gulliver Among the Lilliputians before the public and royalty, including Queen Victoria.

Magri's supposed twin brother, Giuseppe (or Ernesto) Magri (1850–?), also a dwarf, used the stage names Baron Magri and Baron Littlefinger.^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}

While the military and aristocratic titles that P. T. Barnum gave his dwarves were fantasy titles, it is claimed that the Count was given his title by Pope Pius IX.^{[8] [9]}

The Magris were said to have had very expensive tastes, and were therefore forced to exhibit themselves into old age.^[9] He appeared in a 1915 silent film, The Lilliputian's Courtship, as Uncle Tiny Mite along with his wife, Lavinia Warren.^[10]

Death

Count Primo Magri died in 1920 at Middleborough, Massachusetts, aged 71 years.August 2020.

Notes and References

1. https://www.nytimes.com/1885/04/07/archives/two-wee-people-married-tom-thumbs-widow-becomes-the-countess-magri.html TWO WEE PEOPLE MARRIED; TOM THUMB'S WIDOW BECOMES THE COUNTESS MAGRI
2. http://www.sideshowworld.com/tgodSR.html Some Recollections Mrs. Tom Thumb's Autobiography
3. http://www.bartleby.com/81/5540.html
4. http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=902 The Seattle Telegraph, June 24, 1892 p. 5; Seattle Press-Times, June 24, 1892 p. 3; The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 19, 1892 p. 13; Ibid., June 23, 1892 p. 5. By Greg Lange, February 22, 1999
5. Web site: Bradenburgh Museum—Philadelphia; Thumbiana & Liliputian Opera Company; Royaume de Liliput de Paris . 2008-09-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070928011019/http://www.showhistory.com/midgets2.html . 2007-09-28 . dead .
6. Web site: University of Washington Libraries . 2008-09-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110611170110/http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2Fportraits&CISOPTR=448&DMSCALE=100&DMWIDTH=802&DMHEIGHT=657.890625&DMMODE=viewer&DMFULL=1&DMX=0&DMY=0&DMTEXT=&DMTHUMB=0&REC=1&DMROTATE=0&x=403&y=202 . 2011-06-11 . dead .
7. http://www.houseofdeception.com/Sideshow_Performers_1.html House of Deception: Sideshow Performers
8. http://brightbytes.com/collection/tomthumb.html
9. http://www.pattkelley.com/freak/dwarfs.html
10. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2101793/