The General Star

Philippe Nicol, the guy on the right, did pretty well for himself — if you don’t mind living in a fishbowl. And maybe he — and his wife, Rose, on the left — didn’t mind. They billed themselves as Count and Countess Philippe Nicol. He grew to a height of three feet exactly. She was a handful of inches taller. (In their day, they were called midgets, a term that has been replaced by dwarves or little people) Here they are pictured at home in Montreal in the 1920s or ’30s. They lived at “the Midgets Palace” at 961 Rachel St. East, a home that the wealthy Mr. Nicol had adapted to the couple’s stature. The furniture was tiny, the grandfather clock (it’s at an Ontario museum now - link) was tiny, etc.

The house was, for many years, a popular stop on Montreal’s tourist circuit — even long after the original, famous residents were gone (Philippe died in 1940). A newspaper story of the late 1980s estimated that about 5,000 people a year paid $3.50 each to check out the rooms. (Doesn’t sound like a lot, when you divide by 365 days.)

Here’s the English-language portion of the commemorative pamphlet in full:

Cover
Page 2-3
Page 4-5
Page 6-7
Page 8-9
Page 10-11
Page 12-13
Pictures 1
Pictures 2
French cover

Philippe was born in 1881 in St. Henri de Levis, Quebec. His family were all of commonplace stature. At age three, his parents signed him up with various circuses that toured the world. He became associated with the Barnum and Bailey Circus where, I suppose, he was given a nickname to match that of the legendary General Tom Thumb (I wonder if they ever met). He was granted the right to keep proceeds from the sales of his picture, and did quite well by that — making more money on the pictures than on his handsome salary, apparently.
Here are some postcards from the Michel Bazinet Collection of the Quebec National Archives:

After the birth of Philippe, Jr.
Tourists gawk
The “Count and Countess” in the smoking room

I talked a bit about this place on CBC radio if you want to hear about it - link.

Here’s a link to the English-language pages of the website of l’Association québécoise des personnes de petite taille (which smartly translates to “the Quebec association for people of small stature.” )

dwarves midget palace midgets midgets palace montreal Montreal history Montreal in the 1930s tourism vintage advertisementsdwarves midget palace midgets midgets palace montreal Montreal history Montreal in the 1930s tourism vintage advertisements

Imaginary ballroom? Women’s weather? Was life like that in the fifties? No wonder the world’s screwed up!

ballroom CJAD Edward R. Murrow imagination old time radion vintage advertisements womens issuesballroom CJAD Edward R. Murrow imagination old time radion vintage advertisements womens issues