Before the scientific age, abnormal
manifestations of the everyday world, such as dwarves, Siamese twins
and giants were not so much regarded as freaks of nature but living
proof of truly fabulous forms in unknown worlds. Such marvellously
exotic creatures as griffins, cockatrices and boys covered with
scales seemed truly to exist, albeit over the horizon in terra
incognita. Scholarly works documented the existence of these
monsters, giving credence to the belief that they really did swim in
tropical seas and prowl on a dark night beyond the warm, lamp-lit
circle.The History and Lore
of Freaks, first published in 1930, vividly recreates a credulous
era in which fact and fantasy were almost indistinguishable.
Illustrated throughout with many fascinating photographs, drawings
and engravings, CSJ Thompson's book provides an intriguing overview
of a twilight terrain where natural and supernatural phenomena
shaded into one.
Condition: Good. Cover slightly warn (click on photograph). |
