2-714-160 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Madame Maria Teresa, the Corsican Fairy', 1822. Portrait of Maria Maria Teresa (1743-1790), who billed herself as the 'Amazing Corsican Fairy', and was said to be only 34 inches (86 cms) tall in her twenties. She appeared at several fairs, exhibiting herself for money, and was visited by royalty. She also performed in plays and 'danced a Corsican jig'. She is shown here c1769, 'in Comparison to a Normal Woman'. From "Wonderful Characters: Comprising Memoirs and Anecdotes of the Most Remarkable Persons of Every Age and Nation", Vol. III, by Henry Wilson. [J. Robins and Co. Albion Press, London, 1821]