Male Ventriloquist Dummy
date: label: date made
content: ca 1875
name: label: maker
content: Lamb, Frederick
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: This is one of three ventriloquist dummies that belonged to Frederick Lamb. This figure, made of wood and painted black, has a hand carved head, a hinged jaw, glass eyes, and realistically carved hands and feet. His body is made of a soft stuffing material and is manipulated through a hole in his back. He is dressed in a child's red jacket with a bow tie and cotton pants and is wearing a pair of children's leather lace up shoes and a kepie style cap. It is unclear if Lamb actually made the figure or adapted it for his own use.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Lamb, born in 1883 in Nashville, Tennessee began his career at 12 years old when he ran away from home and joined a carnival. He traveled with carnivals, side shows, and circuses for almost 75 years, including performing for Queen Victoria.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Lamb's talents included ventriloquism, magic, a Punch and Judy show, and a repertoire of black face comedy skits. Lamb was exceptionally talented in that he was a double ventriloquist; he operated his dummies simultaneously and it appeared they were talking to each other and him at the same time. Later in life he traveled through Appalachia and coal mining communities in Kentucky, Tennessee, and South Carolina to provide entertainment for children and adults living in remote areas.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Puppetry
label: Subject
content: Entertainment
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Puppets
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Charles S. (Charlie) Lamb
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1992.0225.02
label: catalog number
content: 1992.0225.02
label: accession number
content: 1992.0225
objectType: label: Object Name
content: dummy, ventriloquist
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: cloth (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: leather (shoes material)
label: Physical Description
content: glass (eyes material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 37 in x 11 in x 4 1/4 in; 93.98 cm x 27.94 cm x 10.795 cm