Albert Johan Kramer

**Albert Johan Kramer** (15 June 1897 - 4 April 1976) was a Dutch man who was the tallest Dutchman ever. He worked as a vaudeville artist in The Netherlands, Germany, UK, and USA. He had one brother and four sisters.

## Biography

Albert Johan Kramer was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on the 15th of June 1897 and died on 4 April 1976. He had one brother and four sisters. His birth weight was 8.5 kg (19 lbs). At the age of 7 he was said to be already 2 m. (6 ft. 7 in.) tall and at the age of 21 his heigth was 2.28 m. (7 ft. 6 in.). His final height was 7'9.5" (237.5 cm), although his maximum reported height was 2.69 m. (8 ft. 10 in.) [ He weighed 165 kg (364 lbs).

He worked as a vaudeville artist in the Netherlands, Germany, UK and USA. His artists’ names were Lofty (UK) and **Jan van Albert** (USA, Europe) In 1920, he met his wife Wilhelmina Fässler (born on the 1st of March 1896) who lived in and was born in Appenzell in Switzerland.

## Adulthood and point of fame

Her brother, Josef, born in 1894 was a hypopituitary midget with a final height of 87 cm (2 ft 10 in) [2]. Josef Fässler was also a vaudeville artist and called himself “Seppetoni” and together with his brother in law he acted in showbusines. In the UK, Albert Johan Kramer worked together with another midget, Fred Aslett (also known as “Pip”), who was claimed to be 70 cm (2 ft 4 in) tall. The Swiss anthropologist Schlaginhaufen examined Kramer in July 1923 in Albisgütli (Switzerland) [3]. He was able to register 40 anthropometric data except his overall height, because of “Geschäftsgeheimnis” (professional secrecy), reported by Kramer himself as 2.54 m (8 ft. 4 in.). On the basis of the anthropometric measurements, Kramer was characterized by von Schlaginhaufen as: “Brachykephalie, Leptoprosopie, Mesenie, Lepto- bis Hyperleptorrhinie, Dolochocheirie, helle Iris, blonde Haare (ca. M. Fischer-Saller)”. Like other authors, he also was convinced that Kramer did not suffer from acromegaly [1;3].

## Later life and death

On 31 August 1958 his height was listed at 2.44 m. (8 ft.) (3-5). Albert Johan Kramer died on 4 April 1976, just short of his 79th birthday. In those days 3 Seppetoni’s lived in the Oberegg area in Switzerland: Seppetoni Fässler, Herisau, 1894 - ? (87 cm); Seppetoni Bischofberger, Sulzbach, Oberegg; 15 March 1868 - 20 April 1940 (85 cm), who stayed in Gasthof Falken together with Kathrieli Bischofberger, Sulzbach, Oberegg; 25 November 1869 - 9 Februari 1944 and finally: Seppetoni Leuch, Oberegg, 1896 - ? (103 cm).

## Gallery

Albert Johan Kramer with Seppetoni.Seppetoni under Albert's jacket...?14 August 1948. Rigardus Rijnhout laying next to Albert Johan Kramer, who is in bed with a foot infection.July 18, 1947.Johan Kramer with Seppetoni.
## References

[1]: Holländer E. Wunder Wundergeburt und Wundergestalt. 1 ed. Stuttgart: Ferdinand Enke, 1921.

[2]: Gigon A. Über Zwergwuchs und Riesenwuchs. Mit einem Beitrag zum Studium verwandter Entwicklungsstörungen im Organismus. Arch Neurol Psych 1921; 9:283-303.

[3]: Schlaginhaufen O. none. Bulletin der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Anthropologie und Ethnologie 1958;(35).

[4]: Sliggers BC, Wertheim AA. De Tentoongestelde Mens. Reuzen en dwergen en andere wonderen der natuur. Zutphen: Walburg Pers, 1993.

[5]: de Herder WW. Reuzengroei. een historische en medische beschouwing. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd 2004; 148(52):2585-2590.