Freaks found solace outside the bounds of mainstream society in circus life. Many of these freak preformers first found a facsimile of family life under the big top.
Thomas Frost wrote this anthology of circus history in 1881. The feats of circuses and their freaks had already spread far and wide. This book details out various circuses and events in England and meets up with American circuses as well. He discusses the life of the preformers on the road and reception of preformers and freaks at various engagements.
“We had our awe and our shame in one gulp,”
The quote above is from famed freak photographer Diane Arbus. She photographed the freaks at Hubert's Dime museum in the 1950s. Gibson's book details out how these amazing rare Arbus prints came to light in 2003 and how finder Bob Langmuir took great pains to authenticate and prove they were the real deal. Arbus has been quoted to say she thrived on awkwardmess in her photos, these freaks would have been the supreme catch for such a photographer.
