Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Andy Yaffee

Jockey, Baby, and Foxy Grandpa

Schoenhut called this group the grotesques. This is because their big heads were made out-of-proportion to their bodies. Foxy Grandpa was a popular comic character of the early 1900s. Baby is a baby doll and was probably used as a doll by children. They were shown on a circus flat platform wagon and called the grotesque in catalogs from ca 1910. Grotesque people were a popular part of the side shows of early circuses. These figures seem to have been inspired by Mardi Gras paper mache masks given their relatively large size compared to other Humpty Dumpty circus figures.

Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Andy Yaffee

Jockey

The grotesques were made similar to other circus pieces. The Jockey seems to have been modeled after Mardi Gras performers who often wore oversized heads made of paper mache. This is the only Schoenhut figure we know whose head is made of paper mache.

Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Andy Yaffee

Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Andy Yaffee

Foxy Grandpa

This Foxy Grandpa was designed to mix with the Humpty Dumpty circus as a performer.

Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Andy Yaffee

Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Andy Yaffee

Baby

This figure used a baby doll head on a circus figure body.

Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Andy Yaffee