Signora Girardelli, The well known Fire-eater
Publisher
J. Robins & Company
(British, active 1818-1830s)
Date1823
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsFRAMED: 16 × 19 in. (40.6 × 48.3 cm)
SHEET: 8 1/4 × 5 1/2 in. (21 × 14 cm)
SHEET: 8 1/4 × 5 1/2 in. (21 × 14 cm)
ClassificationsPrints
Credit LineTibbals Circus Collection
Object numberht8000233
Known respectively as ‘The Queen of the Fire-Eaters’ and ‘the Fire King’, Girardelli and Chabert gained notoriety by holding nitric acid, boiling oil, and melted wax in their mouths, and touching molten lead and lighted candles to their skin in order to prove how incombustible they really were. Chabert was also known to sit in heated ovens while cuts of meat roasted. Their fame is due in large part to the mystery surrounding how these feats were achieved.
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