Original circa-1860s carte de visite portrait of Rosannah Richardson, a 19th-century sideshow performer exhibited for her extraordinary size.

The sitter is identified directly beneath the image in printed type:

“ROSANNAH RICHARDSON.”

An independent sideshow-history reference identifies Rosannah Richardson as a “705 lb Woman,” placing her among the named “fat lady” performers who appeared in 19th-century American sideshow and dime-museum entertainment.

The reverse carries an ornate printed publisher backmark:

Published by E. & H.T. Anthony
501 Broadway, New York
Manufacturers of the best Photographic Albums

E. & H.T. Anthony was one of the major American photographic publishers and distributors of the Civil War era; the Library of Congress catalogs numerous photographs bearing the firm's 501 Broadway, New York imprint.

Also written in pencil on the reverse is:

“ROSANNAH RICHARDSON”
(“… Barnum’s Museum”)

The Barnum notation appears to be an older collector or archival identification. It is an intriguing association with P. T. Barnum’s American Museum, but because the inscription itself is the evidence present on this card, the exact nature and dates of Richardson's Barnum association are not represented here as independently verified.

The front also bears small circular marks/monograms at the lower corners, including what appears to be a “36” at lower right.

Approx. 2.5 x 3.75 inches.

A scarce named 19th-century sideshow portrait with strong appeal to collectors of P. T. Barnum, dime museums, circus and sideshow history, cartes de visite, Victorian photography, human curiosities and American popular entertainment.

Please review all photographs carefully for condition, particularly the strong vertical crease through the image.

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